As the stars of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives have had an eventful few months, one of the major narratives has been the rumor that Jen Affleck would headline her own Orange County spinoff.
The spinoff was always true but Affleck is not the headliner.
Hulu has officially ordered The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, featuring the likes of podcaster Bobbi Althoff and actress Madison Bontempo (Chapel).
It comes after Deadline revealed in November that Hulu was exploring a number of projects emerging out of the world of its controversial hit reality series.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, which will premiere later this year, follows a new group of young mothers in Orange County, which has a significant presence of Mormon worshippers.
Per the logline, this group of young mothers collide in a community where beliefs are not just their religion; they are their identity. While some defend their way of life, fighting against modernity, others embrace change, becoming a platform to disrupt the status quo. Scandals and secrets will be revealed, facades will crumble, and families and friendships will change forever on both sides of the battlefield as this group of strong, game-changing influencers comes together to build their answer to #MomTok.
The series stars Bobbi Althoff, Aspyn Ovard, Avery Woods, Salomé Andrea, McCall DaPron, Chandler Higginson, Ashleigh Pease and Madison Bontempo.
The spinoff comes amid a difficult time for the OG Mormon Wives. Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was shelved after domestic assault allegations, which also saw production pause of SLOMW. Season 5 of the show is set to resume production, although it’s unclear when.
Jeff Jenkins, who runs Jeff Jenkins Productions, which produces the show in association with 3BMG and Walt Disney Television Alternative, told Deadline in November that he was hopeful that a spinoff would be coming “very soon”.
“The Secret Lives of… could be anything like The Secret Lives of Tibetan Nomadic Cattle Herders [for instance]. Mormons are fascinating. It’s a fascinating subculture. Because we’re talking about docuseries, we’re not talking about format, what’s going to lead the way? The shining star, the guiding light is going to be the personalities,” he added.
Jenkins exec produces The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County alongside Russell Jay-Staglik, Amanda Weinstein, Melissa Bidwell and Brandon Beck at Jeff Jenkins Productions, Ross Weintraub and Reinout Oerlemans at 3BMG and Georgia Berger, Lisa Filipelli and Danielle Pistotnik at Select Entertainment.
