When Sean Klitzner landed his first job in Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Miami, his new boss told him his alma mater is why he got the job.
“[The interviewer] told me ‘You went to the University of Miami. I understand the UM mindset,’” Klitzner said. “You can’t teach that.”
Upon graduating with a degree in film and video production, Klitzner took that expertise with him to California, the epicenter of the American entertainment industry.
And in entertainment, being a UM alum isn’t just a line on your resume — it’s the kind of currency that can open doors.
Klitzner has quietly built an eclectic résumé in the world of unscripted television and content creation in the two decades since leaving Coral Gables. Most recently, he landed as a producer and showrunner on “Beast Games,” a competition series that feels less like a game show and more like a cultural experiment.
Its debut season became one of the most-watched reality releases in 2024. When the show got renewed for season two, the pressure to prove it wasn’t a one-season phenomenon only intensified.
“The question we had was, how far would you go for what amount of money? And it evolved from there,” Klitzner said.
That philosophy didn’t stay abstract for long. They wanted shock and awe, and soon “Beast Games” became about records, sizing and spectacle.
“We broke 44 Guinness World Records,” Klitzner said. Of these broken records included the largest number of participants in a televised game show and the largest cash prize.
But for Klitzner and his team, it was missing something that would make the show truly unforgettable. That element was pressure.
“We were at the roulette table [in Las Vegas], and we wanted to recreate that emotional experience for audiences,” Klitzner said. “That’s where the coin toss came from.”
One of the most talked about moments of “Beast Games” season one was how the show ended with a coin toss. If the finalist won the toss, the prize money would double from $5 million to $10 million, but if they lost, they would walk away with nothing.
It was a finale that raised the bigger question of whether spectacle alone was enough to sustain a show like this.
So if season one was about grabbing attention, season two is about keeping it. It has the task of proving “Beast Games” isn’t just a viral trend destined to burn out, but a show capable of reshaping how entertainment is produced today.
The second season, which premiered on Jan. 7 on Amazon Prime Video, pits 100 of the strongest competitors against 100 of the smartest. It’s a carefully cast brain vs. brawn showdown with $5 million on the line.
These 200 competitors are taking part in the biggest, most jaw-dropping game show to date.
But behind the chaos, the spectacle and the record-breaking scale is a team built on effort and instinct rather than pedigree.
Klitzner describes his collaborators as how they think, how they respond when things fall apart and how serious they are about the responsibility of entertaining millions.
For him, the people around him are the backbone of the entire operation.
“I didn’t care about their resume. I cared about their mindset,” Klitzner said. “Find people that treat that north star the same way that you do.”
For Klitzner, those values are integral to the operation. On a set where chaos is part of the design, trust and clarity about their purpose is what holds the project together.
“You have to understand what the end goal really is,” Klitzner said. “You can’t teach care. Anyone who has care and integrity — that goes a long way.”
He cited the importance of working with one another to grow collectively. His brand is all about that growth, using losses as learning, as he puts it.
Klitzner believes that the growth achieved in your college years is pivotal to achieving your full potential in the creative space.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” he professed. “And almost everything you do in college is small stuff.”
That mindset, he insists, is momentum, and is exactly what today’s students should be chasing instead of perfection.
Even after two decades in the industry, Klitzner still speaks about Miami with a kind of reverence. For him, it’s not a stepping stone, but rather the foundation for his success.
Klitzner credits the U with teaching him how to take risks before he ever understood what they might cost. He carries that same belief into every project he touches.
And today, UM is where the next wave of creators is not-so-quietly shaped to him.
“Hit me up,” Klitzner said. “I’m always looking for UM students to work with.”
It isn’t nostalgia that pulls him back towards Coral Gables. It’s UM students. He sees the same restless ambition in current ’Canes that once sent him chasing a job across the country with no guarantees.
Because more than Miami being where he started, it’s where the next version of the industry is quietly incubating.
Season two of “Beast Games” promises to show just how far that mindset can take you. It demands your attention and dares you to keep it.
And for Sean Klitzner, who is brimming with an infinite amount of ideas for how he can help evolve the competition space, doing the impossible is more than a hustle for him. It’s his trademark.