Without 90 Day Fiance, Angela Deem’s violent tantrums and Big Ed Brown’s awkward moments would just be bad behavior by bad people.
Instead, these antics from ill-behaved adults bring entertainment to millions. Plus, there are a few good apples on the casts.
From viewers at home to our unreasonably thorough 90 Day Fiance recaps, one group makes it all possible: the producers at Sharp Entertainment.
Those producers are part of a union. Together, these professionals are fighting for better wages, for reasonable hours, and more.
The members of the Sharp Entertainment Union have nothing to lose but their chains.
We here at THG are not the first to cover production’s push for better and more-organized working conditions, working hours, and of course pay.
They may have an uphill battle, both against Sharp Entertainment Productions and the at times dismal industry standard.
These producers are the people who actually make the shows.
There is so much more than just pointing a camera at ill-behaved larger-than-life personalities and waiting for the magic to happen.
Among so many other things, producers spend hours asking the right questions to capture those perfect soundbytes for the confessional camera.
Back in march, the Sharp Entertainment Union began negotiations with Sharp Entertainment Productions.
In addition to the sprawling 90 Day franchise, producers are also behind shows like Love After Lockup and Man v Food.
Negotiators want pay for working a sixth or seventh day in a week, a guarantee of at least 10 hours between days of shooting, and more.
The union is also hoping to get more well-defined job descriptions for all of the company’s positions.
(A little job clarity isn’t just helpful in a vague sense — it helps keep people from being pulled into doing things that are not their jobs)
That sounds pretty reasonable. If you’re not paying someone for all of the time that they put into work, you’re not treating them well.
One major issues for a lot of production teams is that the hours are not reasonable.
Right now, some of them only have four-hour turnovers.
Which means that they might film for 14 hours, have 4 hours to sleep, and then have to get up to start filming again. That is unsustainable.
The reason for this isn’t sadism on the part of the execs. Reality TV generally follows the cast, who lead messy and unpredictable lives.
We have all seen moments when sudden emergency situations arose, forcing production to get up and film at odd hours.
But whether a cast member just experienced a sexual assault or just has something to say, producers need sleep.
We’re no experts on the ins and outs of production, but one possible solution would be shifts.
That is, producers could work in overlapping teams so that there is always someone available. But no one gets worked to the bone filming these people.
Why isn’t Sharp Entertainment doing that yet? Well, there are two answers.
The first is that the cast develops a certain amount of rapport with producers. That is why they are so willing to say so much on camera.
The second is that filming in shifts, even overlapping shifts, means hiring more producers. That means more money.
We hope that these negotiations will show Sharp Entertainment that it is worth investing profits in the people who actually earned them.
We all endured the times when the cast members filmed themselves. It was not the same.
Producers created this show. These hard-working professionals are only asking for humane treatment and proportional pay.
And their hope is that their requests one day become industry standard.
Reality TV is only a little over two decades old, as an industry.
This “wild west” status has allowed production companies to sidestep common sense rules etched into scripted filming. Streaming services have done something similar with the scripted crowd.
We should all be encouraged by seeing the Sharp Entertainment Union engage in collective bargaining. Producers who love their jobs will create the best content.
90 Day Fiance Producers Negotiate for Reasonable Hours, Fair Pay was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip .