ERIC DEGGANS, HOST:
Reality TV has given us some of pop culture's most viral moments.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
NENE LEAKES: I was shocked, honey. I was in tears almost. And it has a white refrigerator. I was like...
TYRA BANKS: I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. How dare you?
KIM KARDASHIAN: My diamond earring came off in the ocean, and it's gone.
KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Kim, there's people that are dying.
NICK LACHEY: Will you get married?
VANESSA LACHEY: Or will you choose to walk away forever?
N LACHEY: Is love truly blind?
DEGGANS: But this TV genre that thrives in drama on screen now faces some of its own drama behind the scenes. The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint, arguing that participants on Netflix's dating show "Love Is Blind," where contestants date each other sight unseen, should be considered employees and eligible for labor protections.
Sonia Rao covers TV and film for The Washington Post, and like that saying says, she ain't here to make friends. She's here to talk about the issue with us now. Hey, Sonia. How you doing?
SONIA RAO: Hi, doing well, thanks.
DEGGANS: Give us some backstory here. How did the NLRB get involved in reality TV?
RAO: Sure. So with "Love Is Blind" specifically, there's been, you know, a series of former contestants - is a word that I use for it - the actual word that we're using here is important and vital to talk about. They would say they're employees. The production companies use the word participants. So all this to say, these folks who've been on the show are coming out, saying, hey, you know, we were actually treated quite poorly, deprived of food. A contestant has come forward and said, you know, I felt that I was misled. I was actually led to, quote, unquote, "get engaged" to a man that was abusive, had drug problems. Another contestant came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
DEGGANS: Wow. So these are some pretty heavy allegations. Has Netflix or the production companies behind "Love Is Blind" responded to them?
RAO: Yeah, so the complaint is actually just against the production companies, which have in the past responded to individual lawsuits against them. They've, of course, denied the claims that these former participants - in their words - have made. And all of this is to say the NLRB came forward and said, you know what? You guys should refer to them as employees. They deserve those rights.
DEGGANS: Can you talk a little bit more about the difference between considering somebody an employee and considering somebody a participant?
RAO: So Chris Coelen, who's the creator of "Love Is Blind," and Kinetic Content, the production company as well, they use the word participant to refer to people who appear on the show. What that means is they're basically contractors. They're on the show, obviously, but they're not employees. Employees, as an official designation with the NLRB, means, you know, you have the rights of an actual employee. You're able to talk about your workplace conditions. You're able to organize. You can form a union. All of those things are protected under law.
DEGGANS: As a critic, I've covered these kind of shows for decades. And these tactics - denying contestants sleep, encouraging them to drink alcohol, keeping them from talking with these massive contracts - these have been standard practice on some shows for a very long time. I mean, is the NLRB complaint an isolated incident, or are there other rumblings in the reality TV universe?
RAO: The alcohol, especially - it makes me think of "Real Housewives." Of course, it's entertaining to watch as a viewer at home, but we're not really privy to the actual process behind the scenes. There have been housewives in the past who have come forward and said, you know what? I feel like this behavior was manipulated. I was plied with alcohol, that sort of thing. Bethenny Frankel, actually, of the "Housewives" franchise - right? - said, you know, reality television stars should be unionized as well. We should be protected the same way that, say, actors are protected by SAG.
And so I think, you know, there have been rumblings across the industry. But yeah, I mean, it's easier, I think, for people in shows that have seasons where they come back every time to kind of latch on to this thing. Shows like "Love Is Blind" are tricky because, you know, you're only on it for a season. So there's not much of a bargaining chip there for you.
DEGGANS: What would it mean - would it threaten the secret sauce that makes these shows popular if reality TV shows had to treat participants as employees?
RAO: I think it depends. I mean, there's always the question of how does this work with shows like "Survivor," for example, where deprivation is the point of the whole thing. So you could say, you know, quote, unquote, that "TV would be worse to watch." Ultimately, you know, this is - Hollywood is an industry of unions. And so I do think to make it a sustainable genre of television, I personally do see there being some level of traction with this type of movement.
DEGGANS: So we're at the start of a new year. We've got a lot of reality TV shows coming - new and returning. What series are coming that maybe people could watch, you know, secure in the knowledge that maybe the people on them are being treated as well as they can be?
RAO: I've always thought, you know, I hope that folks on, like, the cooking shows are doing OK, 'cause...
DEGGANS: Right.
RAO: ...You know, we're talking about the personality-based reality television. But unscripted television is so many different genres. It's not just, you know, dating shows. I'm actually curious. There is actually another season of "Love Is Blind" coming out. I'm just interested in watching it with this knowledge, to be honest - seeing it as a viewer, you know? - can you actually see what these contestants are talking about? Do you see the work, you know, that they're putting in here?
DEGGANS: That's Washington Post TV and film reporter Sonia Rao. Thanks so much for joining us.
RAO: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
