History

 For many years back, reality TV has slowly but gradually taken over the world of television and has become the new fad that everyone craves to watch.  “The advent of the reality genre takes place when documentary techniques are used not to document the daily life of geographically and culturally remote peoples but to study the lives of proximal, contemporary figures as representatives of typical-hence real-people” (Andrejevic 2004, 65).

       Mob Wives is an American reality television series airing on VH1 that made its season one debut on  April 17, 2011. VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Mob Wives was created and produced by Jennifer Graziano, a daughter of Bonanno capo Anthony (T.G.) Graziano and the sister of the show’s main character, Renee Graziano. Jennifer created the show because she wanted people to see how these four women struggled without husbands and fathers and that the ladies are leading a life of their own and making big things for themselves. It wasn’t until the fourth grade that Jennifer suspected that her father might be in an unusual line of work. “The teacher was going around the class, and everybody was reciting what their parents did for a living.” Graziano, now 38, recalls, “I was like … ‘I don’t know what my father does.’ And I didn’t. I really didn’t. Graziano may have been in the dark about her father’s alleged Mafia connections — according to prosecutors, he was for years the consigliere of New York’s Bonanno crime family and is currently in prison.  These days, Jennifer Graziano has not only accepted her family’s checkered past,but she  has used it to make the leap into a career as a television producer. The series  melds “Real Housewives”-style drama with imagery familiar from pop-culture classics like “The Sopranos” and “Goodfellas” and interstitials designed to look like surveillance footage.

           Other executive producers include Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman and Nina Diaz.  Each episode runs about 42 minutes.  The production companies for Mob Wives are Electus , The Weinstein Company, Left/Right Productions, Just Jenn Company and VH1 productions.  The distributor is CBS Television Distribution. CBS Television Distribution (CTD) is an American television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation’s two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment.  Mob Wives averaged 1.33 million total viewers per episode throughout the first season. The reunion special attracted 2.7 million viewers.

         Season 2 premiered on Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 8 PM with two new cast members: Ramona Rizzo and Angela “Big Ange” Raiola. There will be twenty-three episodes total by the end of season two. The second season of “Mob Wives” picks up where the first left off ,with each cast member dealing with major personal life issues. The conflict between Karen and Drita is far from over. Renee goes under the knife for major plastic surgery that may have some unexpected consequences, while also contemplating her future with her ex-husband Junior. Drita is considering her options when it comes to leaving her husband Lee while Carla’s relationship with her estranged husband Joe may take an unexpected twist. And, of course, everyone wants to know what’s in Karen’s soon-to-be-released book – the one she moved back to New York to write.  This Youtube video is a preview of what season two has in store for the Mob Wives viewers.

“A 2001 study commissioned by American Demographics determined that 45 percent of all Americans watch reality TV and that a fifth of these (which would amount to one in eleven Americans overall) describe themselves as “die-hard” fans. Particularly appealing to advertisers is the fact that the format is a strong draw for the coveted eighteen-to twenty-four-year-old demographic, which represents the largest single group of reality TV viewers” (Andrejevic 2004, 9). Knowing the history of the characters on the show helps viewers like myself relate to them and understand their motives better. Also, knowing their backgrounds makes it easier to feel empathy for the women. I fall into the age range of people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four who watch reality TV. However, I believe that anyone, male or female of any age can sit down and enjoy the drama that Mob Wives has to offer. VH1 states, “The women featured in the series are compelling, real-life characters with amazing stories to tell. Viewers will get a chance to follow them as they enter the next chapter of their lives.” A spin-off of the hit series, titled Mob Wives: Chicago, is set to air in Spring 2012.