Reality Bites: Fox Debuts New Workplace Reality Show

Last night, May 24, Fox debuted its new reality show, Does Someone Have To Go?, which Entertainment Weekly bills as Survivor meets The Office. Here’s the premise.

Needless to say, the New York Times is not impressed, unflatteringly calling the show “a victory” for companies and horrible for employees:

The squabbles are petty, ill-informed and sometimes personal, and seemingly dredge up unacknowledged tensions around race and age…. The stakes, as they are presented, are dramatic. For signing up to be on this show, employees … run the risk of conflict, humiliation and, possibly, unemployment. (Presumably, these workplaces are not unionized.)

As for me, I was glued to the TV, and will be through this show’s run. Yet, I couldn’t help but think about the scope of the release agreement these employees had to sign before appearing on the show.

Did you watch? Share your opinion in the comments below, or on Twitter with the hashtag #WorkplaceReality

Written by Jon Hyman, a partner in the Labor & Employment group of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz. For more information, contact Jon at
(216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.