TLC's latest foray into the story of a family living seemingly normal lives despite some oddity — see "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" and "19 Kids and Counting" — goes beyond the trials and tribulations of just living with multiple children. "Sister Wives" features the Brown family, made up of a man living in Utah with three wives, 13 children and a girlfriend with three children of her own.
The Browns are members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that condones polygamy among its followers. Despite the illegality of polygamy in the United States, the religious sect chooses to overlook these rules in favor of their religious beliefs. Kody Brown is the patriarch of his family, and he lives in a house with three separate apartments for his wives — Meri, Janelle and Christine — and their respective children. His girlfriend Robyn lives with her three children in a house just a block away.
"Sister Wives" provides an interesting window into an extremely unusual way of life. The show is filmed in a documentary−like style and chronicles the daily activities of the family, featuring interviews with Kody and his wives. The seven−episode first season chronicles many major events in the life of the Brown family: Kody is courting a fourth woman to be his wife, his third wife Christine gives birth to her sixth child, and he celebrates a 20th wedding anniversary with his first wife, Meri.
TLC is testing the waters with the show's short first season. Showcasing the religious beliefs and lifestyle of such a unique family is uncharted territory for the network, and it is clearly gauging the show's reception among audience members. Fans of other TLC classics will no doubt be able to take "Sister Wives" at face value and get at least some enjoyment out of it.
The Browns shy away from mentioning their religious beliefs too often. Instead, they focus on what they deem "the lifestyle" — living in a family with a strong patriarch who has multiple "sister wives," the term used to describe the relationship among multiple women all married to the same man. The women do consider themselves sisters on some level and have learned not to let jealousy get in the way of their relationships with their husband. Kody has an organized schedule so he can keep track of how much time he spends with each wife, rotating whose bed he sleeps in nightly.
The children all attend a school for people living "the lifestyle" — their peers come from polygamous families and their teachers are familiar with the restrictions and benefits of their family situations. This way the children can avoid bullying from classmates who may view them as outcasts. Kody was raised in "the lifestyle" himself, so he understands the pitfalls of growing up in a polygamous family.
"Sister Wives" is riveting from beginning to end. The Browns do not preach their lifestyle, nor do they disapprove of monogamy — they are merely sharing the way that they live with the world. The interviews with the women offer a truly unique point of view into a completely foreign concept for most of us. It is quite intriguing to look in as an outsider and sort out what must be some very logistically complicated marital issues.
Since the debut of their show, the Browns have come under legal scrutiny as their lifestyle is, in fact, illegal. Kody has said that he is only legally married to Meri, his first wife, and just has "spiritual unions" with his other two wives. He does not, however, consider these marriages to be anything other than completely official. All his wives are equal in his eyes.
Whatever the case may be, the family is facing disapproval from their church and culture for exposing their lifestyle to the general public's interpretation, be it negative or positive.
The season finale airs at 10 p.m. this Sunday on TLC. In this episode, Kody will wed his fourth wife and take her children as his own. Will a fourth wife be the icing on the (wedding) cake to keep the Browns around for another season, or will their religious beliefs get the better of them and force them out of the limelight?
