“Kid Nation” abused adults, too

Boy, you go to all the trouble to create a TV show that won’t be confused for any other, and this is the thanks you get: “Kid Nation,” one of our new favorite whipping boys, is in the soup, again: The Writers Guild and AFTRA are looking into allegations of abuse on the set of the “Lord-of-the-Flies-Lite” show.

“The folks who write, produce and shoot these shows were subject to illegal and unfair working conditions,” WGA president Patrick Verrone told TV Week. “They don’t get paid overtime, they violate consecutive days of work [rules], they don’t get meal breaks. We’ve been saying that for two years now. It’s unfortunate that this kind of business model is now treating kids the same way they’ve been treating adults.”

“We are concerned about reports of abuse arising from ‘Kid Nation,’” AFTRA (the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, for the acronym-challenged), said in an issued statement. “AFTRA is investigating whether the terms and conditions of the Network Code were violated in the production of ‘Kid Nation.’ We will take all legal and moral steps available to protect the rights of the performers and children on this program.”

Unwittingly, “Kid Nation” has inspired hand-wringing anew about the conditions under which “reality television” is produced.

“Producers have admitted to writing scenarios that contestants are asked to carry out,” lovely and talented acquaintance-of-Your-Mayor Maria Elena Fernandez writes. “And contestants have revealed that they work long hours and are often asked to do different takes of scenes to make them more interesting or controversial.

“For these reasons, union representatives argue that the shows have writers who should be compensated according to union guidelines and that some contestants are performers who could be covered under collective bargaining agreements.”

“Kid Nation” executive producer Tom Forman insists the children participating were not “employees,” though they were each given $5,000 for 40 days of participation. But it’s indisputable that Forman and CBS will be making money nonetheless off of presenting the kids’ labors as an entertainment. So I guess we can say that if they weren’t employees, Forman and CBS engaged in child slavery. That should go over well with the folks who might be induced to watch the show.