Opinion: ‘Side Hustlers’ paints a grim picture of American dream | CNN

Editor’s Note: Elena Sheppard is a culture writer who focuses on books, fashion, theater and history. Her first book, “The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora,” is forthcoming from St. Martin’s Press. The views expressed here are her own. View more opinionon CNN.

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There is something slightly unnerving about the new reality show “Side Hustlers.” The premise of the five-part Roku series is that, under the guidance of supermodel and investor Ashley Graham and Good American CEO and entrepreneur Emma Grede, a select few hopeful entrepreneurs ready to ditch their day jobs will be able to quit their 9-to-5 gigs and pursue their side hustles full time.

They are competing for Grede and Graham’s investment and mentorship, both of which would ostensibly bring their side hustle dreams closer to reality.

This hustle glorification will be recognizable to many a reality show watcher: Think the inventors on “Shark Tank” or the real estate agents of “Selling Sunset” or the Kardashians waking up before dawn to work out.

But whether it means to or not, “Side Hustlers” goes a step further than its reality show cohorts, teetering into an unsettling commentary on the status of the tarnished American dream — or, at the very least, the dissatisfaction so many feel with the American workplace.

The American workplace has undeniably changed since 2020 and the start of the pandemic. Remote work has fundamentally changed office culture, and millions of Americans are working multiple jobs — either to make more money or simply to brace for ever-looming layoffs.

Side hustles have become a fact of American life that underscores how little faith we collectively have in traditional systems or job security. Case in point, 2023 saw the most workplace strikes in more than two decades. Gone is the baby boomer mentality of company loyalty, upheld by a generation in which the majority of Americans stayed with the same company for decades. Americans today operate under an ethos that the most lucrative financial opportunities are self-made.

The newest generation to enter the workforce, Generation Z, has an almost opposite workplace philosophy to the baby boomers. The Gen Z mindset is shaped by the constant instability of their upbringing caused by a pandemic, significant layoffs in multiple industries, the Great Resignation, the ever-looming threat of recession and the advancements of artificial intelligence leading to the erasure of certain jobs.

As Gen Z firmly plants their feet in the workforce, they are focusing on how to make their lives the best they can be financially — not how to be loyal employees. It’s hard to imagine Gen Zers or millennials for that matter going for a reality show scenario such as what was offered on “The Apprentice” (former president notwithstanding) in which contestants vie for a job at a company. A company job is no longer the dream.  

The show “Side Hustlers” zeroes in on this shifting cultural mentality via a handful of female founders whose business ideas Gerde and Graham think have potential for success. While the women introduce their ideas — a food truck, sustainable period products, a makeup company — they also comment on their day jobs. “It’s not where my passion lies,” says one contestant who is a corporate compliance officer. And also note how much is riding on their side hustle, both financially and with respect to fulfilment. “I’ve been working for a cell phone company for the last 13 years, and it’s just not cutting it anymore,” another contestant says.

Their day jobs are treated like situations to get out of to find real business potential. It’s a mindset that feels reflective of a growing national philosophy in which you have a day job where you make what you need to live, and then you have a side hustle where the real opportunity lies.  

“Side Hustlers” is undeniably entertaining, bingeable even, but there’s a feeling of desperation and truth beneath the entertainment. The American dream — of upward mobility, individual prosperity and success — in 2024 anyway, is not a result of traditional employment. The 2024 version is something more akin to an American nightmare, one with around-the-clock work, endless hurdles and prosperity just out of reach.

“I don’t go to sleep,” one of the contestants says of how she balances her day job and her hustle. In 2024, to even conceive of reaching the American dream, means there is absolutely no time for rest.