Amish Youth Escape to New York in TLC’s ‘Breaking Amish’

The Television Critics Association summer press tour ends today, and while most of the big network announcements came last week, its final few days have focused on what’s in store on cable in the next few months. One of the most sensational of these new shows is TLC’s Breaking Amish, a reality series that has shamelessly ripped off the title of Breaking Bad and finds four Amish people and one Mennonite escaping the confines of their secluded communities for the bright lights and impossible rents of New York City.

As you might remember, rebellious Amish youth aren’t a new subject for reality TV: Back in 2004, UPN brought us Amish in the City. The difference is that while the kids in that show were on rumspringa, the Breaking Amish cast members have actually elected to leave the world of barn raisings and horse-drawn buggies forever. There’s already been some controversy among critics over whether TLC producers played too large a role in their subjects’ decision to move to New York, and as you’ll see in the trailer, there’s certainly a semi-exploitative “Look at these fucking Amish” vibe to some of the clips. And yet, we remain curious to learn about people who have had hugely different lives from our own. Click through to get a first look at Breaking Amish, and let us know whether your ethics will permit you to watch the show when it premieres, September 9th.

[via Gothamist]

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SPOILER ALERT. I really liked this show in the beginning, but then, slowly, you start to realize that all isn't as it seems. First of all, as was already mentioned, Jeremiah is 32 and seems to have already broken with the Amish, so not sure why there are pretending that he is just walking away. Second of all, you learn that the seemingly innocent girl, Rebecca, was also married and left her husband. She also used to sneak out in dress in street clothes, so again, the whole bit about how she couldn't wait to wear "English" clothes was bs. THEN, you learn that another one of the girls was married and the "model" had a DUI, so she definitely is not fresh off the farm. The last episode I saw they all went home and were shocked at how people treated them, which makes no sense because they talk about how they will be shunned all of the time. I know a lot of shows are staged, but this one is really bad. These kids stopped being Amish a long time ago.

I've watched 5 episodes and I'm having a hard time believing any of it. Everything seems staged, just like most other "reality" shows. Waste of time.

this show is BS - I know "Jeremiah" - he hasn't followed the Amish faith in a long long time - he has been married and divorced, has kids, and was shacked up with an 18 year old until he went to tape this series - how do I know this? That 18 year old was my daughter. He convinced her to leave home, that they would have a great life together - so he leaves her with no money and no job to go tape this series - she was devastated - he finally admitted that he cheated on her with someone in this series and she finally dumped him - thank goodness because I can't stand Jeremiah - a man who is 32 years old going after an impressionable 18 year old is just disgusting. I'm just glad that my daughter finally got rid of him