The Bruce family has one parent with a job, two houses that have been foreclosed, and seven kids—some of whom go dumpster diving to find anything useful or sellable when the rent is due. They were once flush with cash, and then they lost everything. Sounds like a formula for a reality show!
Which is exactly the case: “Downsized,” featuring a Brady Bunch-like crew (five of her kids, two of his, and they all “someday formed a family”) who live in Arizona, debuts on Saturday night (November 6) on the WE tv channel. I’m not sure if the Bruces ever employed an Alice-like cook and housekeeper to complete the Brady Bunch home scene, but if they did she’s long since been kicked to the curb.
Despite the show’s title, nobody was really downsized. The family patriarch, Todd Bruce, wasn’t a victim of some evil corporation but of the economy—and specifically, the real estate bubble. He ran a construction business and apparently rode the state’s build-build-build wave to much financial success in the mid-2000s. After construction basically came to a halt in 2008, his business tanked, and the family’s two homes—a main house and an investment property—have since been foreclosed. Whatever savings the Bruces had has been depleted, college money, IRAs, and all. They’ve filed for bankruptcy, and now shop with food stamps and must face the prospect of life without (gasp!) cable TV. I suppose the downsized in the title refers more to how their lifestyle has taken a turn for the poorer.
Will people love or hate this family? My prediction is: Yes. All of the above. Certainly, many many families will identify and sympathize with the Bruces. They may not have seven kids, but they’ve been facing upheavals in income and have been feeling the same sort of pressures. And certainly, many many more observers will probably have very little sympathy for this family. They’ll wonder:
Why didn’t they save more when times were good?
Did they really believe the construction boom would never end?
Why did it take them so long to realize they were living beyond their means?
How come they’re not living an even more scaled-back lifestyle right now?
Don’t they know that there are people out there in far worse situations—people who’ve never had money, who are hungry, living on the streets, with no safety net?
And so on.
And, well, based on the success of many other shows featuring characters viewers love to hate—’Real Housewives’ of wherever, Kate Gosselin, etc.—there will probably be a fair share of people tuning in mostly to make snide comments, yell at the screen, and feel better about themselves. TV execs and the Bruces themselves probably don’t care, so long as they’re tuning in.
Here’s a sneak peek introducing the family, and the show:
Say what you will about the Bruces. They may have been foolish with their money, but they’re hardly alone in that regard. At least they figured out a way to get a reality show.
Related:
Must-See Recession-Era TV
