Was ‘Sister Wives’ Canceled? Here’s What We Know About the TLC Show’s Future

It’s been more than a year since Season 7 of Sister Wives wrapped up in the summer of 2016. And, of course, fans have been eagerly waiting for TLC to announce the premiere date for Season 8 of the long-running reality series. However, the network has kept quiet about Sister Wives’ return.

As Life & Style reported last year, the docuseries’ patriarch, Kody Brown, was fearful that Sister Wives was in danger of being taken off the air. At the time, a source revealed that three of his multiple wives were threatening to quit the show after Kody, 48, explored the possibility of taking on two new wives. “Kody is really, really sweating losing the show and he’s doing everything he can to keep it,” family friend Kendra Pollard told Life & Style.

But even if he does end up bringing more women into his polygamous family, “TLC knows he’s not well-liked by viewers,” an insider said at the time. “Kody’s done so many messed-up things that it serves him right to be pushed aside.”

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Though Kody is only legally married to his wife, Robyn, he maintains marital-like relationships with “spiritual” wives Janelle and Christine. Viewers seemingly turned on Kody after he divorced his first wife, Meri, in 2014 so he could officially tie the knot with Robyn.

“He wants to stay relevant to TLC,” Kendra told Life & Style, adding that Robyn threatened to divorce Kody if he welcomed new women into their home. “If he takes on new wives, she said she’ll leave. This isn’t what she signed up for.”

Aside from Kody’s desire to have more wives, Kendra said that Meri’s 2015 catfish scandal with the infamous “Sam Cooper” took a huge toll on the Brown family. In fact, she says, the Las Vegas-based clan is miserable behind the scenes despite the happy faces they once slapped on for the cameras — which has made TLC think twice about renewing the show. “It’s worse than ever. The family is constantly arguing,” Kendra revealed. “They pretend to be happy for the show, but the family is a mess.”