| Sister Wives | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by |
|
| Starring | The Brown family |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 20 |
| No. of episodes | 209(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Vince Russo |
| Production locations | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | TLC |
| Release | September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26) – present |
Sister Wives is an Americanreality television series broadcast onTLC that premiered on September 26, 2010. The show documents the life of apolygamist family, which includes Kody Brown, his current wife Robyn (née Sullivan), and his former wives Meri (née Barber), Janelle (née Schriever) (S1-20), and Christine (née Allred), and their 18 children (1 by Meri, 6 each by Janelle and Christine, 5 by Robyn although 3 were between her and her ex-husband David Preston Jessop). The family began the series living inLehi, Utah, moved toLas Vegas in 2011, and toFlagstaff, Arizona, in mid-2018.[1]
The Browns have stated they participated in the show to make the public aware of polygamist families and to combat societal prejudices. When the show began, Kody Brown argued that his polygamist arrangement was legal because he was legally married to only one woman, while the three other marriages in the family were "spiritual unions."
In the first episode, the show introduced Kody Brown and his wives Meri, Janelle, Christine and their 13 children. The four adults created the family in the early 1990s, as Kody and Meri were a married couple for three years before Janelle married Kody and soon after, Christine married Kody. The family began having children in 1994.[2] Subsequently in the first season, the show televised Kody's courtship and marriage to his fourth wife, Robyn.[3][4][5][6] Robyn was the first new wife to enter the family in 16 years and brought three children from her first marriage. During the same time period as the courtship and wedding, third wife Christine gave birth to Brown baby #13.
Sister Wives was publicly introduced on August 6, 2010, at theTelevision Critics Association summer media tour inBeverly Hills. The series' first episode, an hour-long, was broadcast onTLC on September 26, 2010, and the first season continued with six half-hour episodes until October 17, 2010.[7][8]
The broadcast ofSister Wives came at a time when polygamy and multiple marriages were prevalent topics in American pop culture.Big Love, the hitHBO series about fictional Utah polygamist Bill Henrickson, his three sister wives, and their struggle to gain acceptance in society, had already been on the air for several years. In early September 2010, the drama seriesLone Star, about a con man on the verge of entering into multiple marriages, premiered onFox but was quickly canceled after two episodes. WhenSister Wives debuted, actressKatherine Heigl was in the process of developing a film aboutCarolyn Jessop, a woman who fled from a polygamistsect.[9]
In October 2010, TLC announced it had commissioned a second season, which began in March 2011.[10] A TLC interview with the Brown family was broadcast on October 31, 2010,[11] and a one-hour program featuring the honeymoon of Kody and Robyn aired on November 22, 2010.[12]
The series led to the Brown family being investigated for possible prosecution. The family latersued the state of Utah, challenging its criminal polygamy laws. The Browns prevailed in thedistrict court in a 2013 ruling, but a unanimous three-judge panel of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered the case to be dismissed onstanding grounds in 2016.[13]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 7 | September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26) | November 21, 2010 (2010-11-21) | |
| 2 | 11 | March 13, 2011 (2011-03-13) | June 5, 2011 (2011-06-05) | |
| 3 | 11 | September 25, 2011 (2011-09-25) | November 27, 2011 (2011-11-27) | |
| 4 | 11 | May 13, 2012 (2012-05-13) | June 24, 2012 (2012-06-24) | |
| 5 | 8 | November 18, 2012 (2012-11-18) | December 30, 2012 (2012-12-30) | |
| 6 | 18 | 10 | July 21, 2013 (2013-07-21) | September 22, 2013 (2013-09-22) |
| 8 | December 29, 2013 (2013-12-29) | June 26, 2014 (2014-06-26) | ||
| 7 | 8 | June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) | July 27, 2014 (2014-07-27) | |
| 8 | 7 | January 4, 2015 (2015-01-04) | March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01) | |
| 9 | 10 | September 13, 2015 (2015-09-13) | November 22, 2015 (2015-11-22) | |
| 10 | 9 | March 13, 2016 (2016-03-13) | June 5, 2016 (2016-06-05) | |
| 11 | 10 | November 27, 2016 (2016-11-27) | January 29, 2017 (2017-01-29) | |
| 12 | 11 | January 7, 2018 (2018-01-07) | April 1, 2018 (2018-04-01) | |
| 13 | 11 | January 20, 2019 (2019-01-20) | April 21, 2019 (2019-04-21) | |
| 14 | 15 | January 5, 2020 (2020-01-05) | April 12, 2020 (2020-04-12) | |
| 15 | 11 | March 13, 2021 (2021-03-13) | June 5, 2021 (2021-06-05) | |
| 16 | 10 | November 21, 2021 (2021-11-21) | February 20, 2022 (2022-02-20) | |
| 17 | 14 | September 11, 2022 (2022-09-11) | January 8, 2023 (2023-01-08) | |
| 18 | 14 | August 20, 2023 (2023-08-20) | December 19, 2023 (2023-12-19) | |
| 19 | 20 | September 15, 2024 (2024-09-15) | February 2, 2025 (2025-02-02) | |
Considering its sensational subject matter, TLC'sSister Wives has been refreshingly modest. The stars [have] a natural, honest presence in a genre fabled for the camera-hogging antics ofJersey Shore. Rather than merely emphasizing what's different about the Brown family – most obviously, their "plural marriage" –Sister Wives shows us how normal they seem: loving and good-natured around their children, occasionally prone to envy and feelings of betrayal.
