Russian Dolls (2011 TV series)

Russian Dolls is an American reality television series on Lifetime. The series debuted on August 11, 2011 and finished on October 7, 2011.[1] The series follows the lives of eight Russian-American families living in Brighton Beach, New York.[2]

This article is about the U.S. TV series. For other uses, see Russian Dolls (disambiguation).
Russian Dolls
GenreReality
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAlina Dizik
Banks Tarver
Colleen Conway
Edward Simpson
Elina Miller
Gena McCarthy
Ken Druckerman
Rob Sharenow
Running time21 minutes
(excluding commercials)
Production companyLeft/Right Films
Release
Original networkLifetime
Original releaseAugust 11 (2011-08-11) –
October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07)

Production and Cancellation

The show premiered on August 11, 2011 at 10:30/9:30c following hit series Project Runway. 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.[3] While the series was in pre-production, Lifetime originally chose to name the series 'Brighton Beach but was later changed to its current title. The series was deemed a Jersey Shore-esque reality series even before the title change.[4]

On August 23, 2011, Lifetime moved the series to a later time slot, at 11:30/10:30c following a Dance Moms repeat.[5] On September 21, 2011, Lifetime announced that the series would be burned off and the last five episodes of the series aired on October 7, 2011, as a special marathon event.[6]

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Mama Dearest"August 11, 2011 (2011-08-11)0.97[7]
2"From Ukraine with Love"August 18, 2011 (2011-08-18)0.77[8]
3"Tough Russian Love"August 25, 2011 (2011-08-25)N/A
4"Ruski Business"September 1, 2011 (2011-09-01)N/A
5"Calendar Girls"September 8, 2011 (2011-09-08)N/A
6"New Year, Old Grievances"September 15, 2011 (2011-09-15)N/A
7"Cold Wars"September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)N/A
8"It Takes DVA To Tango"October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07)N/A
9"Single Russian Female"October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07)N/A
10"Eastern Promises"October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07)N/A
11"Perestroika"October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07)N/A
12"Russian Dolls"October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07)N/A

Reception

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."[9] 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."[10]

The show has been criticized for having Ukrainian women appear as some of its "Russian dolls".[11] The Boston Herald noted that the show "reinforces every negative stereotype about Russian women."[12] Pravda.ru described the show as "a spit in Russia's face."[13] 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."[14] 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."[15]

References
  1. "Russian Dolls Episode: "Mama Dearest"". Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  2. "Russian Dolls: Cast & Details". Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  3. Seidman, Robert. "Updated: Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Jersey Shore' Down But Dominant + 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  4. "Development Update: Thursday, October 7". Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  5. "Exclusive: Lifetime Bumps "Russian Dolls" to Late-Night". thefutoncritic. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  6. "Development Update: Wednesday, September 21". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  7. "Updated: Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Jersey Shore' Down But Dominant + 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV BY THE NUMBERS. August 12, 2011. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  8. "Ratings – Thursday's Cable Ratings: Another Thursday, Another "Shore" Victory". TheFutonCritic.com. 2011-08-18. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  9. Barrosse, Emilia (August 11, 2011). "Emilia Barrosse reviews Lifetime's Russian Dolls". New York Press. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  10. Dizik, Alina (August 9, 2011). "'Russian Dolls': I Really Can See Russia From My House — Speakeasy — WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  11. Stasi, Linda (August 11, 2011). "'Russian Dolls' debuts on Lifetime, based on Russian Americans living in Brighton Beach — NYPOST.com". New York Post. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  12. Perigard, Mark A. (August 11, 2011). "Lifetime's 'Dolls' plays to cultural stereotypes — BostonHerald.com". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  13. Priymak, Artur (August 11, 2011). "America's 'Russian Dolls' – A spit in Russia's face — English pravda.ru". Pravda.ru. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  14. Stanley, Alessandra (August 11, 2011). "TELEVISION REVIEW; 'Russian Dolls' on Lifetime Shows Immigrant Glam — Review". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  15. Werts, Diane (August 10, 2011). "TV Review: 'Russian Dolls' – 1 star — am New York". Am New York. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
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