This month, a strange sight appeared in Toronto’s north end: a massive compound containing what looked like a walled-off miniature town, complete with a line of identical houses.
Though it looks like something out of a dystopia, it’s actually the set for Beast Games, an upcoming reality TV show created by YouTuber MrBeast in partnership with Amazon MGM Studios that will be filming in Toronto under a cloud of controversy.
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is a YouTube sensation whose channel has more than 300 million subscribers, the largest on the platform. The channel is known for videos that centre around extravagant charitable giveaways or elaborate stunts, such as recreating Netflix’s Squid Game competition.
But Donaldson’s foray into television has experienced some complications, including recent concerns raised about the internal culture of his company and some issues involving earlier filming of the show.
Massive set springs up in Toronto
Beast Games will see about 1,000 participants competing for a $5 million US cash prize — the “biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming,” according to a March news release from Amazon Prime. The release called the upcoming show, which is modelled after MrBeast’s YouTube videos, the “biggest reality competition series ever.”
Drone footage taken by CBC News last week near the abandoned Downsview airport shows a large, cement tower at one end of the set, facing a group of what looks like 12 single-storey houses, set up in two rows along a road dotted with circular gardens. The entire set is surrounded by a red wall.
When asked about a MrBeast production at Downsview Park, Toronto City Hall’s film and entertainment department confirmed to CBC News that the show was filming there. Further details couldn’t be shared for “confidentiality reasons,” it added
Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment, indicating it would be open to media interviews closer to the show’s launch.
Donaldson did not respond to CBC’s request for comment.
Viral videos, numerous scandals
Many of MrBeast’s viral videos have focused on charitable actions or giveaways, such as giving a homeless person $10,000 US and funding cataract surgeries for 1,000 people. His spin-off channel, Beast Philanthropy, has garnered 26 million subscribers.
While the creator has faced criticism from those who see his good-deeds content as opportunistic, he’s largely been seen as a positive figure.
But with the creator now facing numerous scandals, that image could be cracking.
“He has, intentionally, I believe, chosen to brand himself as this beacon of kindness,” Katya Varbanova, marketing expert and founder of Viral Marketing Stars, told CBC News.
“That is what has allowed him for so long to go unscathed because everyone always said, ‘Hey, he might not be perfect, but at least he’s doing good in the world.'”
Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Donaldson had ordered a full assessment of the internal culture of his company. This came after the YouTuber admitted in July to using “inappropriate language” following the circulation of old videos that showed past racist and homophobic comments.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen participants in the first half of the Beast Games, which was reportedly filmed in Nevada for Donaldson’s YouTube channel ahead of the main production’s filming in Canada, told the New York Times earlier this month that they had experienced unexpected conditions on set, ranging from delayed meals to difficulty accessing medication.
The allegations surrounding the conditions on the set of Beast Games are just one part of MrBeast’s “cycle of PR crisis,” Varbanova said.
Scarce details on Toronto production
CBC News confirmed that Toronto’s paramedics, fire and police are all aware of the production. Toronto Fire Services said “permitting and inspections have been conducted,” while police said its explosive disposal unit had been consulted.
Exact filming dates are unknown. However, Transport Canada has issued a no-fly zone for the area, requested by “a production company,” that runs from Aug. 21 to Sept. 6, the agency told CBC News.
It is a non-union production, according to a “do not work” statement posted by ACTRA Toronto, a union that covers Toronto performers.
On a unionized set, crew are more empowered, according to John Oates, an emeritus professor of developmental psychology in the U.K. who helped create guidelines to protect people in reality TV productions.
“If you’re not in a union … you don’t have a route to raise issues without jeopardizing your position in the production,” Oates said.
One of the difficulties with producing a massive reality TV production is that it’s harder to meet the individual psychological needs of the participants, according to Oates, chair of the media ethics advisory group for the British Psychological Society.
“Often part of (reality TV) is throwing challenges at the contributors,” he said.
He told CBC News that it’s important for participants’ dignity and autonomy to be respected, even in a format that relies on shock factor.
What unfolds during filming in Toronto could be crucial for MrBeast’s reception moving forward, Varbanova said.
“I think it would be really interesting to see what happens in Toronto,” she said. “If people come out and actually tell stories that show […] improvement of working conditions, that will be the ultimate PR move.”
