Chicago Fire star Daniel Kyri once worked on Kid Nation as a child actor. This is one of the shows showcased in the Vice TV series Dark Side of Reality TV. In that series, the filmmakers look at how many reality TV shows were not as safe as they seemed. This is especially harrowing when it features children.
Here is what happened to Kyri on Kid Nation that almost resulted in his death.
What Happened To Chicago Fire Star On Kid Nation?
Daniel Kyri, 29, is one of the stars of Chicago Fire. He plays Darren Ritter and has been a main cast member since the show premiered in 2018. However, before he got his start on the procedural series, he was a reality TV star as a child actor.
Kyri was part of the cast for Kid Nation, which aired on CBS in 2007. In the reality TV show, kids try to create a functioning society, including setting up a government system with minimal adult help and supervision. Daniel, known on the show as DK, was 14 at the time and represented Illinois. He served on the Town Council from Days 29-40. Daniel also received a Gold Star on Day 19.
However, it turns out things did not go well for him behind the scenes.
Kyri said the incident that almost killed him happened in the early morning on one of the shooting days. “We’re in charge of the saloon,” he remembered (via PEOPLE). We’re gonna get in there, and we’re gonna start our morning off right. I just grab this sort of faintly yellow liquid. It’s giving citrus. It’s giving lemon, like it’s giving fresh.”
He said it looked like a soda can. However, it was much deadlier than soda.
“Unbeknownst to us, the crew would have to sanitize certain areas where we ate and drank, and they put bleach in bottles that looked like soda,” another contestant named Olivia Cloer said. Kyri then grabbed the can and took some big drinks from it.
When the burning and fumes rose up, he couldn’t breathe anymore. “Somebody grabs the bottle and she smells it,” he said. “She’s like, ‘It’s bleach,’ and I just like, take off running to where all the adults are.”
Dark Side Of Reality TV Preview
The new Dark Side of Reality TV episode focuses on the problems behind the scenes at Kid Nation. The issues with the Chicago Fire star are just part of the story of this short-lived series.
Anjay Ajodha, Jimmy Flynn, Olivia Cloer and her father, and Daniel Kyri, along with producer Emily Sinclair and attorney Eric Johnson took part in interviews about the shooting of the series.
“For all the posturing over whether or not the show exploited children I totally think the show could be made again… for better or worse,” Kyri said in the episode.
