Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Secrets Of Polygamy’ On A&E, Where An Investigator Looks Into Illegal Marriages In The FLDS Church And Other Polygamist Groups

In Secrets Of Polygamy, investigator Matt Browning travels around the U.S. speaking to former members of groups that promoted polygamy, with male members of those groups often marrying underage women. He also investigates the rampant sexual abuse that goes on in those groups.

SECRETS OF POLYGAMY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Rachel Jeffs, daughter of Warren Jeffs, says that sexual abuse against her started when she was 8 years old.

The Gist: In the first episode, Browning focuses on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), where Warren Jeffs declared himself a prophet in 2002. Even though Jeffs was accused of sexual assault of minors and eventually caught by the FBI and convicted, there are plenty of men in the FLDS who are marrying multiple underage women. One person he cites is Sam Bateman, who stepped in and declared himself a prophet in Jeff’s wake, tried to convinces followers that Jeffs is dead, and then got caught by police transporting underage women that he intended to marry.

When he gets a report from someone wanting to locate a set of girls who are in an FLDS sect, Browning travels to Idaho to talk to Rachel Jeffs Blackmore and her husband, Brandon Blackmore. Rachel Jeffs wrote a book about her time in FLDS as one of Warren Jeffs’ many children, and she knows that one of her brothers is more or less taking orders from her father while he’s in prison. Blackmore was in a Canadian FLDS community, making log cabins to send to Jeffs in Arizona; he had no idea what Jeffs was doing until his sister was taken from her family. Rachel Jeffs tells Browning about a possible new community taking shape in the Dakotas.

To get more information on Bateman, Browning goes to Arizona and talks to Faith Bistline, whose family is blindly following Bateman’s lead. She has limited communication with her family since she left FLDS, but she does know that one of her brothers is trafficking underage girls.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Secrets Of Polygamy is part of A&E’s Secrets Of… series, but it seems darker and more explosive than Secrets of Playboy or Secrets of Penthouse.

Our Take: Secrets Of Polygamy is a rough watch, because the subject matter is so enraging. Because the format mostly consists of Browning going place to place and interviewing former members of various polygamy groups, we get relatively in-depth accounts of being in them. There is also some good insight into why families would hand over their underage children over to men who declare themselves leaders and prophets.

Anyone who’s followed Warren Jeffs’ case knows what he’s been convicted of doing, but it’s helpful to hear from one of his children, who was raised in the FLDS and did her best to break out of the mold of being just another wife to one of his followers. It’s some pretty harrowing testimony, especially given the fact that the people who have left these groups are leaving behind the only family they’ve ever known.

The through-line of Browning getting cases and getting his sources to help him piece together the trail he needs to follow will make these episodes more than just a talking head exercise. Browning also gives the audience a surrogate; his horrified reactions to some of the sexual abuse Bistline tells him about is exactly how we felt, and it was good to see someone reacting on camera to the horror instead of just seeing Bistline tell this to some off-camera director.

Sex and Skin: Anything in this category that is discussed is pretty horrifying.

Parting Shot: Browning praises Bistline for going on camera and discussing the things that are going on in her family.

Sleeper Star: Rachel Jeffs and Faith Bistline, for being unafraid of telling the truth about FLDS.

Most Pilot-y Line: We’re not sure if the scenes of Browning getting up-to-date info while driving around are all that real, but that’s the way shows like this go.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Secrets Of Polygamy is certainly a harrowing show to watch, but it gives viewers a good indication that sects like FLDS and others that practice polygamy are going strong, despite efforts made to shut them down.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.