Sister Wives Investigated
TLC has a whole host of shows that shed light on stigmatized subcultures. There's Little People, Big World, Hoarders: Buried Alive and, as of this September, Sister Wives, a show about modern-day polygamy, starring Mormon fundamentalist Kody Brown of Lehi, Utah, his four wives and their 16 children. But for this nontraditional family, reality-show stardom came at a cost. The day after the series premiered, Lehi police announced they were launching an investigation into Brown's alleged bigamy — which, surprise, is still illegal. Nothing has come of the investigation yet, and it's possible nothing will, as the Utah attorney general's office has limited resources to go after polygamists who are not suspected of serious crimes like child abuse. For his part, Brown insists his living arrangement is aboveboard, as he is legally married to only one woman (the other marriages are merely spiritual unions). "I just fell in love, and then I fell in love again, and I fell in love again," he says. In the meantime, the show garnered ratings solid enough in its first season to be picked up for a second, which will debut in spring 2011.