Episode 5: Anarch-Kids

After the chaos of the first few weeks life in Bonanza City stabilizes - but that doesn’t make for great TV. The former pioneers say that as the show wore on, the drama became more contrived, with plot-lines that saw kids portrayed as gambling addicts and anarchists, looting the town stores. It leaves us wondering whether Kid Nation could ever have lived up to its utopian premise? How do the former pioneers feel about it now?
Guest Interviews:
Ghen Maynard, Co-creator of Kid Nation, former head of alternative programming at CBS
Michelle Kongkasuwan, Kid Nation editor
Emily Sinclair, Kid Nation field producer
Olivia Cloer, Kid Nation contestant
Laurel McGoff, Kid Nation contestant
Anjay Ajodha, Kid Nation contestant
Michael Thot, Kid Nation contestant
About Kid Nation: The controversial reality TV show known as ‘Kid Nation’, which borrowed its premise from Lord of the Flies, was cancelled after just one season. Producers took 40 kids into a makeshift desert town to fend for themselves and create their own society. Was the series an opportunity to discover what kids are capable of? Or simply a ploy for ratings?
With access to former ‘Kid Nation’ contestants, their families, and the show’s creators, culture journalist Josh Gwynn uncovers how this cult TV show became a lightning rod for an ongoing debate about the ethics of reality TV.
🎧 More Kid Nation episodes: tinyurl.com/46jpx783
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