When a network has a cash cow, it will nurture and feed that cow. It provides endless promotions, adverts for episodes, and pulls the stars to make appearances. The network will then spawn more of the same cows in an effort to siphon every last drop of viewer interest. Often times other shows on a network that aren’t as fruitful as the reliable cash cows get lost in the mix, and don’t get the views they actually deserve.
Married To Medicine deserves a boost in the barn. Currently there are SEVEN Real Housewives shows on air (not including Ultimate Girls Trip) which dwarfs other programs on Bravo. What if you want real drama and less over-produced Dynasty? You might want to check out Married To Medicine and here’s why.
Seasons 1 and 2 Came out hot…
MTM has been on for 8 seasons, it isn’t new. The core cast was Dr. Jackie Walters, Quad Webb-Lunceford, Toya Bush-Harris, Mariah Huq, Kari Wells, and Dr. Simone Whitmore. A group of working professionals being filmed are always going to be on their best behavior for the first season, right? NOPE. Off the bat insults were thrown at Mariah’s birthday bash. Toya taunted a newly married Quad. Mariah and Quad were throwing out incredible word salad insults we had never experienced. How is, “Get back, Jack. Fall back, Slim. Because you don’t want none of this.” from Quad’s repertoire not on a monument somewhere? The female physicians largely stayed away from the histrionics, but not for long. Toya brought a lot of fire. In one season she managed to infuriate most of the cast, tell someone’s family secret, and introduce the side of Mariah’s face to her purse. Unfortunately for Mariah, her poetic phrases were trumped by her enormous ego and it bled into Season 2.
That’s when Lisa Nicole Cloud, bless her heart, joined (which might have been a poor choice). Dr. Heavenly Kimes began her descent into madness our hearts. Fans watched Dr. Jackie try to convince her husband to adopt a child, as cancer rendered her unable to have her own. Here’s the difference between MTM and Housewives – the organic, human moments are compelling, and all but absent from anything Housewives-related. Fans also saw Mariah and Quad’s strained-from-first-season-fame relationship begin to disintegrate. Teams were chosen and sides were taken. Bonus word salad, “I’m the tree and you are a branch… and I will not come off my chariot and throw tomatoes with you, sweetheart.” Amen, Mariah.
Seasons 3 through 5, things get real. Like really real…
It would be false to claim that MTM became more “genuine”. But there’s something to be said when a program, typically about spectacle and obscenely trivial battles, shows the cast dealing with more serious problems. Lisa Nicole’s THOT husband and her very real fear that he may or may not have cheated during their marriage became a whole THING. These people are not afraid to ugly cry and show you who they are. No one is pretending to be drunk to avoid having rough conversations, if you know what I mean. Toya has a “spending problem”, and gasp!, the couple had to adjust their lives during production. To the tune of having to move, receive financial counseling, and her husband working approximately 87 hours a day to just break even. Dr. Simone searched for her missing father, who had an alcohol addiction. When Quad and Dr. Jackie joined her, knocking on doors and handing out flyers, it was heartbreaking to watch. Marriages began to implode in real time right in front of the viewing audience.
If you are an MTM veteran, the first show of Season 5 lives in infamy. Dr. Jackie’s life was forever changed when her husband’s affair was splashed across the media. The marriages of Quad and Dr. Simone also began to suffer. The personal journeys this cast takes are barely comparable to Real Housewives of ALLEGED Mail Fraud and Various Other Crimes We Can’t Discuss On TV…
Seasons 6 through 8, the reckoning…
The arcs of this show are impressive in the realm of reality television. The core cast remain, and Mariah drifts in and out. Dr. Contessa Metcalf and her physician husband joined the ranks. While Dr. Jackie and Curtis Berry worked on fixing their marriage, Dr. Simone and Cecil Whitmore’s marriage was literally saved during a reunion. A sullen Toya put herself on wallet restriction and with a lot of hard work (by her husband), they turned a negative account balance into a positive. Sure Heavenly still runs her mouth and Contessa may or may not be doing too much to be on camera, but things came screeching to a halt when George Floyd was killed.
Cameras captured the cast involved in the Black Lives Matter movement and what it means to them personally. As in, having conversations with their Black children about how to stay alive and sharing racist experiences they went through in the past. It was reality television in every sense of the word – and it was important. Then came the pandemic and we saw what the medical community went through in the early stages, before the world shut down. Anila Sajja and her long-suffering husband, Dr. Kiran Sajja joined the show in Season 8, and we were creeping back to normalcy. When this group has fun, they have all the fun, but they aren’t necessarily trying to hide the painful stuff. Anila, much like her on-again/off-again buddy Toya, also has a “spending problem” and Dr. CONEtessa becomes suspicious about her husband’s life coach who isn’t a life coach at all. Time and time again, Married to Medicine delivers what Housewives shows often lack, humanity.
Season 9, the wait is over…
After what seemed like an eternity, MTM finally returned. In a sea of Girls’ Trips and various legal cases of rich women pretending to be rich, MTM is highlighting the very real problem of health care for women of color. Dr. Jackie and Dr. Simone are mending their strained relationship. Quad is navigating another family tragedy and some changes as a result. The pettiness remains. The drama remains. And unlike other shows we might love on Bravo, the reality remains.
TELL US- DO YOU WATCH MARRIED TO MEDICINE? DO YOU THINK MTM IS AN UNDERRATED SHOW? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NON-HOUSEWIVES SHOW ON BRAVO?
[Photo Credit: Mark Hill/Bravo]
