Playground (web series)

*Playground*
Playground
Genre	Reality; Gaming
Presented by	Mahvash; (season 1); Rohit Varghese; (season 1-present); Benafsha Soonawalla; (season 1-2); Jaideep Sood; (season 1-present); Umang Jain; (season 2); Ocean Sharma; (season 2); Tanvi Shah; (season 2); Shreya Kalra; (season 3-present); Yuvraj Dua; (season 3-present)
Starring	Ajey Nagar; (CarryMinati); (season 1-3); Naman Mathur; (MortaL); (season 1, 3-4); Tanmay Singh; (ScoutOP); (season 1-2); Nischay Malhan; (Triggered Insaan); (season 1-2); Ashish Chanchlani; (season 2); Harsh Beniwal; (season 2); Elvish Yadav; (season 3-4); Ujjwal Chaurasia; (Techno Gamerz); (season 3); Abhishek Malhan; (Fukra Insaan); (season 3); Mithilesh Patankar; (Mythpat); (season 4); Munawar Faruqui; (season 4); Uorfi Javed; (season 4)
Country of origin	India
Original language	Hindi
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	146
Production
Production location	New Delhi
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	34-65 minutes
Production company	Rusk Media
Original release
Network	Amazon miniTV; MX Player; YouTube
Release	23 May 2022 –; present

Playground is an Indian Hindi-language reality web series, primarily available on Amazon miniTV.^[1] Premiered in May 2022, Playground series blends entertainment, live gaming, and esports.

Rusk Media claimed that the show had garnered 200 million+ views following the first season.^[2]

Concept

The series follows "players" competing in teams under the mentorship of leading gaming influencers and content creators. It involves a group of contestants who participate in various online games, competing individually and in teams, with eliminations taking place based on performance, challenges and voting.

Teams & Mentors

	Season 1	Season 2	Season 3	Season 4
Dare Dragons	Ajey Nagar (CarryMinati)	Ajey Nagar (CarryMinati)	Ajey Nagar (CarryMinati)
AAA Werewolves	Nischay Malhan (Triggered Insaan)	Nischay Malhan (Triggered Insaan)	Abhishek Malhan¹ (Fukra Insaan)	Uorfi Javed¹
OP Unicorns	Tanmay Singh (ScoutOP)	Tanmay Singh (ScoutOP)	Naman Mathur (MortaL)	Naman Mathur (MortaL)
Power Phoenixes	Naman Mathur (MortaL)	Harsh Beniwal		Munawar Faruqui
KO Krakens		Ashish Chanchlani	Elvish Yadav	Elvish Yadav
Raging Centaurs			Ujjwal Chaurasia (Techno Gamerz)	Mithilesh Patankar (Mythpat)

^ In Season 3 and Season 4, AAA Werewolves entered mid-season.

Season Overview

Season	Episodes	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	First aired	Last aired
1	28	May 24, 2022 (2022-05-24)	June 20, 2022 (2022-06-20)
2	28	January 30, 2023 (2023-01-30)	February 26, 2023 (2023-02-26)
3	45	March 17, 2024 (2024-03-17)	April 27, 2024 (2024-04-27)
4	TBA	August 29, 2024 (2024-08-29)	TBD

Playground Season 4

Hosts

Hosts	Shreya Kalra	Casters	Valence Kundra	Game Master	Jaideep "JD" Sood
	Yogesh Dua		Valence Kundra
	Rohit Varghese		Krat

