FOX is hoping that the rough state of the economy will make people want to watch other people losing their jobs on television.
That seemingly counterintuitive proposition is the basis for Someone’s Gotta Go, an unscripted series the network has put on a fast track. The show will let employees of struggling small businesses determine which one of their fellow workers will get the ax in order to save costs.
The show has already begun production and could be on the air by the end of summer, the showbiz trade papers report. The show comes from Endemol USA, the company behind Big Brother and Deal or No Deal.
Someone’s Gotta Go will feature a yet-to-be-named business consultant as host who meets with small firms — 15 to 20 employees — who are facing recession-fueled cutbacks. Employees will have access to everyone’s salary histories and human resources files and use the information to decide which of their fellow workers will lose his or her job.
Both FOX and Endemol say the show has been put through its legal paces to make sure it doesn’t run afoul of labor laws. “A lot of things had to be signed off” is how FOX reality boss Mike Darnell puts it to Variety.
Source: Zap2It
