CBS says at least half of casts of reality shows including Survivor, Big Brother and Love Island will be Black, Indigenous and people of color
CBS said on Monday that at least half of the casts for its unscripted series, such as Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race and Love Island, will have new diversity policies moving forward.
At least 50 percent of the casts will be Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color, the network said, with the policy set to be implemented with the 2021-2022 season.
Also, the network is allocating 25 percent of its reality budget for BIPOC producers, and pledges to have about 40 percent of BIPOC representation in writers’ rooms.
The latest: CBS said on Monday that at least half of the casts for its unscripted series, such as Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race and Love Island, will have new diversity policies moving forward
The broadcasting company’s entertainment group president and CEO George Cheeks said that the time for a policy like this was past due to mirror what is going on in society.
Cheeks said, ‘The reality TV genre is an area that’s especially underrepresented, and needs to be more inclusive across development, casting, production and all phases of storytelling.
‘As we strive to improve all of these creative aspects, the commitments announced today are important first steps in sourcing new voices to create content and further expanding the diversity in our unscripted programming, as well as on our network.’
Cheeks said that the pledge for more diversity comes amid the network’s production pact with the NAACP amid the national movement against racial discrimination and police brutality.
The network is also allocating 25 percent of its reality budget for BIPOC producers.
Shows such as Big Brother will be under the new diversity policy
The network has past had difficulty with racial scandals on Big Brother, while Survivor’s casts have fallen under scrutiny as well.
Earlier this year, nearly 8,000 fans signed a MoveOn.org petition led by former contestants J’Tia Taylor and Brice Izyah to make Survivor more inclusive.
‘The executive producers of one of the most popular and influential reality television shows in history should commit to featuring Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in their full breadth and depth,’ the petition read. ‘SURVIVOR should reflect and honor the racial diversity of our society–both in front of and behind the camera.’