Helping Hands LLC, the California company responsible for the creation and production of Bristol Palin's short-lived reality TV show "Bristol Palin's: Life's a Tripp," has reportedly collected a $354,348 subsidy from the state of Alaska's film incentive program, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
The 14-episode TV show, which aired for a short time last summer and received scathing reviews, collected a total of $995,275 in "Alaska expenses." Helping Hands LLC, unlike many other companies subsidized by the state thus far, reportedly used the majority of the total "Alaska expenses" to pay the salaries of the six Alaska residents, including Bristol Palin, who participated as "talent" on "Life's a Tripp."
Collectively, the six Alaskans cast as "talent" received close to a half-million dollars in wages for their contributions to the show, while the Alaskan crew members working on the production side reportedly received $32,400. However, the News-Miner reports, "there were no Alaskans hired as crew for the show."
Helping Hands also reported paying $74,057 in "above the line" wages, a term used to denote director, stars, producer and other major production players, to people from Outside and $148,450 to non-Alaskans for production work.
"Bristol Palin's: Life's a Tripp" focused on former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's young-adult daughter, Bristol, and her move from Alaska to Hollywood and back, "giving viewers a unique look at the difficult decisions she has to make for her relationships, career and family," according to Lifetime's website. The filming of the show reportedly took place in Wasilla, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Big Lake, Palmer, Houston and Portage after Palin returned to Alaska from California.