Why the Move to Turn ‘Love Is Blind’ Contestants Into Employees Won’t Improve Reality TV Conditions | Analysis

The National Labor Review Board’s decision this week to classify “Love Is Blind” contestants as employees marks an unprecedented move by the federal government to weigh in on how Hollywood deals with unscripted talent. But Donald Trump’s second presidential term could stifle any hope of a reality television revolution.

The efforts by Hollywood power lawyers Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman — self-proclaimed champions of a “reality TV reckoning” that has yet to materialize — seemed significant after the regional NLRB office in Minnesota filed a complaint against production companies Delirium TV and Kinetic Content. In it, they say the companies committed several labor violations, including incorporating restrictive noncompete and confidentiality clauses into talent contracts.

Classifying cast members of the hit Netflix series as employees would give them protections against such restrictions.

A hearing is set for April 22, when the matter will be brought before an administrative law judge to determine if the employers broke the law. The production companies could then appeal the decision to the national board in Washington.

In a statement provided to TheWrap, Freedman said that he and Geragos had been working with the NLRB for over a year on the issue and that the complaint “promises to change the reality TV industry forever.”

But Trump’s reelection could reverse that momentum. After a Senate majority voted to block the reappointment of Lauren McFerran to the NLRB on Wednesday, it cleared the way for the president-elect to set up a Republican majority for the board’s leadership as early as his first day back in office on Jan. 20.

And that, experts agree, will likely lead to pro-employer decision-making that could delay the “Love Is Blind” case, if not kill it altogether.

The NLRB decision also faces other challenges, including that many reality shows are moving overseas, and the fact that unionizing reality television talent is proving to be complicated. Beyond the industry implications, Geragos and Freedman’s reality “reckoning” hasn’t gained much traction, beyond leading to NBCUniversal’s update of workplace guidelines last year.

Netflix declined to comment on this story. Representatives for Kinetic Content, which also runs Delirium TV, did not respond to requests for comment.

Reckoning with a flawed goal

Former “Real Housewives of New York City” Bethenny Frankel, alongside Geragos and Freedman, unveiled their plans for a reckoning on reality television production in July 2023. Their goal was bringing to light unfair treatment of cast members and eventually the creation of a union for unscripted talent — like SAG-AFTRA is for actors.

The movement gathered some early momentum, with the legal team going after NBCUniversal’s Bravo at first. Geragos and Freedman represented former network stars Brandi Glanville, another former housewife, and Raquel Leviss of “Vanderpump Rules” in separate disputes against other Bravo personalities and against the network.

So far, the biggest impact of this campaign is that NBCUniversal updated its workplace guidelines for reality TV productions, expanding existing protocols including alcohol training and mental health support, in September 2023.

Organizing reality television performers could prove difficult, if not impossible. Top talent won’t speak up on the need for unionization as long as they continue to get big paychecks for participating in hit shows on networks like Bravo. While greener talent like participants on “The Bachelor” and “Love Is Blind,” and mid-tier talent like hosts of home renovation series, would benefit from a more equitable pay scale that would come from unionization, it’s not surprising that the only top talent that speaks out in favor of that are individuals like Frankel — who exited “RHONY,” broke ties with Bravo and is unlikely to return to the unscripted sector.

“We’re not even at a point where there’s a groundswell of people that are clamoring for a union,” unscripted producer Justin Hochberg, who has served as an EP on shows including “The Apprentice” and “Buying Beverly Hills,” told TheWrap in September 2023.

Finding momentum

Freedman and Geragos chose “Love Is Blind” as the next battleground in their war to change reality television for good reason.

One of Netflix’s biggest unscripted hits, creator Chris Coelen’s show has been caught in legal turmoil before. Former contestants have spoken out publicly and through lawsuits about restrictions tied to their contracts and difficult conditions during production. The show follows 30 singles who meet with each other from separate rooms, called pods, and only connect if they get engaged at the end of the experiment. It then follows as the couples go through a honeymoon phase in an exotic location and try out living together back home, before choosing to either get married or walk away from the relationship in the season finale.

Delirium and Kinetic have defended themselves from past litigation, insisting that contestants are participants and not employees. Some matters have been settled out of court, such as when Netflix, Kinetic and Delirium agreed to a $1.4 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by former castmember Jeremy Hartwell. The settlement maintained the companies’ stance that contestants are not employees.

The NLRB’s complaint is anchored by lawsuits filed by former “Love Is Blind” contestants Renee Poche and Nick Thompson. Poche, who is represented by Geragos and Freedman and had her storyline scrapped from the show’s fifth season, has been one of the loudest voices against the cast’s unfair treatment by production.

“My experience on ‘Love is Blind’ was traumatic,” Poche said in a statement in January. “I felt like a prisoner and had no support when I let Delirium know that I didn’t feel safe.”

Freedman and Geragos told TheWrap that while it’s possible that a Republican-led board could drop the complaint, they are confident the Trump administration will view the matter as “liberal Hollywood producers infringing on the freedom of everyday Americans” to speak their minds.

“One thing is clear: Hollywood studios have taken an aggressive anti-Trump approach, and if politics come into play, that may well come back to bite them,” the legal team said in an email.

Love is offshored

Even if the “Love Is Blind” complaint were to move forward, the franchise’s global expansion already set the brand up to survive whatever may happen in a U.S. court of law.

The franchise has expanded into 10 countries, including Brazil, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. These international versions are resonating with U.S. audiences as well, with 2024 spinoffs “Love Is Blind: UK” and “Love Is Blind: Habibi” both showing up in the U.S. top 10 lists for television titles.

Spinoffs set in France and Italy are expected to premiere in 2025. The U.S. version, which kicked off the franchise, is expected to launch Season 8 in February. Seasons are typically produced a year or two in advance, based on public accounts for former participants, so any legal action would likely not impact the release of future U.S. installments for some time.

Given that reality television more broadly is already moving the bulk of productions overseas in search of softer labor laws and cheaper costs, it’s not within the realm of possibility for Netflix to quietly sunset the flagship U.S. version should its production become untenable.

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