Nellie Andreeva

Fox is resurrecting controversial reality series Someone’s Gotta Go. In 2009, the network drew protests when it filmed a pilot for the project, in which small companies struggling amid the recession let their employees decide who should be laid off. The Endemol USA-produced project did not go to series, but now it is — with some tweaks.

The series, which is nearing a four-episode order, won’t feature companies that have economic difficulties but dysfunctional ones whose employees still will be empowered to vote on who will terminated. In another twist to the original premise, the employees will have the opportunity to let someone go but they don’t have to. Thus the change in the title of the series to Does Someone Have To Go? Endemol USA is again producing.

Fox is in the process of scheduling the four-episode series, whose original incarnation Fox’s head of alternative programming Mike Darnell described as “Survivor meets The Office.” In the first go-around, the show’s premise drew criticism for being insensitive to the millions who have lost their jobs in recession-related layoffs.

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