“Beast Games,”, a series inspired by the popular Korean show “Squid Game,” is a testament to how many people missed the point of the original show. 

Created by a popular online creator who built his brand on the idea of wealth, “Beast Games” has a premise strikingly similar to its inspiration, but without any of the political commentary. 

James “Jimmy” Donaldson, better known by his online pseudonym MrBeast, is a YouTuber with 351 million subscribers on his main channel. 

Recently, his game show, inspired by the hit series “Squid Game,” was released.  

Predictably titled “Beast Games,” the show features 1,000 contestants competing against each other for the grand prize of $5 million. 

Similarly to the show’s inspiration, “Beast Games” challenges contestants with difficult games and challenges to narrow down the contestants. 

The show has faced a lot of criticism, both from viewers and participants. 

Much of the criticism sparks from the idea that “Beast Games” exemplifies the very issues that the original series, “Squid Game,” sets out to criticize. 

Where “Squid Game” serves as a criticism of the upper class, “Beast Games” is made by that very group. Donaldson and his friends are a startling parallel to the “Squid Game” antagonists known as ‘the VIPs,’ a group of wealthy individuals who sponsor the games for entertainment.

“Squid Game” has a large overarching commentary of the wealthy exploiting the lower classes for entertainment, and here comes “Beast Games,” a game show built on that very premise. 

There’s no question of whether or not Donaldson is rich – the vast majority of his content revolves around that fact. This makes it all the more gross that he created this show which quite literally exploits working class individuals for the sake of content. 

In trying to make a show inspired by “Squid Game,” Donaldson became the very person that the original show had aimed to criticize.