Swingers, Sinners, and Housewives: TV’s Big Mormon Moment Is Here
This September is the month of Mormon mania. Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premieres on Sept. 18, where the woman will attempt a second act to their show-stopping takedown of Monica Garcia. Rivaling the premiere, though, is a new reality venture: Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which hit streaming Sept. 6. With their synced release dates, these shows will inevitably compete. It’s a full-scale reality television Mormon-off.
It’s easy to compare Mormon Wives and RHOSLC; hell, Mormon Wives even has its own Whitney and Jen, though this Jen doesn’t teach prison fitness classes to Elizabeth Holmes. Mormon Wives also uses the Bravo structure to its advantage; like Selling Sunset, Mormon Wives rips off the Housewives-style of confessionals and group trips.
Some of the conversations are practically identical: RHOSLC’s Heather questions Lisa for being a Mormon with a tequila company, while Mormon Wives’ Jen shames Jessi for her drinking. It’s also not Hulu’s first dip in the Bravo pot; they already have the dreadfully boring Vanderpump Villa, and are producing the docu-comedy Stassi Says. Adding in Mormon Wives, it’s easy to think that Hulu is crawling for those Bravo bucks.