MTV Show to Focus on Divorce

    The MTV documentary show "True Life" plans to focus its lens on families considering or experiencing divorce. The show is currently casting for episodes in which people ages 16 to 28 are either experiencing their parents’ divorces, or are considering divorce themselves. “We are open to any sorts of stories, because I imagine there are a lot of them out there we would never even think of. Whatever other situations may exist, we’re open to anything,” said Matt Laumb, a producer for the show. “The tricky thing is, we really want to have the whole family on board with it.”            

"True Life" follows the lives of real people dealing with a variety of social issues. It usually begins with a participant and his or her story, then follows up a few weeks later to see how things have changed. The show would like to film some episodes about divorce, and it has started casting. To participate in the show, send an e-mail to divorce@mtvn.com. For more information about the casting call, click here to read the posting in the divorce360 community.           

The topic of divorce is not new to the show, Laumb said. They had an episode about the topic about five years ago. But the powers that be at MTV wanted more. Ideas are pitched regularly for the show. Promising ideas get researched to see how relevant it may be to the viewers and how likely it is to find participants, Laumb said.            

“I would imagine the relevance of the topic made them want to do another one. There was no single reason why divorce was being focused on. I would say overall because it is such a relevant topic for people,”  Laumb said.            

The casting process begins when potential participants volunteer to appear on the show. Then, if the participant’s situation is somehow unique or a good fit with the topics that are featured on the show, producers will call. The phone call helps get a better sense of the details of the person’s life, but also helps gauge how expressive the person is. It is important to find people who are very expressive, “who can be open about what their thinking and what they’re feeling,”  Laumb said.            

The other thing producers hope to find is a story that has some sort of goal or progression, so they can monitor the progress, Laumb said. If all of that seems to mesh with the kinds of stories shown on True Life, then they will put together a test shoot to see how the person responds with a camera following him or her around.            

The shooting schedule is usually a few days of intense filming, which would include visits with family and friends. After a few weeks off for the story to progress, the filming begins again to see what has changed. The test shoot gives the producers a preview of how the participant might react to cameras being around all the time. This is one of the more difficult issues, Laumb said, and it is important to get a sense of what people and their lives are like in person. “We really try to immerse ourselves in people’s lives as much as possible,” Laumb said.            

But the casting process is not concrete, Laumb said. It changes as the people involved change. One thing that remains relatively the same is the topics of interest. The show thrives on portraying regular people dealing with changes in their lives. And that’s what makes the topic of divorce a great fit, Laumb said. “Divorce seems like a no-brainer because it affects so many people,”  Laumb said.  

Click here for more stories on TV shows on divorce. Michele Bush Kimball has a Ph.D. in mass communication with a specialization in media law. She has spent 15 years in the field of journalism, and she teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. She recently won a national research award for her work.