There’s a new reality show coming to Fox that attempts to capitalize on the bad economy while broadcasting poor souls’ pain at being told they’re out of a job. Called “Someone’s Gotta Go,” the show will let real small business employees see their coworkers salaries and vote on who will be laid off. It’s like “Survivor” meets “The Office.”

The series, “Someone’s Gotta Go,” is in production, but Fox wouldn’t say on Wednesday when it would go on the air.

Each episode will feature a company with about 15 or 20 employees that needs to cut costs because of the economy. Instead of the boss deciding who is fired, the company will open its books to show everyone’s salaries and let the employees make the call.

In an inverse to “The Apprentice,” the chosen one loses, instead of gets, a job.

Fox says the laid-off worker will get a small severance, but isn’t saying whether the network or producers are paying the participants in anything beyond the chance for prime-time fame. Fox is developing the show with Endemol USA, the company behind “Big Brother,” “Deal or No Deal” and “Fear Factor.”

Tory Johnson, founder and chief executive of Women For Hire, which organizes job fairs and advises women seeking work, said she wonders whether “Someone’s Gotta Go” is a good idea at a time so many people are out of work.

“For most people who are concerned about job security or are desperate to get hired, I don’t think there’s much to laugh at in terms of watching someone else’s pain and misery,” said Johnson, a regular contributor to ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

But Mike Darnell, chief of alternative programming at Fox, said everyone who participates in the show knows fully what they are doing.

[From AP via Huffington Post]

All participants have to sign off on reality shows in order to proceed, but what employee afraid of losing their job is going to say no to their boss on something like this? This can be humiliating for the people involved, not only the ones voted out of a job but the people who have to make those difficult decisions and have that aired to the world. The head of Fox’s “alternative programming,” Mike Darnell, claims this concept is “no worse than watching the news every night,” and tells us that if we don’t want to see this, we don’t have to: “To be frank, like all these shows, if you don’t want to watch, don’t watch it.” Many people will take Darnell’s advice, I’m sure.

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