A WOMAN WHO DOES EVERYTHING AND MORE FOR HER THREE SUPER-INDULGED
CHILDREN AND HER �MAN-OF-THE-HOUSE� HUSBAND SWAPS LIVES WITH
AN ENERGY-CONSERVING, HIPPIE MOM WHOSE FAMILY DOES ALL HOUSEWORK
TOGETHER AND WHOSE HUSBAND LIKES TO WEAR A SKIRT, ON �WIFE SWAP�
This week in �Heiss/Kestrel,� a devoted housewife and mother who does all the cooking and cleaning for her overindulged teenagers and husband in their modern appliance-outfitted home swaps lives with an eco-friendly hippie mom who detests materialism and whose family of three shares household chores and works together to keep their meager household afloat, on ABC�s �Wife Swap� -- the critically-acclaimed, unscripted reality show that takes us into the intimate heart of the American family home to reveal the extraordinarily different ways families live -- MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Each week from across the country, two families with very different values are chosen to take part in a two-week-long challenge. The wives from these two families exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover just what it�s like to live another woman�s life. It�s a mind-blowing experiment that often ends up changing their lives forever.
Susan Heiss (49), who lives in an upscale neighborhood in Rhode Island, does all the cooking and cleaning herself for her loud, boisterous Italian-American family. Her larger than life husband, �Big� Ed (50), runs his own business and is truly king of the castle. He likes his nine TVs and every modern convenience money can buy. He is also used to having everything the way he likes it, thanks to Susan. The family�s three teenagers, Jenna, Britney and son Ryan, are equally indulged by their mother and would never dream of raising a hand to help her do anything. For the Heiss family members, their wishes are Susan�s commands.
Susan ventures to the energy-conserving Virginia home of dreadlocked couple Sienna (34) and Ash (24) Kestrel, and Sienna�s 12 year-old son, Ian. Not only do young purple haired Ian and his skirt-wearing stepfather, Ash, share in the housework, they also team up with Sienna to make their living by diving through local dumpsters for food and cast-off furniture. The family do all they can to make certain their income stays below the poverty level. For the Kestrels, shunning the American dream is a way of life.
In the first week of the swap, Susan is appalled when she must join her new family to ask for handouts of food at a local bakery and to dumpster dive. Meanwhile, astonished Sienna spends hours cooking and cleaning for her new family while they ignore her and party all night in their Jacuzzi.
In week two of the swap, when the wives change the rules, Susan brings her new family into the 21st century by not only installing new appliances, including a dishwasher, but also by telling hippie Ash to get a haircut and a job. Sienna, tired of her overindulged new family, bans the use of all electrical appliances at home, makes Big Ed wear a skirt to get in touch with his feminine side and forces the family to work together to cook meals and wash dishes. At the end of the swap, when the couples reunite and come face to face with one another, will the powwow be, according to Big Ed, a �bada bing� or a �bada bust�?
�Wife Swap� is an RDF Media production. It was created by Stephen Lambert and is executive-produced by Lambert, Jenny Crowther, Wendy Roth of RDF Media (�Faking It� and �Junkyard Wars�) and Michael Davies of Embassy Row (�Who Wants to be a Millionaire�). Stef Wagstaffe is the co-executive producer.
�Wife Swap� is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.
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