 Mark A. <unk> of the Boston Herald criticized Kody Brown for opening himself and his family up to potential criminal prosecution by appearing in the series , describing him as " a <unk> who is <unk> himself and the family he claims is so precious just to star in his own TV show " . Elizabeth <unk> of The Washington Post called the series " one part domestic <unk> , another part <unk> " and claimed it relied on a " familiar reality TV recipe " shared by other TLC series such as 19 Kids and <unk> and Kate Plus 8 . Religion <unk> writer Joanna Brooks shared <unk> 's perspective , criticizing the show for presenting polygamy in a manner that " is about as interesting to me as Kate <unk> 's latest makeover . " In this vein Brooks criticized the show for not engaging the theology of plural marriage and for letting Kody Brown 's superficial comments about the <unk> of Fundamentalist and mainstream <unk> pass onto the viewers without any critical scrutiny or added nuance . <unk> <unk> , television columnist with the <unk> Park Press , felt the sister wives had issues with jealousy and self @-@ worth , and she compared Kody to a cult leader . <unk> added , " I can 't speak for everyone , but I believe in the <unk> of marriage . It 's sad to see that TLC 's <unk> on people who don 't . " Former prosecutor and television personality Nancy Grace criticized the show and said she believed Kody Brown should go to jail , but she expressed doubt he would based on Utah 's history of overlooking polygamy . Christine <unk> , an associate professor of communications at Westminster College in Salt Lake City , said the show could give viewers who are unfamiliar with the <unk> church the incorrect assumption that polygamy is accepted by the mainstream church . Several commentators have taken notice of the fact that the family 's religious convictions are <unk> in Sister Wives . 
