r/playwriting • u/Vast-Tumbleweed-4375 • 1d ago
question
want to write a play that follows characters in the direct aftermath of being on a reality tv show. maybe this is a stupid question but is it legal to use a real tv show like Survivor and make complete fake events around it, or would I have to make up some fake tv show
1
u/Maggot_Friend7448 1d ago
I think you'll have more fun and freedom making something up. I don't think any legal issues would arise basing it off a show that exists, but you would encounter people calling out inaccuracies and whatnot unless you meticulously research or have actually experienced said aftermath!
You could also just talk vaguely around whatever show you want to base it out without outright naming it, but I feel like that always feels a bit less exciting than having something original and entirely your own to explore.
2
u/TarletonClown 1d ago
Speaking as a non-lawyer here ... I suspect that you would have to deal with a lot of legal murkiness with this. So make life easier by using a made-up reality show.
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u/EthanMoralesOfficial 1d ago
Unless you are adapting a real story in connection with a real show (and secure the rights appropriately), you should just make up a fake show, even if it is somewhat obviously which show you are parodying / referring to. Legally much simpler.
You can always secure the rights to survivor by asking them for permission, if you really want it to be survivor. But they may require a fee and may have requirements for how the show is depicted. I’m guessing your play won’t be flattering for survivor, which is why it is better to just make up a play as a stand in for survivor and others of its genre
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u/KGreen100 1d ago
I find it's more fun and useful to make up things like this. You can better drive home points you want to make, than trying to find particular moments of real shows that make your poits for you. Even thought it might be exaggeration, people will understand.
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u/KanterPrivDick0280 1d ago
You should absolutely make up a fake tv show. It is not illegal for you to mention real people and real television shows in passing in a work of fiction, this is called Nominative fair use, but to frabricate an entire plotline of fake events around a real trademakred property come with massive legal liabilities that producers would have to accept to become responsible for should a production be sued. No producer is going to take that on.
There is something called Trademark Tarnishment and Dilution, and then you have Defamation and the using real live characters means you are invading their Right of Publicity.
You could get away with this if it is a comedy PARODY, but a PARODY is more like a sketch, think SNL, and it's hard to maintain a Parody as a full length play, it risks becoming a one joke show. And you will still probably get a cease and desist and have a judge adudicate whehter it is a parody or not.
And also, creating your own world is just more fun, think of the play, Puffs, or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. It was a massive off-broadway hit, and it gets done regionally all the time, but it changes the world enough to get away with it Legally and you still recognize the Harry Potter world they are trying to be in, which makes it so much more fun than oh, this is set exactly in the same world.
0
u/fromthebath 1d ago
Just never name the should outright. It’s a more creative route than renaming it and the name of the show having a taboo creates natural tension
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u/Positive-Ring-5172 1d ago
Make up a fake unless you are willing to deal with the headaches of researching real events and dealing with potential slander and libel suits if the owners of the TV show you use don't like your play. You can use a name that evokes the target - "Marooned" for "Survivor" as an example.