The VH1 hit-show Mob Wives is looking to expand its programming to another city. Miami is on the short list along with Chicago and Vegas. Would the 305 be a good choice?
Yes. After all, everyone knows there are six, not five boroughs of New York City: the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and South Florida. So Miami could be a logical next step for the NYC-based show.
In fact the 2010 U.S. Census reported approximately 13,450 on-the-lamb exiled New Yawkers living in South Florida. How many of them do you think are "connected?"
Just kidding about the data. Although exiled New Yorkers should be on
the census, there's no such category. But they're here. You see them.
They root for the Knicks and the Jets. They have strange accents. Many
are women. How many could qualify for Mob Wives?
The bigger
question is can Mob Wives be "connected" outside the normal paradigm of
Italian mafioso? Are there Spanish mob wives out there? Would an American
audience be interested in a Key Biscayne Colombiana's story? Are there a
few old Jewish nieces of Meyer Lansky, or some ex-stripper Russian mob wives? Is there a story here? Are these women even friends? Is there an
ounce of connective tissue?
Producers
would be naive to limit the show to Miami. They'll have to open up
their search for, uh, talent, to Broward (specifically West Broward) and
even Palm Beach (Boca Raton). Call the show Mob Wives Miami, but do so
knowing that Miami is an "image" that doesn't really exist.
It's like
Lebron James taking his talent to South Beach when they play ball in downtown Miami, not South Beach. Look at other Miami-based reality
shows, like Real Housewives or Jersey Shore in Miami. They're not quality
programming. Mob Wives had a successful first season, averaging 1.2
million viewers a week. If producers want to franchise the formula down
here, look to the Western suburbs, that's where the wives drama lies.
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