Jimmy Donaldson, commonly known as MrBeast, is nearly synonymous with YouTube. With close to 460 million subscribers, he holds the largest following on the platform. Last year, he launched his reality competition series, Beast Games, on Prime Video. As the second season of the show is set to premiere, Donaldson spoke with Mashable’s Executive Producer, Mark Stetson, about his ascent to fame, the establishment of his YouTube empire, and what to anticipate in the new season of Beast Games.
Early in his career, Donaldson recognized YouTube’s potential as his main content platform. “Right now, 2 percent of humanity’s time is spent on YouTube. At 11 years old, I didn’t foresee YouTube’s vast growth. Was it an accident? Yes. The most fortunate event in my life was developing a passion for creating YouTube videos. Over the last 16 years, while some mediums have diminished, YouTube has surged. I was lucky that my passion, which I committed my life to, continues to thrive.”
Donaldson has turned his love for video creation into a substantial content empire. In addition to having the most subscribed channel on YouTube, he ranks as the third most-followed creator on TikTok. Jimmy has launched multiple brands, founded non-profits, and now hosts his own reality competition series on Prime Video.
The second season of Beast Games debuted on Jan. 7, showcasing a hundred of the world’s cleverest individuals against a hundred of the strongest, battling for a $5 million prize. The show broke numerous Guinness World Records, such as the largest physical cash prize on set ($5 million) and the most money won in a single episode of a competitive reality TV show ($2.02 million).
One major change Donaldson was eager to implement between seasons of Beast Games was to highlight the emotional drama contestants encountered between challenges. “Many people wanted to get to know the contestants better. In season 2, the first three episodes include numerous city shots of them simply spending time together. It’s the contestants being genuine. It’s funny because we have all this footage of these extravagant, multi-million dollar sets, conducting these outrageous activities. People aren’t asking for more enormous sets or crazier games. They actually want to see the contestants interacting.”
Donaldson has crafted his career on delivering original experiences previously unseen on screen. Even at 11 years old, he aimed to do things no one else had accomplished. “That’s always been my aim: to create content that you can’t find elsewhere. If someone else has done it and you’re just making minor adjustments, it doesn’t feel as special. However, if every video we produce is unique in the world, that’s what captures people’s attention. I believe that’s why we achieve the views we do and why individuals connect with the videos.” Donaldson feels a responsibility to his audience to maintain that ethos.
“I feel like I owe it to the audience to consistently try to innovate and provide them with something they’ve never encountered.”
The first three episodes of Beast Games Season 2 are currently available for streaming on Prime Video. Subsequent episodes will be released every Wednesday.