‘Sister Wives’: Kody Brown Last Hurrah – Final Season For TLC Series?

Sister Wives star Kody Brown starred in 17 seasons of his popular TLC series across the past decade. He held high hopes that he could dispel myths surrounding polygamy. But he admits he failed his biggest mission of them all. Is it the end of an era, and the reality show’s seeing its last season soon?

Sister Wives: Kody Brown Admits Things Went South

In the beginning, Kody Brown and his three, then four brides spiked curiosity. Then, as fans tuned into Sister Wives, they found the women endearing.

The four women appeared to be great moms, and each of these ladies seemed to adore their co-husband. That was the picture Kody wanted to paint for the viewers.

The message was that he had a functional polygamous family. But reality TV demands drama, and that’s what he needed to keep it going. Once ratings fell, it seems as if he became more open to filming personal things.

Fans got to see jealousy among the wives. Then, they heard the brides talk about rotating nights in bed with their husband. They also let fans see other things, that they kept under wraps when they first graced the screen.

The cameras honed in on their arguments and even the one-line zingers they snapped at each other. So, it seems the Sister Wives’ ratings started to climb once again.

Staying Alive and Well in Ratings

Even when TLC canceled them after Season 11, Kody went back to the drawing board. Reports say the Brown patriarch offered to cut their salaries drastically.

Instead of the five $180,000 paychecks from per season, he offered just one $180K payday for all five. TLC obliged, so they came back for Season 12 and kept going. But you can bet he got them a pay raise later…

Next, Papa Brown allowed even more personal scenes for the cameras. The ratings climbed steadily. They continued to do so despite Sister Wives getting pushed to 10 PM. They lost their original plum Sunday 9 PM prime-time slot.

But the more the viewers witnessed on screen, the more it became apparent. While they call themselves a functional family with one husband, four wives, and 18 kids, they weren’t.

This is something Kody Brown admits today. He said he started off wanting to prove you can have a functional plural marriage family. But today, it is dysfunctional, which he is heard saying in the Season 17 trailer.

Sister Wives: Clues Suggest The Time Has Come

Season 17 kicks off in less than a month, but is this the final season for the TLC series? While the network hasn’t said a word about the fate of Sister Wives, fans think it’s time to put it out to pasture.

Kody shared a few clues about the direction he tends to go in. He won’t promote polygamy anymore. He’s also behaving like a monogamous husband with his only legal wife, Robyn Brown.

Recent news also suggests he’s severed himself from all wives except her. For years, his business management was under Kody Brown Family Entertainment, LLC. He and all four wives were listed as managers.

But back in May, he and Robyn started Dabsark Entertainment, LLC. Only Robyn and Kody Brown are listed as the co-owners of this new venture.

The business’ name is made of the first initials of Kody, Robyn, and her five kids. No initials from his kids from other marriages were used. Just Dayton, Aurora, Brianna, Solomon, Ariella, Robyn, and Kody.

Fans Won’t Buy It

This seems to be a huge clue for many Sister Wives fans. It looks like Kody and his fourth bride moved on from the rest. This business move, along with one wife leaving their family, seems to indicate this lifestyle ran out of fuel.

Now, with Christine Brown gone and this husband devoting his time to Robyn, this doesn’t look at all like a show about polygamy.

While they may try and go on as they did in the last few seasons, fans know too much to buy into all of them acting as one big happy family.

So, while Kody Brown may want to continue, it’s hard to imagine fans would buy into Sister Wives anymore. But there’s always a chance of a spinoff.

Their recent business creation has some fans wondering if Kody and his youngest wife plan to do a sequel spinoff once Sister Wives runs its course.

It’s more likely that fans would tune in to see one of his other two wives (or one ex-wife) get a spinoff instead. And it’s hard to imagine what direction the series takes after the one coming that features his latest divorce.

Season 17 kicks off Sunday, September 11, on TLC. As far as any future seasons, TLC hasn’t said yeah or nay yet. But again, it won’t come as much surprise if Season 17 turns out to be the last.

Come back to Soap Dirt for the latest on Sister Wives.