Most Controversial TV Show: The disturbing and problematic Plath family on 'Welcome to Plathville'
Imagine living all your life on a farm in the middle of nowhere, completely off-grid with strict religious rules. That's just a regular day in the family life of the Plaths. TLC is the host of several bizarre shows and over the years we have been introduced to some very unique and interesting families like The Duggars, Mama June and her family, among many others. But none can hold a candle to the Plath family that features in 'Welcome to Plathville'.
The show documents the life of Kim and Barry Plath, as they raise their huge family on a remote farm in Georgia. The couple has nine children together, and these young ones have been brought up in, to put it delicately, a sheltered world. They have never seen a television, played on video games, or even had any sugary treats ever in their life. When TLC announced the show about a family that doesn't watch TV appearing on TV, people had some thoughts about it. Also, the description of TLC about the family as, "The nine flaxen-haired children in the Plath family have never had a soda, don't know who Spiderman or Tom Brady is and have never watched TV, living remotely in rural Georgia with their 'follow their own rules' parents Kim and Barry Plath", left them wondering if they would be seeing a cult family on the screen.
Even after the show's premiere, fans continued wondering if they were watching a family cult on a farm. A fan tweeted about the show, "I think we are all being pulled into this cult. Why are we watching this? #welcometoplathville." The bizarre rules and the super strict religious rules that they adhere to doesn't help their cause much either. In accordance to their religious scriptures, the family refrains from consuming alcohol, smoking, and sugar. Barry even boasts in an episode about how the kids do not know what a Coke is. Despite being the hyper-religious family, they broke one of their scriptures' rules by creating a family website and creating social media accounts.
Fans felt a tinge of pity for the children, especially one of the daughters named Moriah. The eldest two children of the Plath family have gotten married, moved out of the farm, and have taken to enjoying the comforts of the world. The remaining children, who are still on the farm, claim to love their life, except for Moriah. Moriah has a keen passion for exploring the world and being open to new experiences, two things which her family is strictly against. Thankfully for Moriah, her brother's wife, Olivia, was more than happy to help her open up to the world. The constant friction between Olivia and the matriarch Kim is one of the focal points of the show.
During one of her rare outings with Olivia to California, Moriah learns about the LQBTQ culture. She was so intrigued by the whole experience that towards the end she talks about how everybody should have the right to live the way they want and love who they want. When fans heard the teenager express such powerful emotion, they couldn't help but feel sorry that someone as free-spirited and progressive as her is stuck with an ultra-conservative family. Kim and Barry received a lot of backlash from fans after the show aired for controlling their children. Despite the problematic and controversial family setup, 'Welcome to Plathville' has quickly become a favorite among fans who can't seem to get enough of this strange and eccentric way of living.