I remember back in 2010 when TLC debuted its newest show about a plural family trying to blaze their own path through a world that didn’t recognize their values and beliefs. Now it’s 2025 and fans are eagerly awaiting the return of the second half of Sister Wives season 19. As we collectively wonder what the future holds for the series now that patriarch Kody Brown has lost three of his four wives, I have to think that it’s time to bring the original series to an end so that a new spinoff can take flight.
There was a time, long before the 90 Day Fiance universe, when TLC had some of the buzziest shows on television. Fans tuned in to TLC to watch shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8 and 19 Kids and Counting (completely unaware of the strife happening behind the scenes on both shows). Over on HBO, Emmy-nominated Big Love, a show about a fictional polygamist family, was getting rave reviews during its 2006-2011 run, so it wasn’t surprising in the age of reality television that a TV show about a real family living the plural lifestyle would eventually come along, and TLC became its home.
I remember watching the Sister Wives pilot episode in 2010. It was one of those buzzy, must-watch TV moments that left everyone talking the next day about the man with three — soon to be four — wives and their giant family. The early episodes followed the Brown family as they packed their belongings in the dead of night to flee Utah, where they were facing persecution for their lifestyle. Despite the danger of openly living in plural marriages, it wasn’t long before the Brown family — Kody, Meri, Christine, Janelle and newcomer (but not yet wife) Robyn — became household names.
19 seasons later, fans are still tuning in to see what’s going on with the Brown family, but things have changed a great deal. Christine was the first to leave Kody; she’s now married to David Wooley. Fans were able to see her split from Kody as well as her courtship and eventual marriage to her new beau. Janelle soon followed, and Meri was the last to leave. Many of the Brown children are now parents of their own.
It hasn’t been easy watching the Brown family fall apart, buy many people probably saw it coming. The family dynamic has shifted to the point that many of the kids and former wives have no connection to other members of the family; Christine and Janelle remain close to each other and their kids are also close, but few of the kids have contact with Meri, Robyn or even Kody.
Fans have started to wonder whether season 19 marks the end of the series given that it has been such a long season, with 20 episodes already aired and the promise of more to come in the spring. Given that the family now lives all over the country, with Robyn and Kody in Arizona, Christine and Meri in Utah and Janelle in North Carolina, it seems like the original show has run its course.
That’s not to say that there aren’t stories yet to be told. That’s why a spinoff would be a great way to refresh the franchise and move it in a new direction. The most obvious choice when it comes to spinoffs is to have a new show that follows the exploits of Janelle and Christine. Though they live on opposite sides of the country these days, they are still friends and their kids are close, and it’s highly likely that they will continue to see each other during holiday celebrations and special occasions like birthdays and weddings.
Following Christine’s vacation rental business and Janelle’s adventures opening a flower field, Taeda Farms, on the 156-acre property she bought with her daughter Madison and Madison’s husband, Caleb Brush, would be fun. Both women have embarked on new adventures, reinventing themselves after living in a plural family for so long, and seeing them embrace their new lives would be a very natural continuation of the story.
What I’d really love to see is a whole series dedicated to the next generation of the Brown family. Madison, aka Maddie, had a podcast that ran from November 2024 to January 2025 where she shared insight into her family’s dynamics. Though short-lived, the podcast revealed there are stories to tell within the family and it would be interesting to see things from the now-adult Brown kids’ perspective, with perhaps only occasional appearances from their parents.
Though the future of Sister Wives remains unclear at this point, there’s no denying fans would love to see more from the Brown family, though perhaps with a different lens. A spinoff would give the show a refresh while perhaps also giving new voices to the next generation of the family who grew up before the audience’s eyes.
New episodes of Sister Wives season 19 return this spring, and past episodes are available to stream on Max.
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