Just how dull is Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp?
Sarah Palin's eldest daughter launches a new reality show chronicling her life as a single mom in Los Angeles. Critics could hardly be less enthused

Bristol is back. Following on the heels of last year's polarizing stint on Dancing With the Stars, Bristol Palin returns to reality TV Tuesday night, this time on her own show, Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp. The series, which airs on Lifetime, follows the eldest Palin daughter's move from Alaska to Los Angeles. In tow are her toddler son Tripp and sister/babysitter Willow. The premiere finds Bristol starting work at a charity called Help the Children and arguing with a heckler at a bar. Among the choice adjectives critics are hurling at the show: "Inept," "just plain sad," "dull," and "depressing." Is it really that bad?
Bristol has zero star power: Bristol has tried for years to maintain her notoriety — writing a book, competing on Dancing With the Stars, and now starring on her own reality show, says David Wiegand at The San Francisco Chronicle. But "she's just not that interesting." She has no Hills-like glamour, and she's too plain and predictable to be an "Alaskan Snooki." Bristol usually keeps a level head, and even when she breaks down, as she does after confronting the heckler, she's just not that captivating. "You probably wouldn't watch [the new show] if she wasn't who she is."
"Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp review"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And the show is really misguided: Lifetime pitched Life's a Tripp as a series about a young mother struggling to raise her child, and in that regard, it's an utter failure, says James Poniewozik at TIME. "There's just not much child-rearing going on." Instead, we see Bristol at a boutique; Bristol at Starbucks; Bristol at a bar. The apparent message: Get pregnant as a teenager, and soon you'll have the benefit of "a reality-TV crew to help you keep your child safe around your palatial home's numerous water features!"
"TV Tonight: Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp"
But Bristol doesn't deserve all the blame: Perhaps Bristol would have proved more entertaining in a series that doesn't stumble so "blindly over the ghostly rubble and ruined format of what was once commonly known as a reality show," says Hank Steuver at The Washington Post. Everything reeks of reality TV tropes: The massive SUVs Bristol cruises around in, the insipid boutiques where she shops, her Beverly Hills mansion that looks like a Bachelorette set, the blatantly staged conversations, the annoyingly visible microphone packs. Bristol has no chance to shine because her reality show itself is maddeningly unreal.
"Life's a Tripp: Bristol Palin, drawn like a moth to the fame"
Consensus: Life's a Tripp is as insipid as reality TV shows come, but really loyal Palin fans may wring some enjoyment out of it.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Scattered Spider: who are the hackers linked to M&S and Co-op cyberattacks?
The Explainer 'Decentralised and adaptive', its mainly English-speaking members operate like an 'organised criminal network'
-
The best birdwatching spots in the UK
The Week Recommends Grab your binoculars to spot puffins, oystercatchers and chiffchaffs
-
'Making memories': the scourge of modern parenting?
In The Spotlight Meghan Markle sends her children emails of each day's 'moments' but is constant 'memory-making' just another burden for parents to bear?
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy