I’m a huge fan of trashy reality TV. Whether it’s The Bachelor or 90 Day Fiance, I just love seeing people portray what they claim to be their normal lives. Can anyone captured on film 24/7 be completely authentic? Reality television has storylines. It has characters – a villain, a hero, a goofball – and it’s naive to think that producers and editors don’t put a lot of time into determining who will play what role each season. That said, some shows pique my interest more than others.
I’ve mentioned it before, but there’s something special about Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and I say this after watching pretty much every Housewives franchise available. While they all have different flavors of fun, RHOSLC puts a new spin on the Housewives formula by adding in a complicated element: religion.
Most of the cast is Mormon, or formerly Mormon, though there are a few outliers. While other Housewives franchises have participants who claim to be religious (particularly thinking about Vicki and Tamra’s stint into Christianity on Real Housewives of Orange County, there’s a difference between being raised in the church, packed full of all its joys and abuses, and converted later in life. Perhaps I love RHOSLC so much because I see a lot of myself in its participants, not rejecting of the church so much as hurt by experiences I’ve had in the past.
RHOSLC has chugged along for a few seasons, not really gaining the momentum with the wider world that other franchises have. However, the world woke up to the meme potential of RHOSLC and fully joined in on the fun. I’m talking “RECEIPTS, PROOF, TIMELINES, SCREENSHOTS!”
This season ended in a dramatic dinner (they always end in a dramatic dinner) where the cast confronted new member Monica about her alleged alternate identity, internet troll account Reality von TEAse.
For many viewers, this explosive ending signaled the mark of a great season. Having a bombshell drop at the end of the season worked for Vanderpump Rules, and it worked well for RHOSLC, too. The three-part reunion episodes demonstrated that host Andy Cohen can still tease out the drama while remaining less-than-impartial. His own brand of judgment only fuels the festivities. It’s good television.
But even without a big finish, RHOSLC never fails to impress me. It deftly navigates the world of Salt Lake itself, a place where “soft-swinging” Mormon influencers and the full blown mother church of Mormonism can coexist. Religion is always going to be a presence there, but RHOSLC proves that the reality of living in Utah is more complicated than most might think.
As a fan, of course I have theories about what might happen next season. We already know that Monica will be in the all-star hall of one season cast members, as she’s chosen to leave the show after her debut. The reunion saw the closure of another plotline: who gave Heather a black eye. But I won’t spoil that for you here. Like any Housewives show, there will always be storylines and fluctuating relationships. What really matters is what RHOSLC has that no other franchise can master: putting a spotlight on the weird, contradictory facets of organized religion.
Let’s get Meredith to play us out with her most famous line from the season.