10:00 Christina Aguilera is performing on the AMAs and it's terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. And my TV's on mute.
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10:01 Breaking Amish, how I've missed you. It's been a while, you lying fakers. Also, hello host of the reunion special, Michelle Beadle. I have a feeling this is going to get ugly. I hope you're ready, Beadle.
After the first two episodes of TLC's breakout show Breaking Amish, I could barely contain my excitement when talking and writing about the show. Even with the full understanding that all reality shows had some staged aspects and scenarios (except for T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle), this show about five twentysomethings leaving their Amish and Mennonite villages for life in New York City seemed so genuine. They seemed adorably shocked by technology, appalled by some of the ways of the "English" (the term for non-Amish), and nervously excited to break out of their restrictive upbringings and carve out new lives for themselves.
Upon turning in my recap for the second episode last Monday, I took a deep breath and then began counting down the days until Episode 3. Would Abe muster up the courage to ask out his newfound crush, Rebecca? Would Rebecca's fake teeth be explained? Will Sabrina and Kate's entry into red-wine alcoholism lead them down the path to AA and lifelong friendship? These were the questions I couldn't stop thinking about last Monday afternoon.
And then, the next morning, some interesting news began trickling in.
Last week, a show seemingly came out of nowhere and rocked my fall, as it surely did for anyone else with the ability to care about Sunday TV of the non–Walter White or American football variety. That show is Breaking Amish, and last night it aired its second episode, meaning there are many things to talk about.
There was a football game on television last night, and I'm willing to bet many people watched it from start to Ben Roethlisberger–interception finish. For better or for worse, I am not one of those people, because the soon-to-be breakout show of the fall television season decided to rear its non-electricity-using head.
That show is Breaking Amish.
What's it about?
Five young people (four Amish and one Mennonite) who make the tough decision to leave their restrictive communities for life in New York City.
Most TV specials documenting people living in cloistered communities appeal to audiences by busting out the most shocking details of such people's private lives. (Indeed, the very title of TLC's upcoming Breaking Amish draws a connection from the experiences of their subjects with those of the miscreant leads of a well-known AMC series.) NatGeo's new series Amish: Out of Order is not especially sensationalistic in its treatment of a group of ex-Amish living in Columbia, Missouri, but it still did offer a few surprises to this English. Let's all learn together!
