Today, the reality TV industry is “brutal,” “unsettled,” and “transitioning,” with production “choked” and “shrinking” and shows “nearly impossible” to sell, all inside a culture of “fear.”
These descriptions, and those in the headline, are not my words: They’re the words of people who make reality television describing what’s happening right now behind the scenes. As one person told me, “I won an Emmy and haven’t worked since.”
In recent months, I’ve encountered so many stories, both in conversations and in the trade press about how the reality TV industry is suffering (a “bleak” “slump”; “on life support”). I wanted to hear directly from the talented people whose work shapes what we see on screen, from the idea stage to the editing bay.
From our perspective as viewers looking at, say, what premiered this summer and what’s coming this fall, the landscape may not seem all that different. Then again, there are visible signs of cost-slashing, from cancellations to Survivor permanently dropping 13 days from its filming schedule.
To solicit the most honest reactions—and because the business is still mostly freelance and relationship-driven—I asked people to share their stories and perspectives. I promised to identify participants only by their self-identified role, such as showrunner or story producer. (Several people have the same role, which is why there are duplicate labels, and titles may not reflect the same person from question to question.)
Their answers are below. Among the people represented are multiple Emmy winners; people who’ve worked in unscripted TV for more than 25 years, creating some of reality television’s most iconic shows; and people who grew up with reality TV and are earlier in their careers. There are production company executives and producers who live in hotel rooms producing in the field.
While I reached out to a wide range of people who produce network and streaming shows, from those who own production companies and those who are freelance, this is still a limited, anecdotal survey.
I’m grateful for the respondents’ time, insight, and expertise—never mind all the reality TV they’ve helped to create over the years. Their perspectives and experiences are different, but I think it’s fair to say that whether someone is working from an office or in the field, their jobs are much more difficult and much less secure than they were a few years ago.
This is the first part of a series I’ll be running this week. The second and third parts:
- What reality TV producers think about unionizing crew—and reality show stars
- The reality shows producers watch and admire—and the best part of their work
How the reality TV industry is doing now
Andy Dehnart: In a word/phrase/sentence, what’s the state of the unscripted TV industry right now?
Co-executive producer: It’s brutal. The leanest I’ve seen it since I started working in unscripted TV in 2006.
I have a job right now, so I’m one of the lucky ones. I have more friends out of work than any time I can remember. Really talented people.
A lot of the showrunners that usually hire me are hitting up me for work. One showrunner that has hired me on lots of projects is now delivering Uber Eats. Another one took a job at Home Depot.
My mentor—a showrunner who has hired me on multiple National Geographic projects—texted me last month that he had been laid off after two decades with NatGeo. Disney (parent company of NatGeo) is liquidating reality shows left and right.
Veteran showrunner: We are experiencing massive contraction—fewer shows, heavy reliance on proven hits and formats, and not much of an appetite to taking chances—even with big IP attached.
Unscripted TV executive: Shambles. Anecdotally, I have friends who’ve not worked in years.
Supervising producer: I know more unemployed people than employed.
Showrunner: Unsettled
Producer: Transitioning
Executive producer: Chaos
Development executive:
Story producer: Discombobulated/inconsistent. It used to be that if you were looking for work, you could call up a few of your industry friends, pass your resumé around, and within a few weeks, you’d have a new job. That does not seem to be the standard anymore. It also was not uncommon for you yourself to get contacted by people who needed someone to start on a job tomorrow/Monday/next week.
Today, you will be getting hit up by people that haven’t worked in 6+ months and are in desperate need of a job (or anything). And after a few months, those same people will hit you up again because they still can’t find any work.
A lot of “veteran” producers and editors have taken to LinkedIn & other job sites to explain just how bad it’s gotten for them, some having left the industry altogether. It’s not clear to me whether their lack of work stems from
- a complete inability to find anything or
- their rates being too high, and thus, they are passed over for someone with a lower rate. (Rates are always hush-hush and rarely discussed, so it’s a tricky subject!)
I’d also argue that, while streaming services have created a lot of new, unscripted series, very few of them go on to achieve the longevity that keeps producers/editors working (rolling on to the next subsequent season).
