Good morning. Ever thought you’d hear California Governor Gavin Newsom’s takes on geopolitical conflicts while playing Fortnite with gaming creator ConnorEatsPants? 

Neither did we. But there’s a first time for everything.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

This weekend, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson published a video recorded in 2015 titled “Hi Me In 10 Years.” 

He was 17, had 8,726 YouTube subscribers, and was supposed to be studying for a history test.

Little did he know, he was writing his own history. Now he’s the largest YouTube creator in the world, with 443 million subscribers and a business valued at $5 billion.

Here are our top takeaways from the three-minute time capsule:

1 million subscribers isn’t what it used to be. In 2015, Donaldson’s top goal was to reach 1 million subscribers by 2025 (he hit it in 2017). But the platform has changed significantly in the last 10 years—YouTube’s monthly active users have more than doubled to 2.5 billion and viewership has become more diffuse as the creator industry has matured. Increasingly, there’s a gap in the spectrum between mega-creators like Donaldson and hyper-niche creators with smaller, loyal audiences.

Consistency pays off. Donaldson has uploaded over 900 videos, nearly 100 of which came before he reached 1 million subscribers. In a video reacting to the 2015 video, Donaldson credits his consistency to his love for making YouTube videos. “If no one was watching the videos, I would still be making them,” Donaldson said.

Success is a moving target. In 2015, Donaldson said he only wanted to make a living on YouTube for him and his family. Now, he employs hundreds of people through Beast Industries—which includes his YouTube channels, Feastables, Lunchly, Beast Games, and MrBeast Labs. Between Feastables and YouTube alone, the company generated $450 million in sales last year.

Where do you want to be in your career 10 years from now? Hit reply and let us know.

Long-running TV show Dancing With the Stars recently recorded its highest viewership in five years. Are creators to thank for the sudden resurgence of this 20-year-old competition show? Season 34 cast members Alix Earle, Whitney Leavitt, and Robert Irwin seem to think so.

Zoom in: Since the season started three weeks ago, its creator cast members have released DWTS-related content across platforms. Earle uploads behind-the-scenes vlogs to her YouTube channel, and Leavitt alone has racked up 146 million views on her DWTS TikToks.

What fans are saying →

The result: Social interactions have climbed 58% from last year’s season, and fan voting has increased 163%, according to Variety. DWTS ratings rose for the second straight week since its season premiere—the first time that’s happened since the show premiered two decades ago.  

Zoom out: If viewership and social interactions continue on this trend, ABC may begin casting more digital stars over traditional celebrities—a strategy we’ve seen across the network, with the recent announcement that MomTok creator Taylor Frankie Paul will be the next lead of The Bachelorette.

Comedy creators Jamie Linn Watson, Jamie Shapiro, Nataly Aukar, Jacob Kaplan, and Alise Morales are starring in Skit—a film led by Portlandia producer Evan Shapiro (and heavily inspired by early YouTube culture) debuting on Tubi next month.

About the film: Shapiro produced Skit for just $65K under SAG-AFTRA’s Ultra Low Budget Project Agreement. It took eight days to film.

Staying ahead of the curve: Skit will stream exclusively on Tubi for 30 days following its release on November 14 before moving to other VOD platforms. Many creators like FunnyMike and Jacksepticeye have made their content available on Tubi as part of its Tubi for Creators initiative. Skit will be one of the first narrative films to take part in the program, opening the door for more similar releases.