Last night, The Baldwins, a new series following the lives of Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, premiered on TLC. And it has all the characteristics of the particular brand of reality shows that TLC specializes in – offbeat can’t-look-away shows like Little Family, Big World; My 600-lb Life; 16 Kids and Counting (but like, before it got cancelled); and 90 Day Fiancé. Yet despite the commonalities with some of the network’s biggest hits, The Baldwins is still unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
Typically, reality TV can be pretty predictable. Despite the many jaw-dropping moments I’ve been lucky enough to witness as a faithful audience member, the type of drama that tends to surface on these shows falls within certain categories that are pretty defined: affairs, hookups, DUIs, backstabbing, betrayal and the like. But in the first episode of The Baldwins, we’re dealing with none of this, and instead, are put on an emotional rollercoaster that gives us a front row seat into intimate conversations about the fallout from the highly publicized death of a crew member, Halyna Hutchins, on the set of Alec’s film Rust, for which he was charged with involuntary manslaughter, though the charges were later dismissed. We also watch as Alec and Hilaria navigate the chaos of packing up seven kids, two nannies, and all their animals into two vans to take off for the family’s summer getaway.
I think the question on everyone’s mind is – why? Why is Alec Baldwin, his wife and their brood starring in a reality show on TLC? Is this about trying to rebuild his brand? Acquiring positive publicity? Or is the reason the same as many others who decided to have their lives filmed and broadcast – money?
Since the shooting, Alec’s career has been at a pretty visible standstill. And with Hilaria’s last reported primary source of income coming from being a yoga instructor, it’s natural to wonder where the money for a five-bedroom Manhattan apartment – and a massive family - is coming from. Especially when you add in the fact that the legal team Alec secured after the Rust shooting has been known to charge clients more than $2,000 an hour.
Alec was rumoured to have made $15 million during the final season alone of 30 Rock. Alec was a lead actor on 30 Rock, he was rumoured to have earned $15 million for the last five years of the show. While money is always subjective, we can at least conclude that he was comfortable enough to suggest taking a 20% pay cut from NBC in order to save the show after it was at risk of being cancelled. It’s hard to gauge what the couple might be receiving for letting cameras into their Manhattan apartment, but it must make the intrusion into their lives worth it.
The combination of having worked in TV and being a die-hard reality fan means I can’t just watch and enjoy the show. Instead, I find my attention going to things that the average viewer might not notice, for example, the chosen slot time for this show. The 10 p.m. time slot is highly coveted, but also, it’s the slot immediately following the network’s flagship show, 90 Day Fiancé. It’s a tactic other networks use all the time, airing a new show strategically after a massive spectacle like the Super Bowl or the Oscars. The hope is that people will just…keep on watching. But do the Baldwins have what it takes to keep us watching? In all honesty, in my opinion, yes.
Alec, though much less rigid than I imagined he would be in this setting, is still not necessarily a natural for reality TV. But that could be due to his age, the PTSD diagnosis that Hilaria revealed he received after the Rust shooting, his status as a former movie star, or just the sheer fatigue of running after all those kids every damn day.
Hilaria, on the other hand, is very clearly a natural. I’d go as far as to say that she’s a star. She’s stunning, she’s open, she’s charming and she’s great in whatever the non-Real Housewives version of confessionals are. Her comfort and vulnerability on camera, even in discussing difficult topics, is noteworthy.
“Watching Alec and his pain, in no way is it meant to compare with Halyna’s loss, with her son, who has no mom…it breaks my heart,” she said, reflecting on Alec’s court case, which, at the time of filming, was still looming.
In scenes like this, viewers are reminded of the tragedy that occurred. It’s woven into the episode, tucked in between pockets of chaos with the kids and baked into conversations between Hilaria and Alec. And not only that, it’s also likely the main reason we’re even watching this family navigate their daily life. Because would the Baldwins have a show if the incident on set never happened? I’m not so sure.
That’s the ethical dilemma of reality TV, and it’s the specific dilemma that TLC is known for putting their viewers in. Are we complicit in tokenization when we’re watching a show that focuses on chronically obese people? Little people? People with Down’s Syndrome? Perhaps with the latter two shows, it’s the network’s way of ensuring representation. But you can’t tell me My 600-lb Life isn’t predatory as f-ck. And now, the question is: are we complicit in deepening the pockets of a man who, in many ways, is considered responsible for the death of a young mother? And if we are complicit, what have the last few months of publicity for the show been like for Halyna’s family?
Sure, there’s been other stories surrounding this couple, like their 26-year age gap, or the allegations that Hilaria was guilty of cultural appropriation for not having an authentic Spanish accent, which you can read Maria’s thoughts about here. Both of these are addressed during the show, and Hilaria had a simple explanation for the accent debacle. But to Maria’s point, her synopsis of the situation does bypass the issue, which isn’t that she’s bilingual, but that she overexaggerates her accent, which carries some pretty serious implications as it pertains to culture and privilege. And hell, authenticity.
“I love English. I love Spanish. And when I mix the two, it doesn’t make me inauthentic,” Hilaria said. “It was my family, my friends, who speak multiple languages who helped me realize we’re a mix and that’s going to have an impact on how I sound.”
One of the main takeaways from the first episode is that this couple appears to be deeply in love. And I think you have to be, at least to a certain extent, to have that many kids. It’s interesting to see Alec at such different stages of fatherhood all at the same time at a much later stage in life than we typically see. And it’s validating to see Hilaria struggle with many of the things your average mom struggles with, like not wanting kids around after age three and fighting with car seats and being mortified to find her baby dangerously making her way up onto some pretty high stools, almost completely unbeknownst to her. It’s these relatable details that have the potential to make a show a slam dunk.
I’ve always said that the less people have to lose, the better subjects they make for reality TV, because they’re less concerned with editorializing, self-editing, and saying something that will get them cancelled. Watching this premiere, I realized that this couple is in a unique position, standing to lose both everything and nothing at all. It’s fair to say that they already hit rock bottom on that fateful day in 2021, and in the days, months and years that followed. Just look how much Alec has aged, FFS. But at the same time, they still have a long road ahead when it comes to parenting and raising their kids, something Hilaria, as a mom herself, is mindful that Halyna Hutchins doesn’t have the chance to do.
Back to the question on all our minds – why are the Baldwins doing this? Judging by what I saw in that first episode, I think this family is strategically reorganizing itself in order for Alec to take a step back, and for Hilaria to take a step forward, this is actually Hilaria’s entry onto center stage, to be the breadwinner for their family. Only time will tell if their televised gambit works.