A show like American Idol used to run pre-production from September and then air the show from January to May. That’s basically a full year’s worth of work with a built-in summer vacation.
Streamers are happy to introduce shiny new hit shows like The Traitors (Peacock) or revive beloved franchises like The Mole (Netflix), but the budgets are small, the schedules are way shorter, and so workers can’t rely solely on them to survive like was once more common. Plus, a lot of these new shows are not filming back-to-back seasons (like Survivor) and are lucky to survive past maybe three or four seasons, if that.
Development executive: Brutal. Layoffs are constant, production companies are shuttering, and industry veterans are being forced to change careers or move back home. Many including myself are grappling with the fear of being next, doubting ourselves, and questioning what the career alternatives are if our hand is forced.
Casting producer: Choked. New shows are not being greenlit because the merry-go-round of corporate execs don’t know where the chips are going to fall. The chips are viewers. YouTube and Tiktok are itching the scratch for “real” people, making shows on streamers and cable nearly obsolete.
Showrunner: Shrinking. Budgets are getting smaller. Shoots are getting shorter. Episode orders are being reduced.
Executive in charge of casting: “Brave New World”—a period of transformative restructuring.
Showrunner: I keep thinking about the Thomas Friedman book, The World Is Flat. The business has become globalized. You can shoot and edit a show anywhere in the world—saving valuable dollars—without much loss of quality. And now every network and streamer is jumping on board. So there are less shows being made here and those that are have less USA positions available.
We are also reverting back to a normal amount of production. The days of streamers giving tons of producers a big budget to make shows are gone. They were all working in a fiscally irresponsible way because the business became uncoupled from having to be profitable. Or even successful! Places like HBO Max were giving huge budgets and multiple seasons to shows that a ridiculous pittance of people were watching. Why? To give the impression of success and hopefully keep those stock prices humming. That is no longer the mission. Now everyone can only take so many swings. So less is being made.
How reality TV production is affected
Andy Dehnart: Has the slowdown and/or budget cuts affected your work? If so, how?
Showrunner: Everything needs to happen more quickly to save money. But the danger is that real reality takes time to unfold. So we find ourselves producing the reality more then we’d like.
Producer: Yes, very much so. I work on a hit franchise where rates have been slashed and episode orders have been reduced. And that makes me lucky, as many colleagues have been out of work entirely for a year or more.
The lack of work is causing producers to stay, unhappily, in jobs they have outgrown and so new talent ready to step into those roles are being denied those opportunities. When an AP has worked hard for you for two seasons and you can’t help them get out of that role, it’s embarrassing, and unfair. I feel very stuck in one place, and at the same time, lucky to be there.
Showrunner: For sure. The main thing is budgets. All costs are needing to come down. Ratings these days can’t justify a huge outlay of money.
That means everything is harder—less time for pre-production, less staff to make shows, less days to shoot, less time to edit.
On top of that, so much is being shot overseas. Again, those crews are often excellent at what they do, but it does require more effort to make the shows. You have to train them up to be more American. Especially if you end up editing with foreign editors. They have to learn to edit shows in a more American style, which can be a lot of work.
Executive producer: Yes, especially for producers who specialize in original programming and creating first-season shows. New ideas and formats are not being made. I’ve seen some of the greatest ideas end up in the waste bin lately.
This is because flagship programming or limited shows with IP/celebrity are the only programming currently being greenlit. I heard somewhere that nine out of 10 unscripted shows in production have been on the air for at least a decade.
Development executive: Yes. We no longer have positions for the majority of freelancers we’ve employed for over a decade, our internal staff has been consolidated numerous times, and the new business opportunities have reduced by over 70 percent.
What was once a volume business that served a wide range of niche audiences and that embraced both creativity and risk is now a one-size-fits-all market overly reliant on oft-contrived or ephemeral data.
There used to be a hundred diverse, tangible targets per year at which everyone could throw darts and land a bullseye or two with some superlative research, preparation and imagination. Now, there are about five and they’re precariously positioned in a persistently oscillating house of mirrors.
