Sep 8, 2025
99 TO BEAT: A contestant within the Collection Premiere of 99 TO BEAT airing Monday, Sept. 21 (9:01-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. © 2025 Fox Media LLC. CR: Jay Maidment/FOX.
Every night time thousands and thousands of Individuals tune their televisions or log onto their gadget of option to view their favourite sport present; lots of them imagining themselves within the exhilaration of the gameplay.
And now one Williamsport native will get the possibility to dwell out that dream as town’s personal Dakota McGee gears up for his look on the debut season of Fox’s “99 to Beat,” which premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 24. The present may even be accessible on Hulu the day after every episode initially airs.
Showing on a sport present has lengthy been on McGee’s radar, having beforehand made it to the ultimate spherical of auditions for MTV’s “The Actual World.”
“Sadly, I didn’t make it, and I form of put that form of stuff on the again burner,” the Tony Salon cosmetologist stated.
Then someday, McGee would get an invite in his inbox to audition for a brand new competitors present.
“They didn’t also have a title for it but, and I had no concept what it was. I simply knew it was for $100,000 and that I really like journey, so why not put my all into this and see how far I can get,” he stated.
“They usually preferred what they noticed. They preferred my enthusiasm about doing issues like that, and my Instagram is filled with completely different adventures. I’ve hiked a volcano, and achieved a variety of completely different cool issues,” McGee stated.
“I feel they noticed one thing that resonated and that they thought could be a superb match for the present,” he defined.
McGee describes the gameplay of the present as “bonkers” including that it consists of challenges he would’ve by no means envisioned.
“These challenges are simply flat out humorous, hysterical, and a few difficult for certain, got here all the way down to luck, however all of it simply got here all the way down to who can deal with the stress,” he stated.
One of many challenges noticed the 100 contestants looking the sport zone for a balloon to pop containing a hula lei, to safe a spot within the subsequent spherical.
“There have been so many balloons in that internet, it was intense, and all 100 of us have been simply operating full pace to attempt to get a hula lei out of a balloon. It’s loopy,” McGee stated.
One other problem required contestants to defrost a big block of ice by any means vital with a purpose to retrieve a whistle frozen with and blow it.
“It undoubtedly put me in a variety of compromising positions,” McGee laughed.
“There’s one other one referred to as ‘fairly penne,’ the place we’re standing at particular person tables and we now have to carry a strand of dried spaghetti in our mouths, and with out utilizing our arms, we should thread collectively seven items of dried penne pasta onto the spaghetti, however we have been solely given 10 strands to attempt with,” he stated.
McGee calls his expertise on the present one of many highlights of his life.
“I’m simply 31, and this was a reasonably large factor in my life, and it was an expertise that solely 100 different folks on this earth have,” he stated.
“It’s undoubtedly a humbling factor too, to acknowledge that I used to be combating for one million {dollars} on an enormous stage, and I did the very best I may do, and I had a lot enjoyable doing it,” McGee stated.
“On the finish of the day, these are challenges we’re doing with a complete bunch of various personalities and folks from all walks of life, so it did get wild and enjoyable. There was drama, there was pleasure, there was tears, there was simply a lot good things that you simply simply received to observe,” he stated.
“And the hosts Ken Jung and Erin Andrews have been hysterical, very variety and really all the way down to earth,” McGee continued.
“They noticed us at our worst, and undoubtedly gave us the motivation to maintain on pushing for that million {dollars} they get,” he stated.
Maybe harder than any of the present’s challenges has been McGee’s sworn secrecy about what occurred throughout his time on the present.
“It’s actually onerous to maintain retaining such massive secrets and techniques from my household,” he stated.
“I feel what makes it simple is the truth that I do know my family and friends are going to be so excited to see how issues play out, see how far I received, see if I received one million {dollars},” McGee stated.
“There’s a lot up within the air that individuals don’t know, and to have the ability to be with my family and friends and get to see them watch and determine what’s occurring on this present because it progresses, it’s tremendous thrilling,” he added.
“And I do know my family and friends are going to be so excited to see how issues play out, see how far I received and see if I received one million {dollars},” McGee stated.
“My nieces and nephews didn’t know I used to be going to movie a present. and so they nonetheless do not know, even with the promos going out proper now, I’ve saved it an enormous secret from them, as a result of I would like them to be shocked after we throw on the primary episode till they lastly see my face on the display screen,” McGee famous.
McGee encourages anybody with even the slightest curiosity of their very own to pursue that.
“The one factor holding you again is your self, and on the finish of the day, that’s not a ok cause,” he stated.
“Simply go on the market and pursue your desires, and 9 out of 10 occasions it’s going to occur just because that’s the particular person that you’re. When you’re dreaming massive, you’ll do massive,” urged.
McGee additionally harassed that the present has a universality about it.
“It’s undoubtedly a superb present to observe when you’re on the bar or hanging with your pals. You possibly can attempt these challenges at residence, and see if you are able to do them,” he stated.
“Who is aware of? When you suppose you’re ok to beat the 99 you would possibly find yourself on the following season,” he stated.
McGee invitations these tuning into the present to comply with alongside along with his journey by way of his Instagram web page at @dakotamichaelmcgee.
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