Hey Creatorverse readers,
When Sean Klitzner first joined “Beast Games” Season 1, his goal was to try not to piss anyone off. A producer who had worked for Beast Industries from 2022 to 2025, Klitzner was tapped to be part of the Prime Video show during its early days. As the production was being helmed by a team of traditional Hollywood producers, Klitzner’s goal was to help bring the MrBeast (468 million YouTube subscribers) spin to this major streaming show.
“I walked in and was like, ‘This is not how we do things from the Beast brand standpoint,’” Klitzner told me. “Really, my position for Season 1 was tying those worlds together.”
By Season 2, Klitzner had left Beast Industries and fully embraced his role as a showrunner on “Beast Games.” That meant introducing more of the Beast method of production to a Hollywood show. Instead of producers and camera operators being siloed to their specific jobs, Klitzner encouraged collaboration across departments, asking people to share their opinions about shot compositions and telling anyone who was interested what the budget was. That hands-on approach is vital to Beast Industries as well as the creator economy as a whole.
At the same time, Klitzner took notes from the Hollywood professionals on his show, learning everything from the importance of letting contestants drive the story to the morale boost that comes from expanding craft services.
“It was eye-opening on both sides,” he said.
Klitzner’s experience is proof of what a great partnership between Hollywood and the creator industry can look like. “Beast Games,” which airs its Season 2 finale today and has already been renewed for Season 3, is the leveling up of MrBeast’s channel that the series has always promised to be. Yet the Prime Video original has become more than the sum of its parts, transitioning from just another reality show to a series that demands viewers ask themselves “What would you do for a life-changing amount of money?” Rather than relying on clean narratives, Season 2 rests in discomfort — the people who screw over dozens of new friends for cash or those who realize they aren’t as ambitious, strong or smart as they previously thought.
This collaboration is especially important as people like Klitzner understand exactly what Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers want from their content. For networks and studios, appealing to that demographic has proven to be a challenge.
“There is a lot of confusion [between Hollywood and the creator space] at this moment in time,” Klitzner said. “The future is embracing, accepting and understanding that we’re really not that far off. It’s not a production difference. It really is a mindset difference for the next generation.”
Now onto the rest.
Kayla Cobb
Senior Reporter
kayla.cobb@thewrap.com
What’s New
NBC adds Druski to “The Voice”
We’ve covered in-depth how NBC has invested in creators. Now the network is adding a major one to one of its biggest properties: “The Voice.” Druski (12.7 million TikTok followers), the comedian known for his viral partnerships with Kai Cenat (20.2 million Twitch followers) and Kevin Hart, will serve as the first-ever commentator for “The Battle of Champions” season of “The Voice.” Basically, think of Druski as a sideline reporter for the biggest music competition show around.
Roblox hit with a multi-million dollar child predator lawsuit in California
Roblox continues to be one the biggest gaming companies among younger gamers, and its woes keep compounding. The company was hit with a California lawsuit last week that claims the sandbox gaming platform created an inappropriate digital hub for children and permitted predators to exploit minors.
To the company’s credit, Roblox has been trying to solve its age problem. In early February, over 45% of Roblox’s 144 million global daily active users had already completed an age check on the platform. But now is a tough time to be in the middle of any age restriction conversation.
Cannes Lions will expand its creator program, and Substack partners with Polymarket
Over the years, creators have become a bigger part of Cannes Lions, the annual hub for marketers and brands. But this year, the festival’s creator program will be moving to the beach — prime event real estate that showcases the increasing importance of the creator ecosystem in the advertising marketplace. This year, Abode will also partner with the creator program.
Speaking of collabs, Substack this week partnered with the prediction market Polymarket. So now you can gamble through your favorite newsletters.
By the Numbers
Snap+ surpasses 25 million subscribers
Big news for Snapchat. The company predicted it will have an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion, meaning that if its direct revenue continues at this monthly pace, it’s expected to generate $1 billion throughout the year. This growth is in large part due to the success of Snap+, the company’s global consumer subscription service, which now has over 25 million members. To put that into perspective, Snapchat in general averages 946 million monthly active users worldwide.
Raptive has paid out $4 billion to creators to date
Raptive, the company that helps turn creators into digital publishers by helping them create and monetize websites, has paid out $4 billion to creators since its launch. Raptive’s network of sites reached 224 million unique viewers according to ComScore as well as 1.3 billion social followers.
Dhar Mann was a win for the Super Bowl
Ahead of Super Bowl LX, Dhar Mann (26.8 million YouTube subscribers) was appointed as the NFL’s Chief Kindness Officer. That campaign proved to be a success. The campaign generated 33 million video views and 100 million social media impressions.
Movers and Shakers
Lil Dicky, Benny Blanco and Kristin Batalucco launch digital show, “Friends Keep Secrets”
Don’t call Lil Dicky’s, aka Dave Burd, new show a podcast. The rapper and former FX star and creator of “Dave” is launching “Friends Keep Secrets” alongside Benny Blanco and his wife Kristin Batalucco. The YouTube series is being described as a talk show rigged with a houseful of camera that will include major guests like Ed Sheeran, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Rudd. But knowing Lil Dicky, this talk show will be anything but predictable.
Former Hartbeat President Bryan Smiley launches creator company focused on Gen Z men
Bryan Smiley, the former president of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, launched his own digital media company focused on Gen Z men. Hard Carry Media will help build multi-platform brands and IP from creator brands that appeal to this demographic, and its first partnership is with Full Squad (2.4 million YouTube subscribers).
TheWrap also exclusively learned this week that iHeartMedia is partnering with Whalar Group on the first creator-led podcast from these two companies. Jill Wintersteen’s “The Spirit Daughter”is expected to be the first of many creator podcasts that will come from this collaboration.
Khaby Lame’s $975 million deal is in trouble
Earlier this year, TikTok’s biggest creator Khaby Lame (160 million TikTok followers) entered into an all-stock deal with the Hong Kong-based company Rich Sparkle Holdings. That deal involved using an avatar of Lame in brand partnerships and was reportedly worth $975 million. Now it’s likely worth a lot less.
Rich Sparkle’s share price hit a high of $180 per share last month and has since dropped to $13.57 per share as of today. Lame will reportedly get 75 million new shares in Rich Sparkle as part of this deal, so it’s not like he’s struggling. There have been no formal filings indicating that this deal has closed, but I’ll be watching it.
Who to Watch
ClickForTaz
The 2026 Winter Olympics inspired some truly excellent moments, from Alysa Liu’s figure skating victory to penisgate. But the games also introduced me to one of my new favorite creators — ClickForTaz (1.6 million YouTube subscribers). Taz was invited to the Olympics as part of a partnership with YouTube and covered big events like the Men’s Snowboard Big Air Final and the Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom. But the real joy of her channel is the sincere tone of her day-in-the-life content. Taz subverts the intensity of other lifestyle creators and demonstrates why authenticity is in right now.
Bonus Content
- Chatbots Are the New Influencers Brands Must Woo (via New York Times)
- Inside Clavicular’s Thirsty Tour of New York City (via GQ)
- Kalshi Suspended a California Politician and a YouTuber for Insider Trading (via Wired)
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This report provides a weekly deep dive into the creator economy. It highlights key trends, political and technological developments, data points and industry leaders all with the goal of making you smarter about this constantly evolving space.
