Kid Nation is an American reality television show hosted by Jonathan Karsh that premiered on the CBS network on September 19, 2007 created by Tom Forman Productions and Endemol USA.
In the show, the children try to create a functioning society in the town, including setting up a government system with minimal adult help and supervision.
On May 14, 2008, CBS canceled the series after one season.
In 2020, the series generated a renewed interest with mixed reviews as many YouTubers independently reviewed, discussed, and commented on each of the thirteen original episodes. In addition, many former members of the show gave interviews and commentary of their own during that time.
Synopsis The show, featuring 40 children and adolescents aged 8 to 15, was filmed on location at the Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, a privately owned town built on the ruins of Bonanza City, New Mexico, south of Santa Fe.
The show stresses the difficulty in creating a viable society. While each child received $5,000 for their involvement, Gold Stars valued at $20,000 and $50,000 were awarded to select outstanding participants as decided by the elected Town Council.
Speaking before an audience of television reviewers, producer Tom Forman acknowledged that Kid Nation would inevitably share some elements with William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, which depicted planewrecked children without adult supervision. Adults were present off-camera during production, including cameramen, producers, a medic, and a child psychologist, although all interacted with the children as little as possible. Participants also missed a month of school, but Forman suggested that such real-world tasks as preparing a group breakfast, doing physical chores like fetching water, and making group decisions constituted an educational experience in their own right. Forman said that all participants were cleared by a team of psychologists and any child could choose to go home during any of the regular town meetings, which three did.
Episodes
No. Episode Title Days Airdate Upper-Class Merchants Cooks Laborers Town Bonus Gold Star Exits 1 "I'm Trying to be a Leader Here!" 1–4 September 19 Red Blue Yellow Green Seven Outhouses Sophia Jimmy 2 "To Kill or Not to Kill" 5–7 September 26 Blue Red None (Task Failed) Michael None 3 "Deal with It!" 8–10 October 3 Yellow Blue Green Red Microwave & Cocoa Mallory 4 "Bless Us and Keep Us Safe" 11–13 October 10 Blue Red Yellow Green Religious Books Morgan Cody 5 "Viva La Revolución!" 14–16 October 17 Yellow Green Red Blue Oral Hygiene Products Greg None 6 "Bonanza Is Disgusting" 17–19 October 24 Red Yellow Fruits & Vegetables DK 7 "The Root of All Evil" 20–22 October 31 Blue Yellow Green Red New Clothes & Free Laundry Nathan 8 "Starved for Entertainment" 23–25 November 7 Green Blue Red Yellow None (Task Failed) Kennedy 9 "Not Even Close to Fair" 26–28 November 14 Blue Yellow Green Red Blaine Randi 10 "Let Me Talk!" 29–31 November 21 Green Yellow Letters From Home Laurel None 11 "I Just Like the Recess Part" 32–34 November 28 Green Blue Town Arcade Hunter 12 "Where's Bonanza, Dude?" 35–37 December 5 Red Blue Yellow Hot Air Balloon Ride Alex 13 "We've All Decided to Go Mad!" 38–40 December 12 No District Assignments Three Gold Stars each $50,000 ZachSophiaMorganMiglė All (final episode) These gold stars were worth $20,000 and were awarded at the final town hall meeting.
Participants
The participants of Kid Nation consist of 40 kids, whose ages ranged from 8 to 15. The following table lists each child's district color (including change if applicable), age at the onset of the show, home state, the terms they held in Town Council, the day they received a gold star, when they left Bonanza City and any applicable notes.
Name Age State Town Council Gold Star Exit Note(s)BB Alex 9 Nevada 37Day 37 40BB Anjay 12 Texas Days 1–29 41 40BY Blaine 14 Florida Days 29–40 28Day 28 40 Changed districts in episode 9YY Brett 11 Minnesota 41 40GG Campbell 10 Georgia 41 40YN/A Cody 9 Ohio 41 13 Day 13YY Colton 11 Nevada 41 40RR Divad 11 Georgia 41 40RR DK 14 Illinois Days 29–40 19Day 19 40RB Emilie 9 Nevada 41 40 Changed districts in episode 9GG Eric 14 New Jersey 41 40BB Gianna 10 Illinois 41 40BB Greg 15 Nevada Days 29–40 16Day 16 40 Oldest participantRR Guylan 11 Massachusetts Days 16–29 41 40GG Hunter 12 Georgia 34Day 34 40RR Jared 11 Georgia 41 40RR Jasmine 11 Georgia 41 40GN/A Jimmy 8 New Hampshire 41 04Day 4 Youngest participantYY Kelsey 11 Pennsylvania 41 40GG Kennedy 12 Kentucky 25Day 25 40GG Laurel 12 Massachusetts Days 1–29 31Day 31 40YY Leila 9 North Carolina 41 40RR Madison 11 Texas 41 40RR Maggie 14 Minnesota 41 40BB Mallory 8 Indiana 10Day 10 40 9th birthday during episode 3Olivia's sisterRR Markelle 12 Georgia 41 40GG Michael 14 Washington Days 29–40 07Day 7 40 15th birthday during episode 11BB Miglė 13 Illinois 40Day 40 40RR Mike 11 Washington Days 1–16 41 40GG Morgan 12 Indiana 13Day 13Day 40 40BB Natasha 13 Florida 41 40BR Nathan 11 Illinois 22Day 22 40 Changed districts in episode 9BB Olivia 12 Indiana 41 40 Mallory's sisterYY Pharaoh 12 Pennsylvania 41 40YN/A Randi 11 Nevada 41 28 Day 28Turns 12 (somewhere between episode 5 and 9)GG Savannah 10 Kentucky 41 40GG Sophia 14 Florida 04Day 4Day 40 40 Appointed town sheriff in episode 11YY Sophie 10 Washington 41 40YY Taylor 10 Georgia Days 1–16 41 40 11th birthday during episode 7YY Zach 10 Florida Days 16–29 39Day 39 40 Original district Final district color or black, with N/A (Not Applicable) if participant left the show These gold stars were worth $50,000 () and were awarded at the final town hall meeting.