Sister Wives drew national media attention after its first season[15] and garnered generally mixed reviews from critics.Washington Post staff writerHank Stuever called it "refreshingly frank" and found most interesting the small details of the family's everyday life, such as the food supply, division of labor, and minor arguments.[16]Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara said she was intrigued by the matriarchal nature of the polygamist family, a unit that is traditionally considered patriarchal. McNamara said the wives form the center of the family and that "their bonds appear far stronger and more vital than the casual fondness with which they all treat Kody".[17]Salon writer Schuyler Velasco praisedSister Wives for introducing viewers to the unfamiliar subject matter and called it "refreshingly modest" considering its controversial topic. Velasco said it has "a natural, honest presence in a genre fabled for the camera-hogging antics ofJersey Shore".[14] Shelley Fralic ofThe Vancouver Sun called it fascinating and surprising and was impressed with the sensible and articulate way in which the family defended their lifestyle.[6] When the Brown family made an October 2010 appearance onThe Oprah Winfrey Show, talk show hostOprah Winfrey said she found particularly fascinating the relationship between the sister wives.[18]
Mark A. Perigard of theBoston Herald criticized Kody Brown for opening himself and his family up to potential criminal prosecution by appearing in the series, describing him as "a lawbreaker who is risking himself and the family he claims is so precious just to star in his own TV show".[19] Elizabeth Tenety ofThe Washington Post called the series "one part domestic drudgery, another partsensationalism" and claimed it relied on a "familiarreality TV recipe" shared by other TLC series such as19 Kids and Counting andKate Plus 8.[2]Religion Dispatches writerJoanna Brooks shared Tenety's perspective, criticizing the show for presenting polygamy in a manner that "is about as interesting to me asKate Gosselin's latest makeover." In this vein Brooks criticized the show for not engaging the theology of plural marriage and for letting Kody Brown's superficial comments about the dissimilarity ofFundamentalist and mainstreamMormonism pass on to the viewers without any critical scrutiny or added nuance.[20] Shari Puterman, television columnist with theAsbury Park Press, felt the sister wives had issues with jealousy and self-worth, and she compared Kody to acult leader. Puterman added, "I can't speak for everyone, but I believe in the sanctity of marriage. It's sad to see that TLC's capitalizing on people who don't."[21] Former prosecutor and television personalityNancy Grace criticized the show and said she believed Kody Brown should go to jail, but she expressed doubt he would, based on Utah's history of overlooking polygamy.[22] Christine Seifert, an associate professor of communications atWestminster College in Salt Lake City, said the show could give viewers who are unfamiliar with the LDS church the incorrect assumption that polygamy is accepted by the mainstream church.[15] Several commentators have taken notice of the fact that the family's religious convictions are downplayed inSister Wives.[17][20][23]
According toNielsen Media Research, the September 26, 2010, one-hour premiere episode ofSister Wives drew 2.26 million viewers,[24] a strong rating for the network. It marked the biggest series debut for TLC sinceCake Boss launched in 2009 and was a stronger rating than any of the season premieres for HBO'sBig Love.[25] The remaining episodes of the first season were each half an hour long, with two broadcasts together each Thursday. In the second week, the first episode drew 1.88 million viewers, while the second drew 2.13 million.[26] The third week drew similar results, with 1.89 million viewers watching the first episode and 2.05 million watching the second.[27]Sister Wives drew its strongest ratings during the fourth and final week of the first season, with 2.67 million viewers for the first episode and 2.74 million for the season finale.[8] As a result of the 2.7 million average viewership for the two episodes, TLC ranked first among all ad-support cable channels in the 18–49 and 25–54 age groups. The series drew double- and triple-digit rating gains in all key demographics and ranked second in ad-supported cable network shows during its timeslot.[28]
Kody Brown, along with his wives, filed a legal case in theUnited States federal courts challenging theState of Utah's criminalpolygamy law.[29] The Browns prevailed in a 2013federal district court ruling, but a unanimous three-judge panel of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered the case to be dismissed onstanding grounds in 2016.[30] The Tenth Circuit concluded that, because local Utah prosecutors had a policy of not pursuing most polygamy cases in the absence of additional associated crimes (e.g., welfare fraud or marriage of underage persons), the Browns had no credible fear of future prosecution and thus lacked standing.[31][32]
As polygamous marriage is not legally recognized in the US, there are no divorce documents to date the end of relationships. The end of a relationship is instead reckoned by announcements, and events such as moving away.
In November 2021, Christine announced the dissolution of her relationship with Kody.[33][34] Christine sold her Flagstaff home in October 2021,[35] and in August 2022 transferred ownership of a portion of jointly owned "Coyote Pass" property in Flagstaff to Kody and Robyn Brown.[36] On Valentine's Day 2023, Christine publicly announced her relationship with new boyfriend David Woolley.[37] They announced their engagement on April 13.[38] They married in October 2023.
In December 2022, Janelle announced her separation from Kody.[39]
Meri's marriage was known to be the rockiest of all, and has been since the beginning of the show. It had been previously called a "non-sexual relationship" rather than a usual marriage. Following Christine and Janelle's divorces, rumors began that Meri was next. On January 10, 2023, Meri and Kody posted joint social media announcements that they decided to end their marriage.[40][41] Meri also condemned a December 2022 article inPeople Magazine[42] for incorrectly quoting her saying it was over before it was.[41]
In 2013 the parents jointly published a book titledBecoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage (ISBN 9781451661309).
Following Christine's divorce, TLC gave her a YouTube show of her own titledCooking with Just Christine.
In 2025, Christine published her memoir over her life experiences before, during, and after the show.
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