Game shows have entertained us in our home theaters for decades. Many of those participants on those shows are usually from the big cities, but for “99 to Beat,” a new game show airing on Fox, one comes from a familiar place. 

Fox is airing its new game show “99 To Beat” in the USA – the American version of the Belgian TV show called “Homo Universalis” which is about 100 contestants competing in humorous, distinctive games until one person remains, to claim a cash prize of $1 million. Out of the 100 people selected from across the nation to participate in “99 To Beat,” one called Carbondale their home for many years.

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Arvind Srinivasaraghavan, who is currently still an active player on the new Fox game show, is not only a Southern Illinois University graduate, but also a graduate of Carbondale Community High School and Giant City School. 

“I went to elementary K (kindergarten) through eight, and then I went to Carbondale Community High School, and then I went to SIU for undergrad,” Srinivasaraghavan said. “I did business management and political science minor, so I was mostly Faner Hall, Ren Hall, Lawson Hall.” 

Representing Carbondale on a national stage was an interesting experience for Srinivasaraghavan, since his fellow co-stars were from many different backgrounds, he said.

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“The other contestants, a lot of them are from New York or Los Angeles or Chicago or all these big cities, but nobody’s really from a small town,” Srinivasaraghavan said. “But going on to the national stage, I’m actually very surprised how televised (‘99 To Beat’) is.” 

Srinivasaraghavan started his “99 To Beat” journey in January of 2025 after getting laid off from his job. He originally applied for another Fox reality show called “The Floor.” He did an interview with the show’s casting director and made it to a second round interview. Srinivasaraghavan did not land a role on the show since the cast had already been finalized, but the casting agent had other plans for him.

The casting director of “The Floor” sent Srinivasaraghavan to “99 To Beat,” which began filming in London, England, in May of 2025. A week before Srinivasaraghavan left for London, his apartment complex in St. Louis, Missouri, was destroyed by a tornado and he lost everything.

“I was dealing with sadness and stress, losing all my stuff, but I only had one week before I had to go shoot overseas,” Srinivasaraghavan said. “It was kind of, it was a tough moment at that time.”

The loss of his apartment fueled Srinivasaraghavan’s performance on the show. Though he wanted to stay and help others who were affected by the tornado, he hopped on a plane heading to London to film “99 To Beat.”

Filming officially started on May 23, 2025, with a twist. Fox upped the original cash prize from $100,000 to $1 million, adding more fuel to Srinivasaraghavan’s motivation. Yet, with a 1% chance of winning the cash prize, Srinivasaraghavan was fearful.

“Well, I was honestly a little intimidated, and it was just a lot of fear, because honestly, I’m more of an intellectual guy,” Srinivasaraghavan said. “This is more like a physical game show.”

While navigating through London a few days before shooting, Srinivasaraghavan met Bethany Jones, a fellow cast member on “99 To Beat.”

“Arvind and I met almost immediately when we got to the hotel after getting to London,” Jones said. “The first thing I noticed about Arvind was how genuine he was, asking everyone questions and really wanting to get to know each of us.”

Srinivasaraghavan’s kindness in the face of challenge was a common theme on and off the set in London. James Meadows, a fellow participant on “99 To Beat,” who also tried out for “The Floor,” was Srinivasaraghavan’s teammate for one challenge. 

“I was looking around for someone to partner with. He didn’t have (a partner) either,” Meadows said. “So we just kind of chose each other and started visiting and hanging out and just had a nice time. The more we hung out and did activities together, the more we just enjoyed being together.”

Though filming ended in June of 2025, Srinivasaraghavan still keeps in contact with his fellow castmates. He visited Jones’ family and taught her family how to play a game Srinivasaraghavan invented called “Base 6.”

“My youngest son loves watching ‘99 To Beat’ each week,” Jones said. “Whenever he sees Arvind, he points and starts yelling,‘It’s Arvind! Mom, he came to our house.’”

Srinivasaraghavan can be watched in the newest episode of “99 To Beat” on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Videographer Will Elliott can be reached at [email protected].

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