Reception and legacy
Pre-premiere Ahead of its premiere, the show proved to be the most controversial of the upcoming fall 2007 season, although the only actual footage seen was a four-minute promo running on television and the Web. In previewing the series, CBS eschewed television critics, instead holding screenings at schools in at least seven large cities. Variety columnist Brian Lowry wrote that "Kid Nation is only the latest program to use kids as fodder for fun and profit, which doesn't make the trend any less disturbing." William Coleman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina, argued that the younger children, ages 8 to 12, might not be able to deal with the stress, yet could be enticed to participate by the potential fame or be pressured to do so by a parent.
Los Angeles Times reporter Maria Elena Fernandez interviewed four of the children, who told her they had worked harder than they ever had in their lives but would willingly repeat the experience. They said the most challenging aspect was getting used to being filmed constantly.
Post-premiere After the show's premiere, many television critics wrote negative reviews, with Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd being an exception. Reviewing the first episode, Washington Post columnist Tom Shales suggested that the show is "not so much an exercise in socialization as the indoctrination of children into a consumer culture". Shales pointed out that the kids' decisions included buying root beer at the saloon with "real money", but not hiring or being hired—as their money was "parceled out to them according to their predetermined stations in life."
By the third episode, some advertisers that had shied away from Kid Nation due to its initial controversy had begun to purchase time.
Reflecting near the end of the season, Los Angeles Times writer Maria Elena Fernandez, who had reported extensively on Kid Nation, wrote that neither the show's pre-premiere promises nor controversies quite congealed: the children were never as autonomous or self-reliant as the publicity indicated and the threatened legal investigations by the state of New Mexico never took off. As the series concluded, low ratings had cast doubt on whether CBS would renew the show. Brad Adgate, an analyst with Horizon Media, said the chances were not good unless a writers' strike, ongoing at the time of the season finale, increased demand for more reality shows.
Accolades Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at #10.
It was nominated for Best Family Television Reality Show, Game Show or Documentary at the 29th Annual Young Artist Awards.
In other media It was also the subject of the second episode of the 2024 VICE docuseries Dark Side of Reality TV.9 Shocking 'Kid Nation' Details Revealed by 'Dark Side of Reality TV' - TV Insider'Dark Side of Reality TV' Sneak Peek: 'Kid Nation' Stars on Starvation - TV Insider
U.S. Nielsen ratings No. Episode Viewers (millions) Households Adults 18–49 1 "I'm Trying to Be a Leader Here!" 9.07 5.8/10 3.0/9 2 "To Kill or Not to Kill" 7.6 4.8/8 2.8/8 3 "Deal With It!" 7.51 4.7/8 2.4/7 4 "Bless Us and Keep Us Safe" 7.01 4.3/7 2.0/6 5 "Viva La Revolucion!" 7.41 4.7/8 2.4/7 6 "Bonanza is Disgusting" 8.03 5.1/8 2.5/7 7 "The Root of All Evil" 6.89 4.4/8 2.0/7 8 "Starved for Entertainment" 7.16 4.5/7 2.1/6 9 "Not Even Close to Fair" 7.53 4.7/8 2.4/7 10 "Let Me Talk!" 6.88 4.3/7 2.0/6 11 "I Just Like the Recess Part" 7.29 4.5/7 2.1/6 12 "Where's Bonanza, Dude?" 7.2 4.5/7 2.2/6 13 "We've All Decided to Go Mad!" 7.35 4.5/7 2.2/6
Treatment of children and broader legal implications Kid Nation raised questions about the appropriate minimum age of participants in reality shows. As with most other reality shows, the children were signed on contracts requiring them to be available for filming for 24 hours a day through the 40-day filming period. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 limits the number of hours that children can work in a day, but has exemptions for film and television production. This leaves states to regulate those industries. At the time of filming, New Mexico had passed a law to limit children's participation in film and television productions to nine hours a day while Kid Nation was filming, but it did not come into enforcement until a month after filming completed. However, New Mexico had other general child-labor provisions that limited children under 14 to a maximum number of hours per week or day unless previously cleared with the state, which CBS had not appeared to have obtained. Adults were on site with the children but the nature of how the adults supervised the children made it appear that the children were unlawfully engaged in labor under New Mexico law, according to the state. The producers challenged these claims by declaring the set a summer camp rather than a place of employment. This was further questioned by the state, as there are additional rules related to camp operations set by the state that were not followed by production. The ostensible loopholes production had claimed have since been closed.