MrBeast Awarded $15 Million to Film Reality Show in North Carolina

The second season of “Beast Games,” the buzzy reality competition show that streams on Amazon Prime Video, received a $15 million grant from the State of North Carolina to film there, Gov. Josh Stein announced this week.

The grant amounts to nearly half of North Carolina’s $31 million annual program, and it is six times as much as Nevada gave the show to shoot part of its first season there.

The game show, which is hosted by Jimmy Donaldson — known online as MrBeast — asks contestants to perform outrageous tasks for money, like moving heavy objects and competing in an extreme version of Capture the Flag.

According to a news release from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the grant was for filming in and around Pitt and New Hanover Counties. MrBeast grew up in Greenville, the Pitt County seat. Filming officially wrapped in July.

“North Carolina is home to a thriving TV and film industry, and it’s only getting stronger,” Mr. Stein said in a statement, which also announced awards to independent films and television shows including “Top Chef” ($2.5 million). “These grants support this vital economic activity that benefits small businesses and suppliers across the state.”

“Beast Games” was modeled after MrBeast’s popular videos on YouTube, where he has more subscribers — 434 million — than any other personality on the site. Donaldson, 27, has said the show costs over $100 million to make, with a $5 million prize and 1,000 competitors. When the first season of “Beast Games” was released, it became Amazon’s biggest unscripted show ever, with 50 million unique viewers.

As Donaldson’s popularity has grown, so has scrutiny of his work. Last year, he acknowledged in a statement that he had used “inappropriate language” in some of his older videos, including in comments about buying Black people and about the physical appearance of a 14-year-old female rapper.

In September 2024, after filming on the first season of “Beast Games” had finished, a group of contestants sued Donaldson and the production companies behind the show, accusing them of exposing participants to “dangerous circumstances and conditions,” including inadequate food and medical care.

One contestant in the suit said she had sought treatment for anxiety, while another said she felt “embarrassed and degraded” by the experience. The suit, which is continuing, was moved from Los Angeles Superior Court to U.S. District Court in April.

Contestants on the show were certainly aware of the wild challenges they might face. Some contestants told The New York Times that during an intake process for the show they were asked whether they would be willing to be buried alive or travel to outer space.

In an interview on “Good Morning America” in February, Donaldson declined to comment on the lawsuit. “I got to let the lawyers handle that,” he said, adding that he had spoken with hundreds of contestants who had a “great time.”

A representative for Donaldson declined to comment on the lawsuit on Saturday. A representative for Amazon MGM Studios did not immediately respond to a request for comment.