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Reality families

We love a reality family. It's fun to see how others live. But it runs the spectrum from Dance Moms & Wife Swap style trash to the more honest, respectful portrayal of families like the Duggars or, heck, even the wacky dysfunction of Pawn Stars. At least I feel like they're not being taken advantage of.

So when the interwebs were filled with news of a new Stay At Home Dad reality show being cast, I was curious but cautious. Still am.

I sent an e-mail out last Friday with all the requested information. To my surprise, I got a voicemail about 2 hours later asking for a call back. So, while Cole was eating lunch, I got on speakerphone and answered a few questions. I spoke with a couple of very nice ladies who said this new show is aiming to be an "in the trenches" look at dads. Funny along the lines of Up All Night.

It's easy to apply to be on a show that you've seen before. You know the vibe, the tone, the treatment, how they're going to portray you probably. It's different for a new show.

Which means Kelly and I have had a few lengthy discussions about what we'd aim to get out of being on tv. Obviously, we're not publicity hounds. Would the kids be taken care of? Is this just another attempt to show how funny it is when dads watch the kids? Or is this an honest attempt to cover the issues of dads being the primary caregiver?

It's tough when you don't control the content. My blog, my Twitter, I can steer the direction. Being involved in something like this we definitely have concerns about how little you have to say about what gets done in the edit room. They can make heroes look like villains and vice versa.

So our strategy is send the videos and photos they want and see where the chips fall. If they're still interested, it can be up to us in the end whether we say yes or no. In truth, they probably don't want us.

Pretty rare you get called about being on a reality show though. It was an exciting Friday.