CBS is standing behind its "Kid Nation" reality TV show about kids plunked in a New Mexico ghost town despite criticism of how the kids were treated.
But CBS is concerned enough about keeping its advertisers that it has begun providing them with some answers by providing screenings of the first episode, The New York Times reported Monday.
The show takes 40 children, ages 8 to 15, and places them in a "ghost town" in New Mexico to see if they can develop a working society without adult help. After production ended, one parent complained about her child being injured and about the set's working conditions. The New Mexico attorney general's office is investigating, and Hollywood unions have questioned whether the production skirted child labor laws.
"Everybody's questions about the show will be answered when it airs," said Tom Forman, "Kid Nation" executive producer.
But uncertainties swirling around "Kid Nation" may make it difficult for the series to find a home for a second season, for which casting has begun, because of child labor laws in other states, another executive said.