Supervising producer: I have luckily not been affected directly. I am on a long-running series that offers the potential for multiple jobs. I have noticed the insane decline in demand for fun new shows. Everything is pivoting to game show/ challenge show, or good IP.
Most things are switching to studio only, too. There is a lot less field work. Just look at A&E now: half of, if not more, of their lineup is interview clip shows. I am worried if my current show does not get renewed, I’ll be making clip shows or even worse, out of a job.
Executive in charge of casting: The industry is always evolving, and this current phase is no different. While experiencing significant restructuring, I view these challenges as opportunities to innovate and adapt.
Despite reduced budgets and tighter timelines, I’ve embraced the need to pivot and rely on my and my team’s capabilities. I’m working longer hours and sometimes sacrificing my salary to support my team, but I see this as a valuable investment in our future success.
Development executive: The slowdown and budget cuts have significantly impacted my work, forcing us to be more resourceful with limited budgets and often move productions overseas to save costs. This shift challenges the quality and authenticity of the content. Additionally, networks and streamers are even more risk-averse, focusing on renewing existing series rather than investing in unproven ideas. This makes it nearly impossible to sell fresh concepts.
Story producer: Luckily, I have been able to keep working throughout the last few years (even after relocating from Los Angeles). A production company that I’ve worked for on-and-off since 2018 has really had my back and continued providing me with opportunities to work.
The major difference today is that I’m not getting hit up by people asking me to come work on their new show, which used to happen a few times a month.
Where a lot of producers used to be able to pick and choose between multiple offers (and hop around to different companies), most of the ones I talk to today are just happy to have anything at all.
I would argue that I am one of the luckier ones: I’m a single person without kids who doesn’t live in Los Angeles, and it’s the married/with kids people living in LA who seem to have been impacted the most by budget cuts and staff reductions.
Unscripted TV executive: Yes. As work has been scarce, I’ve had to relocate outside of Los Angeles and have been working with a new company.
Showrunner: I’m investing heavily in international co-production. I think that’s the future. I feel bad for my many friends who work in the business in the US, but there is so much more opportunity outside the US in terms of co-financing and local incentives…but to get those you need to produce in those places.
Co-Executive Producer: Absolutely. There are fewer shows to work on. Shows are getting smaller episode orders, and the budgets per episode are shrinking drastically.
Cable TV is dying, and streaming is not a viable business model. Most of the streaming platforms are hemorrhaging money and don’t have enough subscribers to stay afloat. So I don’t see any signs of this getting better soon.
Example from Discovery:
- In 2022, the network ordered 40 hours of original content for Shark Week.
- In 2023, they ordered 12 hours. (Not sure what it was in 2024, but I believe it was similar.)
Thank David Zaslav and his strategy of making less content, and stretching it farther. Discovery decided that they could still do Shark Week, but rely mostly on repeats from their vast catalogue rather than new episodes. I’ve worked on a lot of shark shows over the years, and so have my friends. None of them worked on Shark Week projects the last two years, because there aren’t as many shows being made. But Shark Week is still HUGE for Discovery!
As cable TV slowly dies off, this is the new normal.
Despite inflation, the budgets per episode are staying the same or reducing. And with smaller episode orders, the fixed costs of producing a season of the show stay the same, so there’s less money overall. The talent keeps negotiating higher payments. So we produce the shows with less. Fewer shoot days, smaller crews, tighter budgets.
I feel like we’re enabling the networks and the production companies by managing to make a quality product with smaller crews and fewer resources.
Casting producer: I won an Emmy and haven’t worked since. The halting of production first started in January of 2023 with the beginning whispers of the writers’ strike. I did a lot of work on pilots and proofs of concept.
Networks just aren’t taking a chance on new shows anymore. They aren’t gambling on passion projects. Even after the strikes, all the shuffling around at the corporate level has paralyzed any forward movement. We all ate up content during quarantine, which gave a false sense of security to the streamers and now that our attention is elsewhere, the bubble has burst and the streamers have realized they have a model that’s not sustainable—and their investors are pissed. With inflation across the land, it’s very easy for households to cancel their subscriptions, maybe only focusing on one or two at a time. Even rich people are losing money and they are punishing the working class.
