Sayak Basu
‘Sister Wives‘ is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most interesting and unique TV shows. The series specifically deals with a polygamous family and the relationships they share with each other. The father of the family is a man called Kody Brown. He has four wives- Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn, and eighteen children in total. Notably, Robin is the only woman to whom he is married legally, and the other relationships are considered “spiritual marriages”. Naturally, there are constant periods of tension and rivalry among the family members, which gives the show its required dramatic moments.
‘Sister Wives’ started airing on TLC from 2010, and since then, the series has seen a steady rise in popularity. The series has raised serious questions regarding polygamous marriages, with the Brown family even being investigated for the same. However, a court ruling has declared that despite plural marriages being illegal, there is no restriction when it comes to polygamous cohabitation. Here is a picture of the entire Brown family:
Filming for the series is usually done in the Brown’s own residence. When the show began airing, the family was living in Utah. Since then, they have moved to Las Vegas, and later to Flagstaff, Arizona.
Sister Wives Filming Locations
Since ‘Sister Wives’ is a show about following the daily lives of the members of a family, it clearly suggests that most of the filming is done in the home of the family. We find them in their natural habitat, and this helps bring out their actual characters without any layer of pretense.
Lehi, Utah
Utah has been the state where the Brown family were living when the show first started airing. Within their home state itself, the family could not continue living in one place for an extended period of time. This is mainly because of the hostile nature of the state when it comes to polyamorous relationships. Regarding their time in Utah, Kody Brown said, “Utah is hostile toward polygamists. There is a very natural and subtle discrimination from the public because of those anti-polygamy laws.”
Mexico
In Season 2 of the series, we can see Cody and Meri on a holiday to Mexico where they are celebrating their 20th anniversary. A lot of drama unfolds during their time in Mexico because of Meri’s infertility issues.
Parowan, Utah
Some of the episodes of Seasons 12 and 13 were filmed in Parowan, Utah, at a place called Lizzie’s Heritage Inn. Fans who remember what transpired during these two seasons, will remember this structure quite easily:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is one of the most happening cities of the United States, and it goes without saying that people are naturally interested in living in such a city full of life and enthusiasm. The Brown family moved to Vegas in 2011, and stayed there until 2018. All the seasons which released during that span of time were mostly filmed at their Las Vegas home. However, the family decided to shift away from Vegas because they are of the opinion that their children were getting exposed to certain unwanted things in the city. “Vegas changed a lot over the last few years. So we started worrying a lot more about what the kids are getting exposed to,” Robyn Brown said in an interview.
Flagstaff, Arizona
After leaving Las Vegas, the Brown family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, and settled there. In Season 13, we can see the Browns talking about moving to Flagstaff. They then even go to the town to check out houses where they can stay. However, once the Browns moved there, the neighbor started raising concerns about the disturbance the filming would cause to them or the environment. Even the filming laws of Arizona proved to be a big hindrance.
Chicago, Illinois
Because of the problems regarding filming which arose in Flagstaff, the family had to look for another place to film Season 14. The Chicago Tribune reported that all four of Kody’s wives, along with daughter Mariah were spotted filming in the Windy City. We can expect the storyline to shift to Chicago for this season at least. Here is a series of pictures of some of the houses the Browns have lived in over the years:
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