Remember the Oklahoma City-based reality show Street Outlaws? I sure do.
Back in 2013, I was apparently the first person in the world to watch the "unscripted" (a.k.a. totally staged and fabricated) reality show about the Oklahoma City street racing scene and then write about it on the Internet.
As a result, our little site was flooded with visits from 13-year-old boys and unemployed 57-year-old men googling things like "How Do I Make The Street Outlaws List" or "Is Street Outlaws Real" or "Are Farm Truck and AZN gay?" Usually these visits ended with someone leaving a mean comment, sending us a very mean email or asking how they can race us.
Even though I kind of forgot about the show, it's apparently still on the air today. In fact, thanks to BAM! over at The Oklahoman, we learned that show is not only beginning production for a 14th season, but now fleecing the pockets of Oklahoma taxpayers!
Via The Oklahoman:
Pilgrim Media Group, in association with the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, has announced that production is underway in Oklahoma for the Discovery Channel series “Street Outlaws.”
Discovery’s hit “Street Outlaws” continues to take viewers on a wild ride through the underground world of street racing in Oklahoma with fan-favorite local racers like Farmtruck and AZN. The successful series has been a staple of programming for the Discovery Channel since first premiering in 2013...
“Street Outlaws” will utilize the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program administered by the Oklahoma Film + Music Office for the first time with the filming of its latest installment. Principal photography began on July 24 and will intermittently film through next year, according to the release.
“It’s been wonderful to build a relationship with Pilgrim Media Group, and we look forward to their commitment to continue filming ‘Street Outlaws’ in Oklahoma, as well as future shows for which Oklahoma can help set the scene,” said Oklahoma Film + Music Office Director Tava Maloy Sofsky in a statement.
Really? Street Outlaws gets to take advantage of the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program? I thought the rebate was supposed to spur growth in our fledgling Hallmark Hall-of-Fame film industry, not help subsidize a stupid producer-driven reality show that's been in production since 2013 and was going to film here anyway.
"But Patrick! If Street Outlaws didn't get the subsidies, they would have covered the underground street racing scene in Amarillo! "
Good! Whenever a fake, producer-driven reality show needs taxpayer funding to survive, it's probably time to do the right thing and put it down, or at least move it to Texas.
All that being said, you can't really blame Street Outlaws producers for taking the subsidies. It's hard to turn down free money even if you don't need it. Plus, they're not the only long-running show that's set in Oklahoma and about Oklahoma people that gets subsidies. I checked out the entire list of projects getting tax breaks and look what I found:
Yep, we're giving subsidies to the The Pioneer Woman to film her cooking show at her Pawhuska ranch. Not to get all OCPA on you, but don't you think she could pay for that herself? Her brand alone is likely worth eight to nine figures, and she married into one of the largest private land owning families in the US. Why do taxpayers have to fund Ree's hobbies? This is almost like the film rebate version of a welfare mom driving a new Cadillac.
