Wife Swap: Summary

Airs Next:ABC at Monday 8:00 PM (60 min.)
Status:Returning Series
Premiered:September 26, 2004
Show Categories:Reality, Drama

Have you ever wondered whether the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Two wives discover that it often isn't when they hand over the keys to their homes and literally switch families � but not bedrooms � for two weeks on the new reality show Wife Swap, already a critically-acclaimed smash hit in its third season in the U.K.

Wife Swap is not a competition or a contest. It is a reality show unlike any other, where the battlegrounds are the kitchens and living rooms, child-rearing is a subject of intense and heated debate, and the outcome isn't a cash prize, but a couple's opportunity to re-discover why they love each other and decided to marry in the first place.

In the first week of the swap, the wives move in with their new family and adopt their very different lifestyle. They agree to follow a manual written by the departing wife that sets out the rules of their new household � how they parent, shop, do the house work, manage their budgets and their social life. But then, in the second week, everything changes. The new wives take charge. They introduce their own set of rules and get to run the new household their way. It's a radical shock to both families. The results are explosive, enlightening and often very funny. This is a show about the things that really matter to families across America.

At the end of the show, the two couples meet for the first time. In a highly-charged exchange of views, both couples make a frank assessment of each other and talk about what they've learned from the experience.

When Wife Swap premiered in 2003 in the United Kingdom, it was an instant television phenomenon. The program has won numerous awards, most recently the prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) Award for best reality show and the Golden Rose for best reality program at the International Rose D'Or Festival, Europe's top entertainment television awards. Wife Swap currently airs everywhere from France to Australia and Germany to New Zealand.
Source: ABC.com Have you ever wondered whether the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Two wives discover that it often isn't when they hand over the keys to their homes and literally switch families � but not bedrooms � for two weeks on the new reality show Wife Swap, already a critically-acclaimed smash hit in its third season in the U.K.

Wife Swap is not a...

Berwick/Roachford

Aired: Friday November 21, 2008

A mother that has her husband and nine children take care of the house swaps lives with a mom that support's her husband which wants to be a rock star.

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Add stars to Wife Swap.

4.5
02
jawsthecabbie
member since: Nov 12, 2008
The Bottom Line: "Change the channel!"
Engineering human dysfunctionality. ...Continue »
It's friday, December 19th, and all it took was the preview of this episode's comming attractions to get me to turn off the T.V. and head straight to the computer to write this review. The wife of a tornado chaser switching places with the wife of a safety freak. My, my. This show is only a hop, skip and a jump from the Jerry Springer Show in my opinion. The whole idea behind this show and shows like it is to exploit and at times, I think, engineer human dysfunctionality. You don't have to be Dr. Phil to guess how these two mismatched couples are going to fare. If you get off on watching people tear each other down, this is a good show I guess, but you get more for your money on the Springer show. Lotsa good fist fights on that one. Ugh.
12/19/08 05:49pm | report abuse
10
11
ninja422
member since: Nov 30, 2008
The Bottom Line: "Daily fix"
this show is so awesome ...Continue »
in the review i said it was a daily fix, i ment weekley (every friday at eight). the show is really cool. i like picking out my favorite family even if they both are evil. the episode with the clowns was just wierd. i have probably seen every episode except the last one (December 5, 2008) and would like to know what happened (hint-hint) i really liked the pirate one. did i mention that i REALLY want to know what happened on the last episode (send responses to screen name ninja422) well, now i dont know what to type any more oh WOHOO! 100 words finally!
12/07/08 04:06pm | report abuse
9.5
11
Rattrap007
member since: Feb 24, 2004
The Bottom Line: "Guilty pleasure"
Two families switch moms. ...Continue »
This is a truly guilty pleasure. It is so much fun watching the madness ensue.

Typically I see one family that is somewhat normal with a few problems, and they switch with a family that is extremely bizarre and way outside the norm. One episode featured a poor family that hunts to lessen their grocery bill and put food on the table. They switched with a family who are raw food vegans and the mom thinks you can get all the food you want by looking at the sun. Also I noticed that typically one family will refuse to comply with the new rules. As in the Vegan/meat eater family. The vegan mom refused to see the other side and then expected the family to follow her rules.

But the insanity is always there. Right now there is an episode on where a mom who is more or less a slave to her husband and son switched places with a Wicca goddess whose family worships her. The Wicca kids talk to elves and fairies.
11/13/08 02:21pm | report abuse
9.5
22
Larzee1295
member since: Jul 7, 2008
The Bottom Line: "Unintentionally funny"
In the abc series "Wife Swap", two different families trade wives for two weeks. This show is very similar to the FOX series "Trading Spouses" except the mothers stay for two weeks, they do not recieve money in the end, and this is more heavily narrated. ...Continue »
Like "Trading Spouses", "Wife Swap" is usually a great television series, and one of my favorite things about shows like "Wife Swap" and "Trading Spouses" is that every episode is so different. Some are comical, some are insprirational, some have you at the edge of your seat, and some make you cry tears of joy. Of course, there is always the occasional episode that makes you angry or makes you cry tears of sorrow. Something that make me like "Wife Swap" more than "Trading Spouses" is the fact that "Wife Swap" is so heavily narrated, and whoever narrates it is so talented. He turns what would be an otherwise boring episode into a comedy. However, "Trading Spouses" has the twist that each family recieves $50,000, but that the new mom (or dad) will spend the money. Overall, I think that "Wife Swap" is a great show to watch when one is in the mood for some comedy.
09/28/08 06:53am | report abuse
8
22
ShyXena
member since: Jul 22, 2008
The Bottom Line: "Daily fix"
Why don't they put switch similar wives sometimes? ...Continue »
This show is mainly about two different couples who switch wives for a few weeks.

It is very interesting and entertaining to watch! I love the see how the two wives would react and judge the family and the house. How the childrens /kids/ teens behaves and the rules the wives are going to change about the household!

It's funny to see the dads yell at the "wife" and not listening to the new rules.

What I don't like about this show is that they always switch wives that are from opposite families (like everytime!) so that can get boring to watch. Why don't they switch wives some time from two similar families! That would be boring to watch, some might say but atleast it's interesting and different from the weeks!

Well, that's my review!
08/09/08 09:23am | report abuse