Popular YouTube star MrBeast is currently filming his new reality competition series in Toronto.
MrBeast, formally known as Jimmy Donaldson, is known for his widely successful YouTube channel where he entertains millions of followers with difficult challenges, spectacles and huge giveaways. Donaldson is also a entrepreneur and philanthropist known for being the most subscribed creator worldwide with over 300 million subscribers on YouTube.
Beast Games will be the creator’s biggest reality competition series to date and the Toronto production will see 1,000 contestants compete for a $5 million prize, with MrBeast himself being the host and executive producer. The prize is considered the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming, based on a press release issued back in March.
The show was created in partnership with Amazon MGM Studios and follows a group of contestants who participate in elaborate stunts and challenges while living inside the complex. The first half of the series was filmed in Nevada with 2,000 participants, and now the main production is taking place in Toronto.
A City of Toronto spokesperson has confirmed to Now Toronto that the show is filming on private property. According to CBC News, exact filming dates are unknown.
CBC News recently captured drone footage providing a glimpse into the massive compound located near the former Downsview airport.
The compound appears to be similar to a miniature town and includes a large cement building facing a dozen single-storey houses set up in rows, with gardens and picnic tables along the middle of the vicinity with a red wall surrounding the entire area, CBC says.
So far, the Toronto production has been under tight wraps with limited information about the project.
However, ACTRA Toronto has clarified that it is a non-union production in a “do not work” statement last week.
“Please be advised that the reality television series, Beast Games aka Project Greenlight, produced by: MB S1 On Inc., Blink49 Studios, and Green Light is not signatory to any ACTRA Agreement and is therefore a non-union Production. ACTRA’s Constitution and By-laws prohibit union members from working on such productions,” a statement from the group reads.
CONTROVERSY BEHIND NEW SERIES
Earlier this month, over a dozen people who participated in the Nevada production told The New York Times that they experienced difficult working conditions on set such as not receiving adequate food or medical care, as well as suffering injuries from some of the physical challenges. As a result, Donaldson started a formal review of his company.
Beast Games is scheduled to premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. A release date has yet to be announced.
