Although it has been around for decades, reality TV has come into its own this fall, commanding respect and taking on characteristics–from demanding stars to dueling spinoffs and high-priced producers–typical of conventional programming.
The initial appeal of reality was that a constant rotation of unknown contestants and no need for scripts kept production costs incredibly low. In 2001, an hour of programming cost about $200,000. By contrast, an hour of drama at that time cost about $2 million to produce.
But success breeds higher costs.
This season, NBC is spending a reported $2 million per episode on “The Contender,” a boxing series produced by Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone.
As for “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump recently told the Wall Street Journal that he thinks he ought to be paid $18 million an episode this year. Last year, he made $50,000 per episode.
Trump’s reasoning: If the six stars of NBC’s “Friends” made $1.5 million each per episode, he ought to receive $9 million as the lone star. And, because his show fills a full hour of the schedule, while “Friends” ran only 30 minutes, NBC ought to double that figure.
Trump says he’s half kidding, but the point is made: Although unknowns provide most of the talent, the most popular reality shows also have performers without whom they would not be the same. Think Trump, Tyra Banks, Simon Cowell and Paris Hilton.
Another escalating cost is writing. While it’s true that there is little need for writers in a series like “Big Brother,” other shows like “The Simple Life” demand more scripting.
Hilton and Nicole Richie’s show has a clear story arc, and one can’t help suspecting that some of the lines are scripted.
The Writers Guild of America-West now is demanding in its contract negotiations with Hollywood studios that union writers and story editors be hired on reality shows. If that happens, writing costs could increase as much as tenfold (to a minimum of $20,000 for each episode).