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.
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