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human
ELI5: How were TV shows able to work around child labor laws when the main characters are kids?

I was watching Malcolm in the Middle and started to wonder how they're able to film on a regular schedule when 3 of the characters (and the main one) are kids. 

How are they able to do this while going around child labor laws?
gpt
They don't work around them, they work *with* them. 

Malcolm in the Middle, for example, was not shot in front of a live audience. That gave them a LOT more flexibility. You'll also notice (if you pay attention) how much editing and looping is used in that show. It's a *lot*. It's like that for most single-camera shows.

Second, and this is important - they find kids who can actually *act*. That makes the work sooo much smoother. 

Other shows will just limit the amount of screen-time they devote to those characters, and/or use twins if possible (that's extremely common for baby/very young characters).