TV show about Iranian-Americans premieres strongly (video)
A blog on The Hollywood Reporter indicates a strong opening (premiere) for Bravo's reality series about rich Iranian-Americans in Beverly Hills, Shahs of Sunset. The debut episode attracted an audience of 1.1 million viewers to its Sunday at 10 p.m. airing, a 6 percent increase in its time slot compared to average viewership over the last four weeks. It also retained 48 percent of its lead-in The Real Housewives of Atlanta's 2.3 million total viewers and 47 percent of its ad-coveted 18-49 audience.
Some of the show's strong viewership my be attributed to the controversy in the one million-strong Iranian-American community over the portrayal of Iranian-Americans as spoiled, shallow and decadent, as discussed in a recent blog here. Some American critics (as in TMZ video below) believe the Iranians on the show try to live "richer than they are" but this is their "real" persona so the show is a true reality TV series.
On the other hand, some like NIAC (National Iranian American Council) indicate although "We've gone from being viewed as terrorists to being viewed as Beverly Hills brats!" but this may get some people talking and motivate the public to probe deeper to fully understand the beauty and truth about the Iranian culture and its people.
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