Reality TV > CBS backs Kid Nation with second season
September 3, 2007
Written by John Lichman
After weeks of hype, CBS maintains that it supports its' latest reality show, Kid Nation, according to The New York Times. Executive producer Tom Forman has the most ominous response with "“Everybody’s questions about the show will be answered when it airs."
CBS has spent the last week, and will continue doing so this week, screening the show for advertisers that expressed doubt in sticking with the show. Despite this, CBS claims they've been contacted by "several international television companies" about using the show's elements--namely, cheap child workers who aren't unionized or supervised. They're even ready for a second season, casting kids and scouting locations.
Unfortunately, it seems like no one wants them.
The attorney general’s office in New Mexico had dropped an investigation into the show, but reopened it two weeks ago after the complaints began to surface.
“Kid Nation” would never have been produced in New Mexico again anyway. Mr. Forman said he would have moved elsewhere in any event in order to find a different abandoned town to rebuild. But state law in New Mexico would almost surely have prevented a second production there.
New Mexico had passed a law limiting the number of hours each day that children could be used on a film project before production on “Kid Nation” was started. But by the time the state began its first investigation into the show, the production had ended and state officials decided the issue was moot.
Most states have even tougher laws than New Mexico’s regarding children and labor. And the attention that has swirled around “Kid Nation” could render it too hot for any state to handle, one CBS executive said.
Kid Nation premieres Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8 pm.
