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MrBeast's new Amazon game show celebrates premiere with big Houston bash

MrBeast's TV show is being celebrated in Houston.

MrBeast/Facebook

If there is a king of YouTube, it's Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast. Now, his new Prime Video competitive reality series, Beast Games, is coming to Houston for the end of a massive tour celebrating the endeavor this Thursday, December 19.

The 26-year-old Donaldson gained widespread fame online for his videos, many of which involved large giveaways. As of 2024, he has over 330 million subscribers on YouTube, the most of any single user. That fame allowed him to partner with Amazon to produce Beast Games.

A chimera of various reality show challenges with a little extra MrBeast magic mixed in, Beast Games is a white-knuckle experience. With $5 million on the line, a thousand contestants face off in a variety of challenges. These could be anything from dangling off a building to spending time in an actual asylum to being hunted by U.S. Navy Seals. All of it is hosted by MrBeast and set to premiere on Thursday, December 19.

The Houston event is the capstone of a weeklong tour around the world hyping up the show. It began on New York City with a massive drone show, and then globetrotted through Toronto, Buenos Aries, Sydney, Berlin, Istanbul, and Los Angeles.

For the final stop in Houston, the tour will take place at Discovery Green and will be open to the public. The tour partnered with the Houston First Corporation to help stage the event. There will be a large drone light show, music by DJ Mohawk Steve, a comedy set from Chinedu Ogu, a synchronized lighting display from the building surrounding Discovery Green, and a screening of the first two episodes of the 10-episode series. Sadly, MrBeast will not be in attendance, organizers tell CultureMap.

MrBeast has channeled a great deal of his fame into charity. Through his Beast Philanthropy organization, he has distributed millions of free meals, dug wells in areas deprived of fresh water, and aided amputees with therapy and prosthetics. While his videos and Beast Games sometimes have the air of a circus act, it remains one with heart that puts a great deal of good into the world.

The Holidays Are Brutal

Free holiday rage room lets Houstonians smash the stress of the season

Photo courtesy of Pluto TV

Get ready to drop-kick that pile of presents.

Be honest: Are the holidays getting to you yet? Does the stress of shopping, wrapping, traveling, visiting, cooking, baking, decorating, and moving that darn Elf around have you ready to break something?

Instead of attacking your lawn decorations like Clark Griswold, channel that festive frustration into a safe and controlled catharsis. For one day only, Pluto TV, the free streaming service from Paramount, is bringing a free pop-up rage room experience to Houston. Yes, free (though you do have to RSVP).

On Thursday, December 11, from 4-10 pm, visitors can step into a holiday-themed rage room and unleash their inner action star by smashing ornaments, drop-kicking wrapping-paper disasters, and “decking” the halls.

The tie-in is Pluto TV’s new “Holidays Are Brutal” collection, an assembly of 70-plus action films including Charlie’s Angels, Bad Boys, Rush Hour, The Expendables, Gladiator, and others that are featured all December long.

It's all going down at Break Life, a year-round rage room located at 5805 Centralcrest St., Houston.

Four rage rooms are available for the holiday experience on December 11. Each session is 30 minutes and accommodates up to four people, who must all be 18 and over. Reserve your slot here.

Rage rooms were invented in Japan in 2008, first as art installations before opening as commercial endeavors worldwide in the mid-2010s.

They really had a moment pre-pandemic, with The Real Housewives of Dallas even visiting one in 2018 (season 3, episode 6, in case you're interested) and The Bachelorette's Becca and Blake smashing it up in season 14 with some help from rapper Lil Jon.

The Houston holiday rage room is one of several that Pluto TV is hosting around the country this season; they're also popping up in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Fort Worth, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Raleigh-Durham. Find out more on their website.

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