Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, the biggest YouTuber on the planet, revealed during an interview that he is working on a new unscripted reality competition series with Amazon MGM Studios.
Donaldson sat down for an interview with Colin and Samir to discuss aspects of the show following reports from late January that teased Donaldson was close to closing a $100 million deal with Amazon Prime Video. While Donaldson didn't confirm if the deal was worth $100 million, he did confirm the show is being made and that it will feature the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming, and that it will be a fusion of his MrBeast YouTube videos and standard reality competition.
The new series will be called "Beast Games" and will feature 1,000 contestants who will be competing for a $5 million cash prize, which will be the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming, according to Amazon MGM Studios' press release. During the interview, Donaldson agreed that this deal is a historic moment for the YouTube community, as previous collaborations with influencers and streaming platforms performed below expectations.
"My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms," said MrBeast, "Amazon gave me the creative control I need to try and make it happen. I hope to make the YouTube community proud."
Donaldson said there is quite a bit on the line because if the show doesn't perform well, streaming platforms will use it as an example to not work with YouTubers, but if it performs better than expected, it will open the door for more creators working with streaming services.