A complaint against Netflix dating show Love Is Blind could open the door to widespread unionization in the unscripted television world, hastening a reality reckoning.
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against Kinetic Content, the company behind the hit show, and its subsidiary Delirium TV. The filing came from Jennifer Hadsall, regional director of the board in Minnesota.
It was filed after complaints from contestants including Renee Poche and Nick Thompson and has demanded that the producers “reclassify all ‘participants’ since January 19, 2023, as employees and notify them in writing that they are employees for purposes of the Act”.
In the claim, the NLRB said by not doing so contestants were “deprived” of their workers’ rights.
In January, Season 5 participant Poche took Delirium and Netflix to court to put the brakes on the multi-million arbitration action the producers took against her in November 2023 over violations of the NDA she signed as a part of the reality romance series.
Lawyer Bryan Freedman, who represents Poche, said that the “reality reckoning is alive and well”.
“Mark Geragos and I, along with our legal teams, have been working closely with the NLRB for over a year and are thrilled that this collaboration has resulted in a monumental filing that promises to change the reality TV industry forever. The practices identified by the NLRB in its complaint against Delirium are ubiquitous in this space. Make no mistake, the reality reckoning is alive and well. This is not the last shoe to drop. Standby,” he said.
The move comes ahead of season eight of Love Is Blind, which is set to premiere in February.