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North Carolina has awarded $15 million for the Amazon Prime reality competition \u201cBeast Games\u201d to film parts of its second season near Wilmington and MrBeast\u2019s hometown of Greenville.<\/p>\n
This is the largest incentive the state can offer for one season of television under the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grants, a program launched in 2015 to attract TV and movie productions to the state. The award was specifically given to Trailblazer Events LLC, a Greenville-based production company working on the show<\/a>.<\/p>\n Production crews that spend on average at least $500,000 per episode in the state can qualify for 25% expense rebates. This indicates Trailblazer could spend at least $60 million in North Carolina for Season 2 of \u201cBeast Games.\u201d<\/p>\n Premiered late last year, the first \u201cBeast Games\u201d season followed more than 1,000 contestants through a series of challenges for a lucrative cash prize. It was hosted by Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, who is the world\u2019s most-followed YouTuber<\/a> with 434 million subscribers.<\/p>\n Donaldson, 27, grew up in Greenville, an Eastern North Carolina city that\u2019s home to East Carolina University. As a teenager, he fostered an online following with a series of stunts and money giveaways, eventually attracting millions of views with each video. MrBeast opened a studio<\/a> in Greenville where his team has filmed many competitions. Some contests have included<\/a> local residents; others have annoyed them<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBeast Games\u201d gave MrBeast his biggest budget yet. The first season filmed in Las Vegas and multiple contestants described miserable conditions<\/a> inside the Las Vegas Raiders football stadium, including delayed access to medications and inadequate meals. Nonetheless, Amazon touted the series as its most-watched<\/a> unscripted show ever on its Prime platform.<\/p>\n