Of the many narratives that were sparked by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes this year, one idea briefly lit up headlines over the summer: Could the reality TV industry take a step closer to unionization?
After many past unionizing attempts, this moment seemed like it was the best chance for reality show producers to unite. Many hardworking non-union producers in non-fiction were miraculously pulling reality shows together even as actors and writers picketed. For some in the reality TV sector — where I’ve worked as a producer for more than a decade, including on Dancing With the Stars and Masked Singer — it was the busiest it had been in a long time as networks scrambled to fill the void that would inevitably be left on screens this fall and winter.
Throughout the months of strikes, the flaws of the industry were on full display and non-fiction producers watched as studios tried to hold onto their old Hollywood contracts, while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA fought to update them. Beyond the daily debates about streaming and AI, the strikes showed that whether you work in scripted film/TV or not, many other departments are feeling the shift in how the industry is choosing to operate in a rapidly changing entertainment market.
Even though as a whole, non-fiction producers are not part of these two unions, we could sympathize with many points that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA were fighting for. At the same time, it was concerning to see first-hand the struggle that the actors and writers had even with the power of the unions behind them. Especially since concerns about receiving better compensation and health care benefits remain issues non-fiction producers have been wanting to fix for a while but have gone unresolved because there is no union backing us.
Whether you’re a non-fiction producer who works on a union set or in post-production, it’s getting harder to accept that we’re one of the only departments unprotected by a union on a union set. Television shows are made because all departments come together and are experts in their respective field. When there are late nights, we are all there to make the best content we can, together. So, whether you are in the camera department, an editor, or a director, everyone should be paid appropriately for the service and time they put in.
However, when producers work alongside their crew on holidays, or when there are days that require overtime, or a sixth and seventh day of work, field and story producers do not get that extra compensation for those days, because they are typically paid on a flat rate (union minimum rates and regulations would help here). This has unfortunately become the norm, which is sad to say, so when negotiating rates, producers are accustomed to ask for more money based on the hours they know they will inevitably put in, only to hear that the production companies are unable to meet that number because their “budgets are shrinking this season.”
Budgets seem to be “shrinking” quite often while the job responsibilities of a story producer have expanded. That oversight does allow more creative control over an episode and to be hands-on in the edit, but when streamers started creating original content, the number of productions increased, causing companies to spread their budgets thin.
Networks also appear to be leaning heavily on story producers to achieve faster turnarounds. Instead of doing what was called a “paper cut,” which is essentially writing down the shots / story with the timecode and in the order you want the editor to cut it in, we are more hands on by going through the footage ourselves and create a “string out” of an episode or an act on our own Avid systems, before handing it off to the editor, allowing for the post production process to speed up.
Although many departments have felt the effects and have had to adjust their budgets, story producers have had few options with where to turn. After over a decade of trying to find a solution, it’s difficult to move the needle any closer in our favor with employers without being backed by a union despite reality TV becoming very much a part of our culture. The growing number of reality and competition shows being filmed and posted overseas — even though they can technically fill those positions with highly qualified professionals stateside — is yet another concern that could threaten the amount of available work for reality show producers.
With productions shipping more work overseas, there’s been a shift in the amount of jobs available. Some freelancers have been fortunate to keep a rhythm of work, while others have been noticing that the “dry spells in between shows has become unusually long” and at times it seems like it’s the new normal. This has been a cause for concern long before the strikes, but the strikes generated conversations about whether or not this way of working is here to stay and how this might shake up the production and postproduction workflow in a way we haven’t seen before. Namely, how it will affect non-union workers since they don’t have as much leverage negotiating contracts in the same way union members would have the ability to do.
In a lot of occasions on reality TV projects, there have been a handful of producers and editors who have been hired to “fix” or “clean up” the episodes that were sent abroad for post-production. Editors and producers shouldn’t only be hired as “fixers,” when they are more than capable of making a show to the caliber that the network is expecting the first time around. Collaboration is vital but not at the cost of talented people losing out on jobs. And it seems unclear if productions want to collaborate with companies overseas or if they just don’t want the cost or red tape of a union.
After all the uncertainty that this industry has faced in recent years it is important to help regenerate and build new structures. Imagine if, during this last summer of strikes, story and field producers had a union and joined SAG-AFTRA and WGA? Some would argue that this could’ve helped expedite a deal. Without a union, though, we won’t know.