Puddle Monkey Productions

Early in 2009 the idea of developing a TV series about a polygamist family was born. Co-Creator Tim Gibbons, over his 20 year long career as a DP/cameraman based in Utah, had personally met many polygamists, in the US and around the world. He knew that there was a much more complex and compelling story than what was being reported by the national news.

The first step was to approach the fundamentalist Mormon community – the religious groups most well-known for the practice of polygamy in the US and attempt to find a family willing to open their lives for the camera. A vision for a reality series that focused on the everyday struggles of a typical polygamist family was formed. The idea of this series was not to create a debate on whether polygamy was right or wrong but rather to simply document such a family and let viewers decide for themselves what they thought of the lifestyle. It would be an anthropological look at a segment of society that had never been documented in such an intimate and non-judgemental way. The show would be produced in the same style as other large family shows seen on TLC and other networks.

After seeing a 2-minute BBC news story that included interviews with the Brown family, the producers knew that they had found their subjects. A teaser was produced, and veteran producer and showrunner Christopher Poole brought it to Bill Hayes and Kirk Streb at Figure 8 Films, the producers of Jon & Kate Plus 8. Bill and Kirk’s long history of producing successful shows for TLC cemented the deal with the network. Contracts were signed and before the ink was even dry, production began on the ground-breaking new series: “Sister Wives.”

Sister Wives blew the doors off the stereotypes surrounding a little known and un-traditional lifestyle and audiences fell in love with the Brown family. The series has gone on to become a critical and ratings success. Over 14 years and 200+ episodes later, the show continues to entertain, engage and enlighten.