UPDATE: The votes are in and the National Labor Relations Board has confirmed that eight staffers on MTV’s Ridiculousness have voted to join WGA West. There are five days to raise objections, otherwise the unionization will be certified and the team can start bargaining a contract.
AUGUST 31: The writers of MTV’s Ridiculousness are coming closer to being unionized.
The show’s writing team, which was behind over 230 episodes last year, has been going through the process to unionize over the last few months, hoping to join their scripted peers, who have been on strike since May, in the WGA.
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The writers on the show, which regularly airs for over 100 hours a week on MTV, have now filed their ballots for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Deadline understands that a large majority of them have been cast to unionize.
The ballots will be counted by the NLRB on September 11 and once the outcome is revealed, the team will launch a campaign and kick off negotiations between the WGA and Superjacket, the production company run by the show’s host Rob Dyrdek, and sister company Purple Shark Productions.
The writers are seeking better conditions, including improved pay, residuals and a call for MTV to order more shows rather than just rely on the Rob Dyrdek-fronted title.
It marks the first major unscripted show to unionize in some time.
“‘Unscripted’ television is very much scripted and our writing staff is fed up with being abused and underpaid by Paramount, MTV and Rob Dyrdek. We produce the most profitable show currently on TV and yet we are paid 60% less than WGA writers that work for America’s Funniest Home Videos,” writer Ally Maynard told Deadline.
Ridiculousness has aired over 1,200 episodes across 34 seasons since its launch in 2011. The clip show is hosted by Dyrdek and co-host Sterling ‘Stello’ Brim. It essentially shows various viral videos with Dyrdek and his panelists mocking and reacting to them.
The show has had a number of spinoffs including Amazingness, Deliciousness, which was hosted by Tiffani Thiessen, Adorableness, hosted by James Davis, and Messyness, featuring Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Tori Spelling, Adam Rippon and Teddy Ray.
In 2020, Raine Group and Causeway Media Partners funded venture capital backing to form Thrill One Sports & Entertainment after a merger of Nitro Circus and Dyrdek’s Superjacket and Street League Skateboarding. Superjacket then became known as Thrill One Media and last year, Fiume Capital and Juggernaut Capital Partners acquired Thrill One Sports & Entertainment for $300M.
“We plan on this being a fight every step of the way but we’ll see how it goes and hope for the best,” added Maynard.
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