History YMMV / KidNation

* OvershadowedByControversy: The show is most known for accusations of child endangerment and being an ImmoralRealityShow. Other than some minor bruises and burns, however, there were no major issues on screen for the most part. Although as {{WebVideo/JonTron}}'s interview with Jimmy shows, the controversies and the issues the detractors had was not exactly unfounded either. It was also revealed that some of the kids accidentally drank bleach from improperly cleaned dishes and needed to get their stomachs pumped, which naturally wasn't mentioned at all by the showrunners.

** Jared is also considered a fan favorite for having many iconic lines, and being a CloudCuckooLander.

** [[WebVideo/JonTron Jon Jafari's]] interview with Jimmy, the youngest of the kids who were on the show, revealed that the it really ''was'' about as creepy, [[NoOSHACompliance unsafe]], and [[ImmoralRealityShow morally questionable]] as all the detractors thought. During the first week, all forty kids were forced to use one poorly-dug outhouse, were made to feed themselves (and ate very unhealthily as a result)[[note]]However, some other interviewed former contestants such as [[https://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Than-You-Think-Survived-ebook/dp/B08FXLHFZM Olivia]] and [[https://podcasts.apple.com/ly/podcast/stay-doomed-128-interview-with-laurel-from-kid-nation/id700326718?i=1000537672707 Laurel]] claim that the kids were fed lunch every day, and were also allowed to use the craft service trucks whenever they had to film ConfessionCam, so maybe Jimmy misremembered it a bit.[[/note]], slept on barely adequate beds in freezing temperatures with no heat, bathed only once, had the bare minimum of supervision (consisting mainly of being given water, not for their benefit, but to keep them from passing out from dehydration on camera), were extremely frightened of Jonathan Karsh, and had little to no privacy, with Jimmy being filmed while he was having an emotional breakdown because it made for good footage.

** [[WebVideo/JonTron Jon Jafari's]] interview with Jimmy, the youngest of the kids who were on the show, revealed that the it really ''was'' about as creepy, [[NoOSHACompliance unsafe]], and [[ImmoralRealityShow morally questionable]] as all the detractors thought. During the first week, all forty kids were forced to use one poorly-dug outhouse, were made to feed themselves (and ate very unhealthily as a result), slept on barely adequate beds in freezing temperatures with no heat, bathed only once, had the bare minimum of supervision (consisting mainly of being given water, not for their benefit, but to keep them from passing out from dehydration on camera), were extremely frightened of Jonathan Karsh, and had little to no privacy, with Jimmy being filmed while he was having an emotional breakdown because it made for good footage.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: For a lot of people, the basic concept of "leave 40 children unsupervised in a ghost town to see if they build a society" sounds more like an attempt to replicate ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' than enjoyable reality television.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Jimmy is one of the most well-liked contestants due to having the most common sense despite his extremely young age. Fully knowing that he isn't exactly cut out for the whole show's premise and choosing to leave when he had the chance. ''WebVideo/JonTron'' probably helped out in his popularity. Even though it has been quite a few years and Jimmy has grown up, Jimmy is still rather well-liked due to being a surprisingly nice, sweet, funny and cool with many of his fans wishing him well. Some fans have even wanted to see more of him because he bounced off pretty well with Jon and overall was quite enjoyable.
** Jared is also considered the fan favorite for having many iconic lines, and being a CloudCuckooLander.

** [[WebVideo/JonTron Jon Jafari's]] interview with Jimmy, the youngest of the kids who were on the show, revealed that the it really ''was'' about as creepy, [[NoOSHACompliance unsafe]], and [[ImmoralRealityShow morally questionable]] as all the detractors thought. All forty kids were forced to use one poorly-dug outhouse, were made to feed themselves (and ate very unhealthily as a result), slept on barely adequate beds in freezing temperatures with no heat, bathed only once, had the bare minimum of supervision (consisting mainly of being given water, not for their benefit, but to keep them from passing out from dehydration on camera), were extremely frightened of Jonathan Karsh, and had little to no privacy, often being filmed while they were having emotional breakdowns because it made for good footage.
** ''Kid Nation'' was filmed at Bonanza City. This is the same New Mexican ghost town where Creator/AlecBaldwin had [[RecklessGunUsage a negligent discharge]] that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace dead]] and movie director Joel Souza hospitalized during the production of the western film ''Rust''.

** When the kids were talking about killing the chicken, Savannah (age ''10'') casually asked "Are they gonna hang it like they did Saddam Hussein?"
* OvershadowedByControversy: The show is most known for accusations of child endangerment and being an ImmoralRealityShow. Other than some minor bruises and burns, however, there were no major issues on screen for the most part. Although as {{WebVideo/JonTron}}'s interview with Jimmy shows, the controversies and the issues the detractors had was not exactly unfounded either. It was also revealed that some of the kids drank bleach and needed to get their stomachs pumped, which naturally wasn't mentioned at all by the showrunners.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[WebVideo/JonTron Jon Jafari's]] interview with Jimmy, the youngest of the kids who were on the show, revealed that the it really ''was'' about as creepy, [[NoOSHACompliance unsafe]], and [[ImmoralRealityShow morally questionable]] as all the detractors thought. All forty kids were forced to use one poorly-dug outhouse, were made to feed themselves (and ate very unhealthily as a result), slept on barely adequate beds in freezing temperatures with no heat, bathed only once, had the bare minimum of supervision (consisting mainly of being given water, not for their benefit, but to keep them from passing out from dehydration on camera), were extremely frightened of Jonathan Karsh, and had little to no privacy, often being filmed while they were having emotional breakdowns because it made for good footage.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The show is most known for accusations of child endangerment and being an ImmoralRealityShow. Other than some minor bruises and burns, however, there were no major issues on screen for the most part. Although as {{WebVideo/JonTron}}'s interview with Jimmy shows, the controversies and the issues the detractors had was not exactly unfounded. It was also revealed that some of the kids drank bleach and needed to get their stomachs pumped, which naturally wasn't mentioned at all.

* HarsherInHindsight: At the time the show came out, there were plenty of editorials claiming it was all good fun, that children needed to be "toughened up", and that the complaints from adults were all part of the nanny state coddling and spoiling children. What we know about it now makes those editorials seem ''incredibly'' short-sighted.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[WebVideo/JonTron Jon Jafari's]] interview with Jimmy, the youngest of the kids who were on the show, revealed that the it really ''was'' about as creepy, [[NoOSHACompliance unsafe]], and [[ImmoralRealityShow morally questionable]] as all the detractors thought. All forty kids were forced to use one poorly-dug outhouse, were made to feed themselves (and ate very unhealthily as result), slept on barely adequate beds in freezing temperatures with no heat, bathed only once, had the bare minimum of supervision (consisting mainly of being given water, not for their benefit, but to keep them from passing out from dehydration on camera), were extremely frightened of Jonathan Karsh, and had little to no privacy, often being filmed while they were having emotional breakdowns because it made for good footage.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It just ''screams'' mid 2000s. Especially with all the references to George W Bush, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ricci, and even ''Saddam Hussein''.