Contestants

Team	Mentor(s)	Contestants	Player Leaderboard	Gaming Leaderboard	Notes	Status
Raging Centaurs	Mythpat	Vaibhav D.	1.57M	590
		Pragya "Winter" V.	1.07M	155
		Pankaj R.	942K	140		Eliminated (Episode 39)
		Ginni P.	Swapped; Shobhika B. AAA Werewolves (Episode 32)
		Shobhika B.	1.22M	—
Power Phoenixes	Munawar Faruqui	Shobhika B.	1.22M	—
		Farhan K.	1.27M	505		Eliminated (Episode 39)
		Aryansh K.	Swapped; Armaan S. OP Unicorns (Episode 32)
		Riya P.	448K	65	None	Eliminated (Episode 11)
		Unnati P.	Wildcard¹ (Episode 13) Swapped; Khyati S. KO Krakens (Episode 32)
		Armaan S.	1.29M	1320
		Khyati S.	1.02M	—
OP Unicorns	Mortal	Gauri G.	Swapped; Diya B. KO Krakens (Episode 32)
		Mohit	1.34M	865
		Pragya P.	297K	—	None	Eliminated (Episode 11)
		Armaan S.	Swapped; Aryansh K. Power Phoenixes (Episode 32)
		Aryansh K.	1.24M	720
		Diya B.	1.35M	165
KO Krakens	Elvish Yadav	Vipul S.	480K	120	None	Eliminated (Episode 11)
		Diya B.	Swapped; Gauri G. OP Unicorns (Episode 32)
		Bharat M.	00	—	None	Injured; Walked (Episode 7)
		Khyati S.	Swapped; Unnati P. Power Phoenixes (Episode 32)
		Vaibhav "Charlie" V.	665K		Wildcard¹ (Episode 12)
		Nitin G.	465K	375	Wildcard¹ (Episode 13)	Eliminated (Episode 39)
		Unnati P.		935K	—
		Gauri G.	927K	—	None	Injured; Walked (Episode 33)
		Gaurav "BT Android" S.			Wildcard (Episode 33)
		Gaurav "BT Android" S.			Ticket To Finale (Episode 41)
AAA Werewolves²	Uorfi Javed	Vanshaj S.		390	Wildcard (Episode 18)
		Shobhika B.	Re-entered (Episode 18) Swapped; Ginni P. Raging Centaurs (Episode 32)
		Himanshu A.		420	Wildcard (Episode 18)	Eliminated (Episode 39)
		Ginni P.	1.19M	—

^ Wildcard contestants Charlie, Unnati P. and Nitin G. received a powerup card that can double their earned rumbles for a week.
^ AAA Werewolves led by mentor Uorfi entered as wildcard.

Kill Zone

Team	Contestant
Team	Week 1	Week 2
Raging Centaurs	Vaibhav D. Pragya V. Pankaj R. Ginni P.	Pankaj R.	Ginni P.
Power Phoenixes	Riya P.	Farhan K.	Shobhika B.
OP Unicorns	~~Mohit~~ Pragya P.	Gauri G.	Armaan S.
KO Krakens	Vipul S. Diya B. ~~Bharat M.~~ Khyati S.	Khyati S.	Charlie
Eliminated	Bharat
	Riya P. Pragya P. Vipul S.

Wooden Spoon Count

Team	Match Day	Round	Contestant(s)	Notes
Raging Centaurs	Heats 3	Gang Beasts	Vaibhav D.	None
	Match Day 4	Asphalt	Vaibhav D.






Power Phoenixes	Heats 2	Shadow Fight	Farhan K.	None
	Championship Day 1	Invrse Cricket	Farhan K.


OP Unicorns	Match Day 5	Invrse Cricket	Mohit	None
OP Unicorns				None
KO Krakens	Heats 1	Naraka	Vipul S.	None




AAA Werewolves				None

Game Day Win Tally

Team	Match Day	Round	Team Leaderboard	Notes
Raging Centaurs	Heats 1	Naraka	11.08M	None
Power Phoenixes			11.43M	None

	Match Day 15	Pokemon Unite
OP Unicorns	Heats 2	Shadow Fight	12.39M	None
	Heats 3	Gang Beasts
	Match Day 4	Asphalt






KO Krakens	Match Day 5	Invrse Cricket	11.99M	None
AAA Werewolves	Match Day 17	Shadow Fight	12.00M	None

Hero Xtreme MVP Of The Day

Team	Contestant	Match Day	Round	Notes
OP Unicorns	Armaan S.	Heats 1	Naraka	None
OP Unicorns	Armaan S.	Heats 2	Shadow Fight
OP Unicorns	Armaan S.	Heats 3	Gang Beasts
OP Unicorns	Armaan S.	Match Day 4	Asphalt	₹10,000
KO Krakens	Nitin G.	Match Day 5	Invrse Cricket	₹10,000
KO Krakens	Charlie	Championship Day 1	Invrse Cricket	₹10,000

