Parents' Guide to

Farmer Wants a Wife

By Kari Croop, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Down-home dating show is deceptively tame.

TV CW Reality TV 2008
Farmer Wants a Wife Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 4+

Based on 1 parent review

the actual Kanisha D. Washington
the actual Kanisha D. Washington Parent of 11 and 13-year-old
October 28, 2010
age 4+
I think that it's too many people who use my name, Kanisha, and too many people who go to hav them selves altered.

This title has:

Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In FARMER WANTS A WIFE, a 29-year-old single farmer named Matt is in the market for marital bliss. Finding the dating pool in his small Missouri town hopelessly small, he invites a pool of 10 attractive city-dwellers to his turf to compete for his affections in an elimination-style reality dating contest that finds them rounding up chickens with their bare hands, playing Bingo with the locals, and driving tractors, among other physically demanding tasks. The last girl standing wins the chance to share a quiet life with Matt as a genuine farmer's wife.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Taking its cues from a popular British show by the same name, Farmer Wants a Wife fails to blaze any trails in the realm of reality television. Although the general concept is somewhat original -- at least on this side of the pond -- you're left with the overall impression that you've seen all of this somewhere before. There are the same fame-craving contestants, the same ridiculous challenges, and the same embarrassingly awkward "dates" that occur in front of a camera crew.

Bottom line? Imagine that The Simple Life merged in a Frankenstein's monster kind of way with The Bachelor. Subtract the debatable entertainment value of an out-of-her-element Paris Hilton. Now change the channel ... because there's not much left.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether the realities of farm life are accurately portrayed on the show and what, if anything, the producers might have done to play up commonly held stereotypes. In terms of the farmhouse, the women are living in, do you think it's been staged for television by a crew of professional decorators? Why or why not? In terms of Matt, the farmer seeking a wife, do you think his intentions are 100 percent genuine? Do you think the prospect of finding true love was his only motivation, or would the chance to be on television equally appealing?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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