There’s a line from 30 Rock uttered by Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) that sticks with me forever: “I remember when Bravo used to air operas.” TV exec Donaghy was the perfect person to point out the stark contrast between what Bravo used to be (when it was the channel dedicated to “film and the performing arts”) and what Bravo is now best known for (“Prostitution whore!â).
Similarly, TLC is the network we used to call The Learning Channel, which once aired shows called Great Books and Paleoworld, but which will now be the home to The Baldwins, a Jon & Kate Plus 8-style show about Alec and Hilaria Baldwin and their seven children. 30 Rock was often known for its prescient, meta-commentary on Hollywood, but this is head-exploding levels of meta.
The Baldwins was announced today on the official Instagram pages for Alec, Hilaria and TLC. In the video announcement, Alec and Hilaria appear on their couch and first reassure viewers that no, they are not having another kid. Instead, they share, “Weâre inviting you into our home to experience the ups and downs; the good, the bad, the wild and the crazy. Home is the place we love to be most.â
As the pair try to wrangle their kids to say the name of the show in unison, Baldwin then says, “We are the Baldwins, and weâre going to TLC! God help you all.â The show is expected to premiere in 2025.
Per TLC: “Alec and Hilaria Baldwin have been making headlines since they were married nearly 12 years ago. In this TLC follow-doc series, Alec and Hilaria invite viewers into the home they share with their seven growing kids. For the first time, theyâre opening up their family lives and bringing everyone in to join in the nonstop love, laughter and drama.â
It’s certainly true that the Baldwins have been making headlines, though not always for the best reasons. Between the two, they’ve often found themselves at the center of controversy, from Hilaria’s questionable claims of her ethnicity, to Baldwin’s ongoing manslaughter trial stemming from the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film Rust.
As a fan of Baldwin’s, this show feels like a bad idea. I could watch 30 Rock daily. He is perfection in Working Girl and Glengarry Glen Ross. I don’t want to live in a world where he teaches his children their ABCs and it’s an actual reference to the alphabet, because where Baldwin is concerned, ABC means just one thing, and coffee is for closers.
I don’t want this show to tarnish his reputation, nor should it be a convenient distraction from his legal troubles, but that is how this move comes off. The news feels uncomfortable, probably due to the timing and the fact that it feels like a deliberate PR move (on his part? on her part? Both!) rather than a show any of us want to see. This is a family that has been in the center of many shitstorms and have little good will to spare, who are now voluntarily placing their “Baldwinitos” in the center of the public eye. As Jack Donaghy would say, “Good God.”
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