By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed Dec. 16, 2014
VH1 snuck Atlanta's "Sorority Sisters" onto its lineup last night with almost no advance notice.
This type of stealth move, antithetical to the hype machine that is TV, doesn't exactly evoke confidence that the network executives expect the show to be successful.
On the bright side, Twitter haters who checked out the show went all out last night. Here's a sampling, including calls for advertising boycotts:
Positive comments virtually didn't exist.
I will readily admit I know very little about African-American sororities so I cannot say upfront how realistic this show is. But it does feel very familiar and predictable to anybody who watches "Love and Hip Hop," "Real Housewives" or their many variants ("Married to Medicine," "R&B Divas," "The Exes," et. al)
Several women, some who know each other and some don't, are tied in this case by sorority pasts where, as one woman describes it in the opening narration, "we pledge a lifetime of sisterhood. Greek life is for life." The show seems to flood the zone with nine women, more than typical reality shows of this ilk. Most comparable shows keep their casts at a more manageable five to seven.
As a result, it takes a half the hour just to introduce them to viewers one by one. The producers needed to take a serious editing cleaver to this cast. While reality competition shows often begin with 16 to 20 people, they at least get pared down over time. In this case, I'm not even clear how many episodes VH1 plans to air.
Most of the women appear to be in their late 20s and early 30s with lots of dancer types in the mix. (Attorneys? Doctors? They wouldn't appear on this show!)
There is even a token white girl in the mix, Shanna McCormick, part of the Deltas, who just moved from Atlanta from Arkansas.
Each cast member does a quick verbal intro, ending with whatever sound effect and/or hand signal each sorority has.
The show early on sets up an inevitable confrontation between April (AKA) and Adrene (Delta), both who emote a lot of attitude and own clothing boutiques. Adrena attended Clark-Atlanta a few years back but burlesque dancer Priyanka wonders if she is a (gasp!) "Delta imposter."
It gets ratchet quickly because April left flyers for her "Shoe-tique" party at Adrene's store. How dare she!
By the way, whoever was doing post-edit on the show is clearly not from here. He or she mislabeled Philips Arena as Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. No doubt a lot of viewers want to give this show a one-way ticket to oblivion.
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