I Hate Binge-Watching but I *Had* to Finish the #1 Show on Hulu in One Sitting

No matter how much I love a TV show, I can typically only get through a few episodes before switching to something else. That was not the case with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the #1 show on Hulu right now that I watched in a single day...and can't stop thinking about.

Believe me when I say this show has everything: Mormons, fruity cereal (IYKYK), secret Tinder accounts and a disastrous trip to a Chippendales show in Vegas. Set in Salt Lake City, Utah, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows eight Mormon social media influencers—many of whom look eerily alike with their signature 'Utah curls' (beachy waves with straight ends)—who make up #MomTok, a group of Mormon moms who film TikTok videos dancing and lip-syncing.

Though each woman gets her moment in the spotlight throughout the series, season one really focuses on Taylor Frankie Paul and Whitney Leavitt—and the drama between the two. Depending on how well-versed you are in TikTok drama, you might recognize Paul as being the straw TikTok star who broke the camel's back swinging sex scandal that rocked the social media platform a while back, while Leavitt fancies herself a more devout Mormon who wants to take MomTok in a new direction.

This good Mormon/bad Mormon dichotomy is fascinating. These women represent various levels of piety; some wear traditional Mormon garments and abstain from coffee while others occasionally partake in alcohol, ketamine therapy and nitrous oxide during Botox appointments. (As a quick aside, is that a Utah thing? I know tons of people who've gotten Botox without pharmacological aids.) The picking and choosing of virtues to uphold sometimes feels hypocritical. Whitney, for example—who has emerged almost unanimously as the series villain—hems and haws over the decision to post an Instagram photo sponsored by a sex toy company (she has since done so), while also not-so-subtly shaming Taylor's sex life and saying more variations of the word 'fuck' than you'd hear in an episode of Veep.

Shady Galentine's Day presents and baby shower no-shows aside, I really appreciate that, unlike on many reality TV shows, these struggles feel real and raw, if not necessarily relatable. I'm an avid watcher of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and while that show certainly has its fair share of high-stakes drama (Jen Shah punching Heather Gay comes to mind), the issues and conversations on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives somehow feel more authentic.

Take Mormon wife Jen Affleck (I'm referring to her by her full government name because she's the only one of the women identified as such throughout the show). Jen Affleck's husband, Zac Affleck, is distantly related to Ben Affleck, and he is awful. Controlling to the max, Zac Affleck threatens Jen Affleck with divorce (and single parenthood) if she dares go to a Chippendales show on a girls' trip to Las Vegas. The other women rally around Jen Affleck, voicing their concerns for her situation and their disgust for her bleach blonde husband. It's a genuinely moving display of female friendship and sisterhood that you don't often see on reality television.

With eight, 40-ish-minute episodes, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is reality TV gold and I cannot wait for the second season (which, for the record, does not need Whitney, despite her insistence the group can't survive without her).

Final Random Thoughts

• The producers/editors deserve an Emmy for the shot of Whitney returning to the dinner table after a meltdown with toilet paper stuck to her shoe.
• Mikayla got pregnant with her first child when she was 16 and her now-husband was 21—why did that go unquestioned?
• I need someone to open a Swig location in New York so I can try a 44-ounce Diet Coke with no fewer than five sugar-free syrups and promptly regret it.
• I love Demi, Jessi and Layla (who looked fabulous at her divorce party/marriage funeral).
• Taylor has made some questionable choices for sure, but wow her mom is so mean to her.