Is Sister Wives: The Dargers coming to TLC?

Could there be a new face of polygamy coming to TLC in the future?

When TLC launched Sister Wives, fans were instantly intrigued with the Brown family. After all, polygamy is a secret world that not many of us have had any contact with in our own day-to-day worlds. So, when the Browns—Kody Brown, Wife #1 Meri, Wife #2 Janelle and Wife #3 Christine, plus their 13 kids—debuted on TLC, it was a hit. Later, the Browns added Wife #4 Robyn and her three kids from a previous marriage, and when she and Kody had their first baby together, the Browns’ family total balanced out at one husband, four wives and 17 kids—at least for the moment. That’s a lot of kids, a lot of wives and a lot of chaos for one family.

Enter the Dargers

Last night, TLC introduced Sister Wives fans to the Darger family: Joe Darger, Wife #1 Alina, Wife #2 Vicki and Wife #3 Valerie (who also happens to be Vicki’s twin sister), plus their 23 kids. And, if anyone thought that polygamy was polygamy, seeing the Browns together with the Dargers displayed how different the practice of polygamy can be. Watching the Browns each week is like watching a never-ending whirlwind in action; the Dargers are organized, level-headed and purposeful. They have routines, seating assignments and charts keeping their days and activities on-track. They have family exercise sessions. They have a family mission statement. And, they seem happy—or perhaps incredibly repressed; it’s hard to tell the difference after one short introduction.

So, could it be that TLC was introducing the Dargers to Sister Wives fans last night as something of a “test run” for a possible Sister Wives spin-off? There are all kinds of shows out there nowadays with the same name, different location; perhaps the Dargers could become Sister Wives: Utah?

Polygamy Darger Style

The Browns seemed extremely intimidated by the Dargers and their regimented lifestyle. The Dargers claim to have worked through issues that keep plaguing the Browns, including issues with jealousy over Kody’s attention and affection. Kody basically keeps his affections to himself unless he is alone with a wife—no hugging, no kissing, no hand-holding if it isn’t in private, which is kind of sad, when you think about it. The Brown wives apparently cannot share a kitchen—the wives’ “domain,” Kody called it—without bad blood seriously boiling over, so they just don’t do it. And, probably most significantly, Joe is the undisputed leader of the Darger family; what he says goes, and that is why they seem to run as smoothly as they do. “It seems like Joe does lead his family and THEY lead mine,” Kody said, the “THEY” being his four never-agreeing wives. Is Joe’s apparently unquestioned leadership a good thing, or is it just a smiling dictatorship? Again, hard to tell the difference after just one short introduction, but it was certainly a lot less nerve-wrecking to watch.

Sister Wives: The Dargers?

So, is TLC planning a Sister Wives: The Dargers series? As of now, there has been no indication from TLC that that is the case. But, would fans like to see this family’s take on polygamy captured in a series? The Dargers seem to be well-taken to television and publicity. They already have a book available, Love Times Three, and have been on the interview circuit for awhile. So, don’t be surprised if you see a Darger version of Sister Wives coming to a television near you in the future.

More pressing, no doubt, is the question the Browns raised last night during their couch session on Sister Wives: Will there be Darger-Brown dating between any of the kids in the future?

Stay tuned.

UPDATED: One-hour Darger family special to air on TLC

Sister Wives airs on TLC on Sunday nights at 9/8c.

Image: TLC