You should not consider going into reality television production as a career, ever.

Have you ever rolled out of bed and thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to make a TV show?”  For most of us, even if we had that thought, the realities of our day-to-day lives would overwhelm the idea before lunch. I suspect that this is by design as television production isn’t for the meek and it certainly isn’t for those who aren’t passionate about their ideas.  Of course when I decided to produce a reality television program back in 2005 I had no idea what I was getting into.

Ironically, I decided to make a TV series for all of the wrong reasons.  First, I assumed it would be fun and exciting.  Don’t get me wrong it was exciting, but it certainly seemed a lot more like work than fun.  Second, I quickly learned that is very difficult to break even, much less get rich producing television.  Most professionals in the television business quickly realize that they could likely make more money doing something else, but their passion for television keeps them engaged in the business.  Of course, many producers dream of being the next Burnett, Bunim or Murry.

You might be surprised to learn that Mark Burnett, one of the most successful television producers in history, worked in relative obscurity for almost twenty years before he had critical and financial success.  He began his Hollywood career initially selling t-shirts in Venice Beach and subsequently being a nanny in Beverly Hills.  Mark’s big break was in 2000 when he licensed Survivor to CBS for $455,000 plus a percentage of potential ad revenue.  Today Mark is worth more than $300MM with more than 15 reality television programs under his belt.  Burnett spent eighteen years paying his dues, toiling in the industry before he hit it big.

My point is simply that you should consider television production a hobby and not a career (unless of course you are making it your career and you should stop reading now).  Television production is not an inexpensive hobby, in my case it ultimately cost around $50,000 for the pilot and around $250,000 for the first 13-episode season.  I could have spent less, but just as easily spent a lot more. The good news is that you can likely beg, borrow or steal enough to get started from friends, family and credit cards.  The bad news is that they will want you to pay them back despite the fact that if you are lucky you will breakeven.