TLC Preps Show On Polygamy Family
 
By Scott Bomboy
Entertainment
MyFox Philadelphia
Sister Wives

The production company that does "Kate Plus 8" will now have a TLC series on the exploits of a polygamist family in Utah.

The show will push the bounds of reality TV, since polygamy is illegal in Utah but practiced by an estimated 40,000 people, according to a 2009 BBC report.

The Los Angeles Times first reported that Figure 8 Films has a seven-episode deal with TLC to produce "Sister Wives."

On Friday, Discovery Communications COO Peter Liguori defended the series to TV critics.

"We want to continue to push the avenue of storytelling," he said. "We want to do things that have never been done in the 25 years of the company. TLC does a great job of examining families in every size, color and creed. What they tend to do is show you one common element among all these families -- love."

Figure 8 had its first big hit with "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and the exploits of Jon and Kate Gosselin.

It then had second hit on TLC with the exploits of the Duggars and their 19 children.

But will America warm up to a husband with three wives and 13 children, especially when he wants a fourth wife?

The series will focus on Kody Brown and his wives Meri, Janelle and Christine and their 13 kids.

Brown will tell his wives that he wants to add a sister wife, and the series will show the interaction among Brown’s family to the news.

TLC President Eileen O'Neill says the Browns are doing the series to cast polygamy in a positive light.

O’Neill also said TLC only signed off on the polygamy series after "thoughtful decision considered over time."

The network could also start showing Sarah Palin’s series in the same time frame as "Sister Wives."

Kody Brown is no stranger to the press. In 2009, he agreed to an interview with his family by the BBC, which was in Utah to cover a move to legalize polygamy in the state.

Brown had testified at a hearing on the subject, and then he took the reporter into Brown’s house.

The mothers each have separate apartments within the house, and all the parents work.

Polygamy is illegal under U.S. legal statutes, but enforcing the law is difficult, because most husbands to try to legally marry more than one wife.

The series will start on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 10 p.m. ET.
 
MyFoxPhilly.com
Originally published August 6, 2010
 
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