Hero Xtreme Challenger Of The Week

Week	Team	Contestant	Match Day	Notes
2	OP Unicorns	Armaan S.	Championship Day 1	None

MAAC Skill Player Of The Day

Team	Contestant	Match Day	Round	Notes
Power Phoenixes	Unnati P.	Match Day 5	Invrse Cricket	None

Techno Gamer Of The Day

Team	Contestant	Match Day	Round	Notes
KO Krakens	Nitin G.	Match Day 5	Invrse Cricket	"Techno Camon 30" Phone

Legend

Week	Round	Team	Contestant(s)	Notes
1	Dominos	OP Unicorns	Armaan S.	400K; Immunity Shield
		Raging Centaurs	Cancelled	None
		KO Krakens	Cancelled	None
		Power Phoenixes	Farhan K.	100K
	Carry Bot Activity	Raging Centaurs	Ginni P.	300K
2	Distractions	Raging Centaurs	Vaibhav D.	400K; Immunity Shield
		OP Unicorns	Mohit	300K
		Power Phoenixes	Farhan K.	200K
		KO Krakens	Charlie	100K (x2, Powerup card)

STAR Power Friday

Week	Round	Contestant(s)	Notes
1	Roast Battle	Khyati S.	600K
		Gauri G.	300K
		Shobhika B.	100K
2	Talent Night	Ginni P.	500K
		Gauri G. and Pragya V.	250K, 250K
		Vaibhav V. and Diya B.	250K, 250K
		Mohit and Pankaj R.	250K, 250K

Weekend Misc. Gaming Challenge

Week	Round	Team	Contestant(s)	Notes
1	Street Fighters Showdown	Raging Centaurs	Vaibhav D.	"Techno Entertainment Arena" access key to shoot a reel with teammates and mentor

Outdoor Gaming Challenge

Week	Round	Team	Notes
1	Cart League	Power Phoenixes	1M
1	Cart League	KO Krakens	1M
2	Slippery Basketball	Power Phoenixes	60% of 1.5M, 900K
		OP Unicorns	90% of 1.5M, 450K
		Raging Centaurs	10% of 1.5M, 150K

Misc. Challenge

Week	Round	Contestant	Notes
2	Sumo Wrestling	Pragya V.	Gauri G.’s 200K
		Shobhika B.	Khyati S.’s 200K
		Diya B.	Ginni P.’s 200K

Guest appearances

Ep.	Guests	Notes
10	Aashish Solanki	Judge, Star Power Friday Roast Battle
12	Chirag "Pingu" Nagru	Playground S3 winner; To introduce Vaibhav "Charlie" V.
13	Lovekesh Kataria	Judge, Sumo Wrestling; To introduce Unnati P. and Nitin G.
16	Ritvik Sahore and Gayatri Bhardwaj	Judge, Star Power Friday Talent Night; To promote their web series Highway Love 2
17	Harsh Beniwal	Special Guest; Mentor OP Unicorns

Reception

The series was well received, especially by the gaming community in India, for its innovative format that integrates gaming into the reality show genre.

Accolades

Award	Year	Season	Category	Result	Ref(s)
Filmfare OTT Awards	2023	Season 2	Best Non – Fiction Original (Series)	Nominated	^[3]

References

^ "Amazon miniTV to stream first-ever gaming entertainment show, 'Playground'". 26 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
^ "Rusk Media raises $9.5 million in funding led by Audacity VC, DAOL Investment". Retrieved 2024-03-05.
^ "Nominations for the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: Full list out". Retrieved 2024-03-05.

[1] "Amazon miniTV to stream first-ever gaming entertainment show, 'Playground'". 26 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-06.

[2] "Rusk Media raises $9.5 million in funding led by Audacity VC, DAOL Investment". Retrieved 2024-03-05.

[3] "Nominations for the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: Full list out". Retrieved 2024-03-05.

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