Mr. Beast Is Threatening To Make A Hunger Games-Inspired Reality Show
Catching ire.
On November 8, 2021, comedian Alex Blechman tweeted a now-infamous takedown of the strange relationship between sci-fi and modern culture. “Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale,” the joke starts. “Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus.”
“Torment Nexus” has since become shorthand for something that backfired in fiction being unironically replicated in reality. George R. R. Martin participating in a direwolf cloning experiment? Torment Nexus. Peter Thiel naming his data mining company Palantir, after the magical orb that corrupted Saruman in The Lord of the Rings? Torment Nexus. Everything Elon Musk does? It all smacks of Torment Nexus one way or another.
But perhaps the best example is in how pop culture reacted to Squid Game. The Korean Netflix series satired capitalism by showing people murdering each other in a competition for a huge cash prize. In response to its smash success, both Netflix and the incredibly popular YouTuber Mr. Beast decided that the next logical step was to recreate the competition in real life, albeit without the fatal stakes. Netflix made a reality show called Squid Game: The Challenge, while Mr. Beast, with the help of Amazon Prime, made a knockoff called Beast Games. Now, the YouTuber is threatening to bring another dystopian bloodsport to life.
During an appearance on The Today Show, Mr. Beast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, was asked about his plans for a new series inspired by The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins’ story of a dystopian world where teens are sent into a deadly arena to compete for resources and entertain elites. “I've been sitting on this idea where it'd be fun to grab potentially 26 random people, to put them on an island," Donaldson said, "and – not use real weapons, maybe like laser tag or something like that – and then the last remaining one wins a million dollars, to recreate Hunger Games in real life.”
Mr. Beast wants to turn The Hunger Games into reality, presumably without the sequels where his regime gets toppled.
The “not use real weapons” part is a comfort, at least. Beast Games only alluded to players getting “eliminated,” but Squid Game: The Challenge simulated people being shot by snipers through an ink-filled squib that would explode when a player was knocked out. Mr. Beast’s new show, if it comes to fruition, will presumably lean into this fictional mortality.
While these shows may make for good TV, the actual reality of them is grim. Even beyond the bleak premises, the sweeping concepts have become breeding grounds for abuse and incompetence. In September 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed against Mr. Beast by multiple Beast Games contestants alleging an unsafe working environment, including sexual harassment and inadequate food and medical care. A similar lawsuit was threatened for Squid Game: The Challenge, which contestants claimed suffered from a lack of basic hygiene supplies.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with competing for money, but it’s difficult to imagine how Mr. Beast would avoid similar controversies and legal issues with an even more contentious concept. Maybe we should just stick to watching actors pretend to murder each other for prizes before Edgar Wright’s upcoming Running Man reboot becomes a reality, too.
