Viall Files Plus Preview: The Future Of Mormon Wives w/ Jimmy Sotos

what's going on everybody what you are about to hear is a little preview of our vile files plus content where myself jimmy and bailey our producer uh talk a little bit about the exit of taylor frankie paul leaving secret lives of mormon wives and we give well i give some thoughts on the future of the show and what we think about it and uh here it is if you like what you listen to you should check out vile files plus in addition to this type of content uh we also have a pop episodes uh we dive deep in reality tv topics like this one as well as also to discuss life because this episode we talk about the reality tv bubble is there one uh also like adult friendships we also have our update specials which is your favorite updates from your favorite ethnic calls so uh check out this preview uh sign up for vile files plus all episodes are ad free just go to vilefiles.com and you'll enjoy bye do we want to talk about taylor frankie paul leaving the mormon wives i i mean i'm i think it's i think it had to happen i think she's certainly i think putting it or at least on pause or putting herself on pause and yeah he's going through a lot like yeah i don't even think taylor thinks she's in the best spot right now um and i think the struggle i have with this show is i don't think they really i don't know what the future of this show is i don't know if they know what the future of this show is yeah and you know the the the challenge when it comes to this type of stuff is this is a show that was literally you know really tried to lean into the reality and in reality tv and tried and they found a real messy group that um was willing to push like limits and topics and things like that and i think it just the wheels fell off a little bit and now you have a cast of women you know their job is like ever since the show existed they've been fighting online they've they've been messy they lean in it's it's and that's been kind of the brilliance of their show is because they started online and for a long time a lot of tv uh networks and production companies had a hard time transitioning reality like internet fame to tv and they've been fighting online for a long time and tv fame i can't i can't list but i bet there's you can make a list of of of shows that never really popped but like you know tiktok or whatever just people from the internet as the internet has grown anyways uh mormon wives is one of the first like in terms of like this type of format finding internet people to like really take off and i think their brilliance has been to be also messy online and like it's been this thing that you're back and forth and jumping around it's like a second show and so these this is what these women do for work and and yet they're still like i just wish i wish everything would be put on pause you know like but i get i from their standpoint i you know i i get it credit to michaela like yeah she's still not coming back she feels that she's making the right decision for herself and i it's a it's a tough decision and that the difficulty of the decision shows that she's not coming back and she's not coming back and she's not coming back is how what am i trying to moral fortitude yeah the earnestness in her decision so whatever you if you agree or disagree with with michaela i credit to her for trying to do the right thing yeah she stuck to her guns yeah she left she announced she's leaving yeah even even though taylor is leaving as well and we'll see but like and i think it's also fair to point out that this is a show where people have quitting the show is is a storyline right you know like i hear all this and i can't help but think like there is an opportunity here like taylor frankie paul is leaving michaela's leaving somebody else probably leaving like whoever is left yeah like but i will say i will say i i hear you and in in the tv world there's always opportunity i will but i would say like i just think right now i think i i think there are people in a bad way right now and i think honestly the show really doesn't matter and i'd like to see the people like you know before we worry about opportunities i'd like to see just everyone be okay but i i i empathize with the challenge that these women have of like what is the right thing to do and how do you move online and and how do you talk about it and how do you engage with it what if they flip the script and it just becomes secret lives of mormon dads and dakota's the star and chase is the star no and it's just i would i would quit tv i would quit tv i would hate that we'd be talking about it though dad talk famously listen i i generally roll my eyes when words like patriarchy and matriarchy are brought up because it's like they're just so buzzy and i don't think they have any real meaning behind the people what they say it's just like i feel like for if if you're gonna view this world from a patriarchal lens and there's credit to that like you know the historically you know yeah the emphasis the like allowing those type of men to be the center of a show bleak yeah would be you want to talk about city sweetie setting back society shit but like to like to the degree that you whether you whether you even disagree or agree that a patriarch or like but like even if you're a guy who like is patriarchal and misogynist who's like who's like just men should you know be in like make all the decisions like you can't have these types of men representing you you can't have these types of men represent men you know that would be bad that would be bad is there a no i'm just like in my producer hat like is there a good guy's version of this shit but then is that good tv like no it's not it's not you know listen like i i i resent that right i i think sometimes when it comes producing i think it's lazy producing to always lean into tropes and i think in a in a world of of of labels and you know i think it's lazy producing to always lean into tropes and i If you're from a TV producer, the best TV producers, they might have their politics and I'm sure they'll vote. But at the end of the day, they're storytellers and they don't really care about like kind of the outside world in a sense. So when they're producing, they're just looking through the lens of storytelling. In that lens, a lot of people are saying maybe because Whitney is so on top right now, she's like crushing everything. She might be the new lead in a way or even Demi because Demi appeared in a TikTok with a bunch of the girls. Yeah, I don't know. Listen, I don't think there's much of a show right now. I think it's honestly premature given the context of the situation to speculate. That's true. A lot happens between the scenes. Whitney's going to be on Traitors and I'm sure will do very well on a very popular show. Again, if you're Whitney, maybe the ego of being the star of the show is appealing. But maybe this is an opportunity for Whitney to really. Try to do what very few people can do is to break away and have independent success outside of a monster franchise that you got your start from. And she has an opportunity to do that. And she's kind of on her way to doing that. And this show is like, I think it's struggling right now with the issues it has. I mean, good, bad or ugly. Taylor Frankie Paul takes up a lot of oxygen in a room and that's a lot of oxygen to fill. And there's no discount to the rest of the cast. But like. The show was centered and built around Taylor Frankie Paul. You can discuss whether that was. At this point, I think it was the wrong decision given what we're dealing with right now. It was the decision. This is what I struggle with though. Because I'm still relatively new to reality TV and I think I'm starting to get what sells. This feels like not the worst thing in the world in the eyes of the producers. All this controversy, all this like. Raw and like real pain she's going through though. They've really pushed the limits on I think what is. They've definitely crossed a lot of lines for people in terms of like, should we be watching this? And you're right. I think at the end of the day it will always perform and I'm not here to play like the moral please. But I think it's safe to say that they've gotten into controversial territory. But I think it's. At the point where you can't go any further. Don't let Taylor Frankie Paul hear that. She's going to say, watch this. I mean, you know, like unless, you know. Yeah, but like again, I think you got to worry about the people. You got to try. I hear you though. You got to try. It's been for five seasons and then it's going to be six. So that's a pretty good run. Like if they pause for a while, come out the other side later on in a few years once all the dust has settled. And then it's a more positive environment. That might be fun. Like kind of seeing a more. A positive comeback. Maybe, but like that. Yeah. It's not what it could have been. Their 10-year anniversary is going to slap. I'm like crazy. I'll tell you that right now. That's going to be crazy. That's what I'm saying. Like give it some time. Thank you.