The hottest new reality show can be found on YouTube. That’s where the Sidemen have dropped five episodes of Inside, which combines the energy of Love Island with the setting of Big Brother and the brisk pace of creator content.
Inside features a cast of characters that ranges from social media stars to traditional TV celebrities. The players — including creators like Joe Weller and Fanum and reality vets like Love Island‘s Chloe Burrows — live with one another in a house set and compete in regular challenges. Depending on how the group performs in the challenges, money is subtracted from a prize pool that begins at £1 million (approximately $1.27 million). By “buying” luxuries like hot showers, tea, and snacks, the contestants take even more money away from the ultimate prize.
The first episode of Inside hit the main Sidemen YouTube channel on June 2. Like most videos published by the U.K.-based supergroup, whose seven members collectively reach tens of millions of subscribers across their respective channels, the Inside premiere was an instant hit. It has garnered over nine million YouTube views thus far.
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Further episodes have moved to the secondary MoreSidemen channel, but that shift hasn’t stunted the popularity of the new show. The five installments released thus far have hauled in more than 20 million views so far, and that’s just on YouTube. Additional traffic is coming through the membership service Side+, where fans of KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and Wroetoshaw can watch bonus scenes and uncensored episodes.
Inside has one of the U.K.’s most prominent reality shows in its DNA. The presence of a Love Island cast member on the show continues an ongoing partnership between the Sidemen and the ITV-broadcast sensation. The group previously brought its cereal brand to the Love Island house, where residents can now enjoy the Best breakfast.
“We’ve always grown up in the UK and watched reality TV throughout our whole childhoods, from Big Brother to Love Island to I’m a Celebrity,” Sidemen member Vik Barn, who is also known as Vikkstar123, told the BBC. “We were thinking, ‘OK, this year, what is our new project?’ Why not have a stab at our own spin on a reality TV show?”
Inside combines that love for reality TV with the sort of polished production that has become common in the Sidemen’s MrBeast-inspired videos. That’s a marriage that makes more sense than most of the couples that met on Love Island — not that I’m a hater or anything.
