Actors, writers grin and bear a harsh reality

Television writers and actors are so accustomed to stretches of unemployment that the Screen Actors Guild’s Internet site features an “unemployment handbook.” Yet as that group and the Writers Guild of America presented their annual awards over the weekend, it’s clear that anxiety levels have been elevated due to the shadow cast by so-called reality television.

With shows like “American Idol,” “The Bachelor” and “Survivor” attracting vast audiences, programs that forgo the services of actors and scripts are expected to occupy considerably more prime-time real estate next season. And while the networks say they are not lessening their commitment to scripted projects as they forge ahead with series prototypes, or pilots, for the fall, the popularity and financial benefits of staged reality make it a near-certainty such shows will stay a potent force.

The apprehension was evident at Saturday’s WGA awards dinner in Beverly Hills, from comic Bill Maher’s opening admonition not to look back on 2003 “as the year you lost your house because of reality television” to award recipient David E. Kelley’s enthusiastically received broadside at network TV a few hours later, with the writer-producer saying the honor “is tempered slightly by the reality of what television is becoming. We live in a time where the medium is no longer respected by many of its guardians.”

What might be called the “reality ripple” is a source of chagrin for writers and actors on multiple levels. Not only could there be fewer series to employ them, but the networks’ decision to schedule more unscripted fare this summer will diminish the residual payments tied to prime-time reruns.

Hollywood’s creative community relies on that income. A one-hour drama script for which the writer received $27,400, for example, yields more than $18,000 when the episode is repeated on a major network.

“Whenever you see someone flipping through TV Guide at the checkout stand, that’s a writer looking to see if his show’s going to be rerun,” quipped writer-producer Tim O’Donnell, a Writers Guild board member.

In addition, U.S. television programs aren’t selling as well as they once did overseas because of an increased preference for home-grown programming, which also slices into residuals. It’s uncertain how deeply this year’s reality wave will cut into those figures, but a significant amount of money is at stake, with the most recent WGA data indicating that writers totaled $181.5 million in residuals for 2001.

At this point, there is relatively little for the guilds to do but observe where the trend leads. WGA officials are attempting to negotiate contracts for writers employed by “reality” shows on a nonunion basis (often credited as “segment producers”), structuring plots and writing narration. That at least would provide those writers benefits and yield contributions to the union’s health and pension funds.

“The reality to ‘reality’ is that it’s written, and we hope to have it organized -- if it stays around that long,” said Cheryl Rhoden, the WGA’s assistant executive director.

Despite expectations that the glut of such shows will spur an inevitable shakeout -- as evidenced by mediocre ratings for such recent high-concept programs as Fox’s “Married by America” and ABC’s “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” -- most have abandoned the notion that it’s all just a passing fad.

“I have tons of writer friends who have gone into other businesses,” said Brian Alan Lane, a writer currently teaching at Cal State Long Beach, who said colleges are being “deluged by people who want to teach.”

The Directors Guild of America is also monitoring where the “reality” wave is going but cites a lack of clear data. In addition, as with such specialists as cinematographers and set designers, directors are finding work in the genre, though often at reduced fees.

“This is a relatively new phenomenon, in the sense that there are so many of these shows,” said Rodney Mitchell, the guild’s assistant executive director. “We don’t want to yell ‘fire.’ ”

Despite fears that there will be fewer opportunities for them, some in Hollywood’s talent ranks acknowledge that a run of disappointing situation comedies in particular made them vulnerable to alternative forms and say thinning the herd could ultimately be beneficial. It’s even been suggested that writers could take lessons from programs like “Joe Millionaire” and “The Bachelor.”

“The thing writers have to be aware of in regard to reality is that it deals with feelings,” said former ABC executive Philippe Perebinossoff, now a professor in the radio, TV and film department at Cal State Fullerton. “They need to pay attention to how responsive the viewing public is to that.... If they’ve forgotten how to develop characters, then ‘reality’ has taken that away from them.”

Rod Holcomb, who directed the “ER” pilot and is developing an NBC pilot starring Rob Lowe, said unscripted programs have less impact on known talent but make it harder for unproven actors and writers to break into the business. If there’s a plus side, he said, “I’m hoping the reality shows are what balance out the cost” of network schedules, enabling them to continue financing quality dramas.

A related concern is that networks will exercise even less patience with struggling series, moving faster to replace them with fare that is not only cheaper to produce but offers the prospect of a quick ratings fix. “Now that they’ve got these reality shows, are they going to give us an even shorter grace period?” asked Randi Mayem Singer, who moves between film and TV, having written “Mrs. Doubtfire” and produced the series “Jack & Jill” and “Hudson Street.” “That frightens me more than there being less scripted programming.”

Even if sitcoms and dramas remain plentiful when the networks present this fall’s lineups to advertisers in May, “reality” also will be waiting in the wings. A planned onslaught of staged reality programs this summer (NBC will introduce up to 10 short-order series) is fueling skepticism about those announcements, a prelude to selling billions of dollars in ad time.

“I don’t know how much people are going to trust these schedules this year,” said “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” producer Michael Davies. “Anything that works in the summer is going to be on in the fall.”

Many actors and writers say perspective is needed about the extent of the threat posed by unscripted programs.

“I don’t think our need for storytelling will go away just because ‘American Idol’ chalked up some huge numbers,” said Stephen Collins, star of the WB network’s family drama “7th Heaven.” “I also think that a certain amount of reality programming is probably here to stay. I love ‘Survivor.’ But things will settle down when the networks realize most reality shows are flops. In the meantime, networks seem poised to do what they often do: Give the audience too much of a good thing by over-jumping on the bandwagon.”

For many, it’s especially vexing to see work lost because of programs they consider mean-spirited and demeaning, from the judges’ put-downs on “American Idol” to the bug-eating stunts of “Fear Factor.”

“The networks are simply pandering,” said Dick Van Dyke, who has watched the Thursday time period “Diagnosis Murder” once occupied be overrun by unscripted shows. “It’s been a long-term downward trend that’s going to continue. I keep thinking of the fall of the Roman empire.”

Others, however, confess grudging admiration for the genre simply as TV viewers. Singer, for example, said she watches some of the relationship shows -- an admission that caused an actor friend to chide her, as if she was supporting the enemy.

“Even if it’s stilted by the camera, it’s watching human behavior like a fly on the wall,” Singer said. “As a writer, it’s irresistible.”