Reality Show Writers Sue Hollywood Producers

Finally admitting what we’ve all known for quite a while, those who work behind the scenes at reality tv shows are coming out of the shadows, saying that they actually do script what is going on in series such as  The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Real Gilligan’s Island, and other “spontaneous” television fare. Further they are suing various networks and production companies including CBS, ABC, WB, Next Entertainment, and TBS, alleging that producers routinely violate labor laws in an effort to get work out of the writers without adequate breaks or meals, and forcing them to submit inaccurate time cards. The Writers’ Guild of America is helping the plaintiffs in their suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday.  See an AP story here.

The writers’ legal salvo is only the latest in a series of proceedings assailing the growing reality tv industry. In early June, a New Jersey judge certified a class action lawsuit over the 2001 documentary Trauma: Life in the ER. See a story here.  ABC’s Welcome to the Neighborhood, a reality series proposed for the summer, was a lawsuit waiting to happen until it was pulled from the network’s schedule. The creators of Wife Swap (UK) and Fox’s Trading Spouses squabbled over who infringed whom (see a write-up on the ruling here at Eric Goldman’s blog).

And abroad, the French reality show, La Ferme Célébrités, based on the U.K./U.S. show, The Farm, was sued over the death of animals used on its show. See coverage in the Guardian here.

See more about reaction about ABC’s Welcome to the Neighborhood here.