Productions have started moving to states with better tax incentives. Los Angeles, the city rooted in the entertainment industry, now stands to fall into disarray and poverty because work is going to places like Atlanta, Vancouver, Louisiana, New Mexico, the list goes on. We’re being beat.
People outside the industry always are shocked the strikes affected so many jobs. It wasn’t just the writers and actors. It was the guy who rents the trailers, the lady with the catering company, the dry cleaners who do the costumes, all of their employees. And when these people don’t have an income any more, who suffers? They don’t go out to eat, so less tips for servers. They cut down on gas and mileage for their cars, so they don’t go to the mechanic and they don’t spend money on leisure activities. And so on and so on. And now they cancel streaming subscriptions and we hit full circle. Everyone loses.
The entire working class in Los Angeles has been turned into zombies. I can see it in our faces at the grocery store. I feel it when every friend I make a plan to hang out with bails at the last minute. We. Are. Zonked. I know showrunners who are driving for Uber Eats. I am one degree of separation from two suicides. I’ve given up my apartment and moved in with family two hours away from my partner and social life while I figure out how to escape the industry.
I feel like I’ve graduated TV and am okay leaving a fulfilling creative job I’m amazing at, but in the tight job market in other industries it’s proven impossible to even get a call back. My savings is gone, I’m on food stamps and am about to be sued by my credit card company. I’ve never in life had bad credit and now I have to think about bankruptcy. I can survive one year of an industry stall out, but there’s no way I can survive two.
The major obstacles producers face
Andy Dehnart: What’s the biggest challenge you face in your job?
Showrunner: The biggest challenge is that networks and streamers want to make shows in less time, with less money—often with foreign crews —but want the exact same quality that they are accustomed to seeing.
Executive in charge of casting: Patience! Balancing living expenses while the industry adjusts is challenging, but it has taught me resilience and responsibility. Reflecting on my career, the past demanded 60- to 80-hour work weeks with no holidays or weekends. I juggled multiple roles without a team, which left little room for a personal life. However, those sacrifices led to greater budgets and profits.
Today, corporate structuring allows for larger teams, regular hours, and more flexibility, attracting new talent and raising base salaries. The key is relying on experience, reputation, and delivering great content. Despite unscripted television being likened to AM radio, which I vehemently disagree with, I firmly believe in the enduring need for visual media content with captivating casting and compelling storytelling.
Showrunner: Selling is the biggest challenge. No one gets fired for saying no, only for saying yes.
Development executive: The biggest challenge is moving projects from development deals to full production greenlights. While I’m fortunate that some networks are still buying projects from me, they’re doing so at lower costs, forcing production companies to dip further into our shrinking development budgets or work for free in hopes of a greenlight. This often results in development steps that seem nearly impossible to transition into a series pickup.
The cost-cutting measures have had a ripple effect on the very people who create the content that networks desperately need. Most of our colleagues are facing layoffs or are being forced to work under increasingly difficult conditions—juggling too many responsibilities, ruining work/life balance, and harming mental health—resulting in a steep decline in happiness and morale.
Showrunner: Fear. Executives are afraid to take chances on new ideas. Executives are afraid to let real reality unfold. Reality TV has always benefited from a “I have no idea what is going to happen, but let’s let it play out, and see what we get” approach. That’s where the magic comes from. But this approach takes a certain level of confidence and patience that doesn’t exist in a fear-based environment.
Story producer: The biggest challenge of my job these days would be the shrinking schedules. There are so many different variables when putting a show together, but time is probably the most important.
An hour-long episode of TV used to be given anywhere from a 10-to-12-week schedule to complete. Today, we’re talking 8-weeks if you’re lucky, but possibly even less. It can take a week or two alone to just watch and sort through raw footage—as we all know, hundreds of
hours of footage gets whittled down to minutes, seconds—but when there’s no time to do even that, a lot of tiny nuggets can get missed and that can affect the story.
Executive producer: At this point, keeping a sustainable career. It’s feast or famine. And the money you make during the feast, you later use up during the famine. So you’re never getting ahead. At best, you’re breaking even.
