How much creative control does a reality show's production company have?
The amount of creative control that a reality television production company has runs the gamut from none at all - and they're just execution arms of the network's will - to almost complete total creative control over their show. In this event, they're delivering it to a network that's happy to get it, and it just depends on how much leverage or how much reputation or what the relationship is to the network. Usually, the amount of creative control is somewhere in between. It's give and take. I feel that if I'm doing a good job, I don't do everything that the network wants me to do. If I feel that the network is wrong, I will push back and say, "I don't want to do it that way. I think it's bad for the show for these reasons," and they often listen because you are spending all your time thinking about the reality television show. They have seventy shows that they have to deal with. You have the one show you're producing for them, and so when they have a conference call with you and they're thinking about your show one time that day and they make a suggestion, you need to take it because they're your customer and it's their money you're spending; but if you feel it's wrong, I feel it's your duty to push back and say, "It's not right for this reality show". Creative control over your project runs the gamut from total to none, and usually it's somewhere in between.
