Sister Wives is an American reality television series broadcast on TLC in 2010. The show documents the life of a polygamist family living in Lehi, Utah, which includes patriarch Kody Brown, his four wives and their 16 children. The seven-episode first season ran from September 26, 2010 to October 17, 2010 and drew strong ratings according to Nielsen Media Research. Sister Wives has been renewed for a second season, which will broadcast starting March 2011.
Brown and his wives have claimed they participated with the show to make the public more aware of polygamist families and to combat societal prejudices. Brown has claimed his polygamist arrangement is legal because he is legally married only to one woman, and the other marriages are spiritual unions. Nevertheless, legal experts have claimed the series could leave the Brown family vulnerable to criminal prosecution.
One day after the series debuted, Lehi police announced they were conducting a bigamy investigation into the family. The Utah Attorney General's office has not ruled out seeking criminal charges against the Browns, but stated they do not have the resources to go after polygamists who are not suspected of serious crimes such as child abuse or child trafficking.