When we left Julia Haart at the end of the first season My unorthodox life, she was happily married to Silvio Scaglia, and the two joined forces to buy Elite World Group, a top model and talent agency. She was held in high esteem as CEO, even as she tended to the various issues of her four children, all of whom were transitioning from a sheltered Orthodox community in upstate New York to “modern Orthodox” or not even religious. But since that first season, Haart and Scaglia were embroiled in a really ugly divorce that’s still going on, and Haart lost her job. How much of that ugliness will we see in Season 2?
opening shot: A disclaimer oddly mentions that the second season of My unorthodox life was recorded between January 31, 2022 and April 12, 2022. Following a Season 1 recap, we see “One Year Later; The Haart Penthouse’, with moving boxes throughout the living room.
The essentials: There are moving boxes because Julia Haart’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Silvio Scaglia, is moving out. A few weeks earlier, the two decided that divorce was the best option as they saw their future differently. Julia devotes herself to her children; Their daughters Batsheva and Miriam lived in the penthouse. Silvio, on the other hand, wanted little to do with Julia’s children, which made up most of the tension between them.
Bat lived in the penthouse because she was going through her own divorce; There were too many arguments with her husband Ben about how religious they should be as a couple and they each went in opposite directions on that matter. Miriam’s current girlfriend Nathalie is often in the penthouse. So there is a lot of relationship drama going on.
But it seems that Julia has settled things: no one is dividing assets, and their business partnership continues. She remains CEO of Elite World Group, which has grown under her leadership. Although Silvio has treated her and her children, she wants things to stay amicable because she thinks they are great as business partners and nothing in their personal life should change that.
She then learns that Silvio has hired a celebrity divorce lawyer, one who will back down if he’s looking for a fight, not an amicable divorce. Pretty soon after, as we learn in the second episode, Silvio fires her from EWG, despite Julia claiming they are 50/50 partners.
Alongside Julia and her divorce drama, we also follow EWG COO Robert Brotherton and Julia’s bestie as he prepares for cosmetic surgery. After losing a lot of weight, he has decided to pinch and tuck in his stomach so he can feel more confident. He receives support from both Julia and his new friend Ra’ed. The two had been friends since they were teenagers, but over the course of the pandemic they grew closer, especially after Ra’ed moved in with Robert in his new Connecticut home.
What shows will it remind you of? My unorthodox life Season 1. It is considered a “docu-soap” by people like bling empire, house hoand family karma.
Our opinion: A common criticism of the first season of My unorthodox life was that it didn’t really explain how Julia Haart went from a very sheltered Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, New York, to CEO of Elite World Group in six years. So all the news surrounding Haart and Scaglia’s divorce confirmed what many of us thought: their relationship and position at the EWG are quite intertwined. We’re glad Haart decided to air all the ugliness, at least from her point of view.
What we don’t see, of course, is Scaglia’s side of the divorce. Why did he agree to work things out amicably and leave their business relationship untouched, and then suddenly hired shark lawyers, fired them from their position as CEO and started filing lawsuits? From the various news reports of their divorce, it appears that he immediately fired her after she filed for divorce, although the show makes it seem like this was in progress before all of this happened. He has also accused her of stealing money from her holding company and has said that she holds half a stake less stock in the company than he does, which is why he had the power to fire her.
We want to see all of that, and judging by the episodes’ descriptions, we will — at least until April 2022. It looks like Haart is going to stay strong through all of this, but her claims that they have perfect divorce feelings are in hindsight ridiculous. We appreciate how EP Jeff Jenkins edited together so many scenes of Haart’s confidence in the divorce going forward because it was a good foreshadowing for anyone who knows what’s going to happen next and provides a surprise for those who who don’t know.
What made us scratch our heads was the focus on Robert. Sure, he’s got a big personality, but his plastic surgery and skepticism about the open relationship he has with Ra’ed feels like pretty mundane docu-soap stuff compared to what’s going on with Julia.
What’s going on with Julia’s children, including the still-shy Shlomo and the still-orthodox Aaron, is at least a little more intriguing because most of them are still struggling with their religious identity, even if it means abandoning the religion remove . But the further we get away from Julia, the more we want to return to her and the ugliness. Are we proud to write this? Not really. But at this stage, that’s what people will be watching.
gender and skin: Julia gets a handbag from her friends that says “Pussy Power”. In the second episode, she throws a “lesbian usurer” with a neon sign that reads “I Love Pussy” for Miriam’s birthday. Such class.
farewell shot: Julia tells Robert about the lawyer Silvio has hired and how she wants to arrange the divorce amicably. “That doesn’t sound very damn friendly,” he replies.
sleeping star: If anything, it’s Ra’ed, mostly because he’s going to be someone’s wingman. Shlomo wants to meet a woman from EWG? Ra’an helps him. He wants to introduce Robert to a handsome man at the dog park? Sure, why not?
Most pilot line: As Silvio undresses and then says goodbye to Miriam and Batsheva, Bat awkwardly says, “It was my pleasure,” though we all know that’s not the case.
Our appeal: Stream it. Because of Haart’s divorce, season 2 is out My unorthodox life will probably be less about the Haarts’ progressive transition from their life in the Orthodox community to a more secular life. But this divorce is so juicy that it will make the season a fascinating one.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and technology, but he doesn’t fool himself: He’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company and elsewhere.
