Russian Dolls (TV series)

Russian Dolls is an American reality television series that premiered on Lifetime on August 11, 2011, in the United States. The series follows the lives of eight Russian women living at Brighton Beach. Lifetime has committed to 12 episodes.[1]

Contents

Airings

The show premiered on August 11, 2011 at 10:30/9:30c following hit series Project Runway. Despite a decent lead in, Russian Dolls premiered with dismal ratings. On August 23, 2011 Lifetime moved the series to a later timeslot, at 11:30/10:30c following a Dance Moms repeat.[2] On September 21, Lifetime announced that it will air the final five episodes on October 7, as a special marathon event due to low ratings.[3]

Reception

The show has received mixed reviews.

The New York Press stated that "while Russian Dolls is ultimately a Brooklyn Jersey Shore, its unique focus on and respect for Russian culture and parenthood elevates it above the typical reality show drivel."[4] The Wall Street Journal wrote that "Having the opportunity to mash up something as Russian as Brighton Beach with something as American as reality TV really drives home the fact that there’s a place where KGB-era ways and Kim Kardashian can meet."[5]

The show has been criticized for having Ukrainian women appear as some of its "Russian dolls".[6] The Boston Herald noted that the show "reinforces every negative stereotype about Russian women."[7] Pravda.ru described the show as a "a spit in Russia's face."[8] The New York Times remarked that "If the Soviet authorities had wanted to torture Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn beyond endurance, they would have forced him to watch Russian Dolls."[9] AM New York describes the show as "so busily edited ...that there’s no flavor of any kind" adding that "If nothing else, this show might make us more appreciative of all the effort those “Jersey Shore” folks put into their portrayals."[10]

Episodes

Episode U.S. Air Date Rating/Share
(18-49)		 Viewers
(Millions)
Mama Dearest August 11, 2011 0.4[11] 0.97
From Ukraine with Love August 18, 2011 0.3[12] 0.77
Tough Russian Love August 25, 2011 0.2[13] 0.51
Ruski Business September 1, 2011 0.2[14] 0.63
Calendar Girls September 8, 2011
New Year, Old Grievances September 15, 2011
Cold Wars September 22, 2011
It Takes DVA To Tango October 7, 2011
Single Russian Female October 7, 2011
Eastern Promises October 7, 2011
Perestroika October 7, 2011
Russian Dolls October 7, 2011

Ratings

The show premiered to low ratings with a 0.4 rating in adults 18-49 demo and only 0.97 million viewers watching the episode.[15]

References

  1. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/russian-dolls/listings/
  2. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/08/23/exclusive-lifetime-bumps-russian-dolls-to-late-night-194401/9415/
  3. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/09/21/development-update-wednesday-september-21-653111/9454/
  4. ^ Barrosse, Emilia (August 11, 2011). "Emilia Barrosse reviews Lifetime's Russian Dolls". New York Press. http://www.nypress.com/blog-9569-tv-review-russian-dolls.html. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
  5. ^ Dizik, Alina (August 9, 2011). "'Russian Dolls': I Really Can See Russia From My House - Speakeasy - WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/08/09/russian-dolls-i-really-can-see-russia-from-my-house/. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
  6. ^ Stasi, Linda (August 11, 2011). "'Russian Dolls' debuts on Lifetime, based on Russian Americans living in Brighton Beach - NYPOST.com". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/glamour_dolls_TXRiC2bq2p8hpgMJVPxd0O. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
  7. ^ Perigard, Mark A. (August 11, 2011). "Lifetime’s ‘Dolls’ plays to cultural stereotypes - BostonHerald.com". Boston Herald. http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1357854. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
  8. ^ Priymak, Artur (August 11, 2011). "America's 'Russian Dolls' - A spit in Russia's face - English pravda.ru". Pravda.ru. http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/11-08-2011/118725-russian_dolls-0/. Retrieved 11 August 2011. 
  9. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (August 11, 2011). "TELEVISION REVIEW; ‘Russian Dolls’ on Lifetime Shows Immigrant Glam - Review". The New York Times. http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/arts/television/russian-dolls-on-lifetime-shows-immigrant-glam-review.html. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
  10. ^ Werts, Diane (August 10, 2011). "TV Review: 'Russian Dolls' -- 1 star - am New York". Am New York. http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/tv-review-russian-dolls-1-star-1.3088828. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
  11. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/12/thursday-cable-ratings-jersey-shore-down-but-dominant-burn-notice-suits-project-runway-wilfred-futurama-louie-more/100330/
  12. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2011/08/19/thursdays-cable-ratings-another-thursday-another-shore-victory-774512/cable_20110818/
  13. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/26/thursday-cable-jersey-shore-gets-bigger-nfl-burn-notice-suits-project-runway-and-the-weather-channel/101567/comment-page-3/#comments
  14. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/02/thursday-cable-even-jersey-shore-repeats-cant-be-beaten-burn-notice-suits-project-runway-lots-more/102335/comment-page-2/#comments
  15. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/12/thursday-cable-ratings-jersey-shore-down-but-dominant-burn-notice-suits-project-runway-wilfred-futurama-louie-more/100330/