Development executive: Identifying and securing new outside-the-box revenue streams, keeping talented individuals both inspired and employed, and competing against international IP, because no matter how identical it may be to what’s being presented to the US market, it’s always going to be cheaper and often has the advantage of precedent—both of which buyers crave to stave off risk.
Casting producer: If I do make it to another TV job and things start back up again, our biggest problem will be that our pay rates will be slashed. Younger, greener candidates with less experience will eat up the crumbs of pay that will be offered and the artists who have been doing these jobs for years as a lifelong career will be pushed out. Want to go back to work? You’ll take what they give you. It’s so disrespectful. The quality of the art will die and maybe even the unscripted medium as a whole. It’s going to turn into America’s Next Top Influencer hosted by Deadpool.
Supervising producer: 1st. Security. The fear of a good paying and fun show to remain on the air. But all good shows come to an end.
2nd. People. Even if you are a great employee, you are just a number in a spreadsheet. Easily replaced too. It’s never been what you know. It’s who you know that keeps you employed.
Producer: Work from home has killed the culture of our industry. Production companies have become ghost towns and they’re not going back. We’re more productive working from home; it’s so much cheaper and no one really wants to go back five days a week.
But in what is still a relationship-dependant industry, no one is making new meaningful connections, especially in post-production. In a time of so much upheaval in the marketplace, our personal networks are tied to a pre-pandemic world. Information doesn’t flow like it used to. People just don’t think of each other when they hear of jobs.
And basic civility is way down. A good executive producer would never walk by one of their employees every day for an entire season and never say hello once, but that’s now standard operating procedure. Out of sight, out of mind.
I’ve worked for the same franchise for seven seasons and haven’t formed a single personal relationship. I wouldn’t dream of asking one for a recommendation. I’m guilty of it as well. At a time when producers need to band together, we’ve never been more isolated from one another. And for those of us who got into this business to collaborate, it’s just not fun.
Unscripted TV executive: Believing in the market demand for new content.
Co-executive producer: Pulling off shoots with smaller budgets, fewer shoot days, smaller crews, and less money. For the last few years: keeping steady employment.
I didn’t have a job for four months in 2024 (January to April). I tried to find another TV gig, but most of the showrunners who would usually hire me are out of work too. It’s never been this bad.
I am looking to transition out of the industry. I have spent as much as 10 months a year on the road filming TV shows for over a decade, and I’m feeling burned out and ready to have a more stable life.
When “reality” started it killed the TV industry demanding more work at lower pay from everyone, they replaced documentaries and big budgets with reality while producers and distribution did well. Crews got younger with less experience and quality suffered as quantity went up. Then they required more quality, which turned into a free-for-all. Enter cable and a huge demand for content with more quality. There was more job security until streaming and who knows what the next step will be. I wonder what will happen with the huge sports deals. Like everything what is old is new again if you live long enough! Just a thought while watching from the side lines for years now.
As a Californian, I wish our governor would focus on keeping business in state. Instead of banning fucking plastic bags.
This was very insightful, and sad to read. I’m sorry for everyone. I hope it turns around. And thank you to any and all of you who work/have worked on shows that I love.
When less people watch what we make, buyers spend less money on making it.
Combine that with rising costs in production locally, buyers turn to excellent hard working, union free crews overseas to produce content at a fraction of the price – and there’s no government incentives or intervention to stop them.
It’s that simple.
I miss all your smiling faces on our sets and the great times we had working together! Perhaps we shall see each other again on a TikTok production in the future. 🙂
Omg, this is really sad.
I am a fixer / local producer in Dominican Republic and we are still filming with foreign productions. We are really trying to give the best service we can, but unfortunately our clients are coming just for 1 season and then the channels postponed it.
We are still here and we really hope this situation gets better soon.
Brilliant article.
I have made a few (hundred) episodes of reality TV and this makes me think twice about a lot in our business.
I am currently in Scottdale contemplating my next move.
Thanks for writing this article.
Stephen
Meanwhile: David Zaslav’s pay rises to $52 million, despite rocky year for Warner Bros. Discovery
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-04-11/warner-bros-discovery-chief-david-zaslavs-pay-hits-52-million-as-board-changes-loom