When Hollywood writers went on strike in 2007 and 2008, unscripted TV production soared. Scripted projects stalled during the work stoppage, and studios turned to reality TV — a cheaper, faster format that didn’t rely on writers — to fill the airwaves. Audiences began keeping up with the Kardashians and saying yes to the dress, and a new era of television was born.
But around the time writers walked out again in 2023, something strange happened. “I thought because of the strikes there might be an uptick in reality TV because most of my jobs haven’t been union,” said Celeste Diamos, a TV editor who has worked on “House Hunters,” “Property Brothers” and “The D’Amelio Show.” “In fact, it was the opposite.
” From April through June, reality TV production in the Greater Los Angeles area plummeted by 57% compared with the same period of time last year and 50% compared with the five-year average, according to FilmLA , a nonprofit organization that tracks on-location shoot days and filming permits in the region. (The five-year average excludes three months in 2020 when production shut down because of COVID-19.) The decline is largely a symptom of an industry-wide contraction that began prior to last year’s strikes and has persisted since.
But most forms of production have stabilized at roughly 15% below what FilmLA would consider a normal amount of filming activity in Los Angeles. “Reality TV has taken a pretty substantial hit,” said Paul Audley, pr.