With access to former ‘Kid Nation’ contestants, their families, and the show’s creators, culture journalist Josh Gwynn uncovers how this cult TV show became a lightning rod for an ongoing debate about the ethics of reality TV. Every reality show has a villain. In Kid Nation that role was assigned to 15-year-old Greg Pheasant. Through multiple perspectives on Greg’s bullying, we explore whether kids were cast to perform predetermined roles. It raises questions about the different levels of agency these kids had in what was a high-pressure and high-stakes situation.