Total Divas is an American reality television series that premiered on July 28, 2013, on E!. The series gives viewers an inside look into the lives of female WWE wrestlers from their work within WWE to their personal lives with the inclusion of behind the scenes footage. Seasons one to six are available on WWE's on-demand streaming service, WWE Network and Hulu.
Video Total Divas
Production
Total Divas was revealed in May 2013, as a part of a partnership with E!. It was announced on August 14, 2013, that E! had ordered an additional six episodes to the already eight episode first season, bringing the total episode number up to fourteen episodes. The mid-season finale aired on September 15, 2013, with the season continuing on November 10, 2013. WWE commentator Josh Mathews revealed on November 20, 2013, that Total Divas had been renewed for a second season. The second season premiered on March 16, 2014, with Summer Rae joining the cast, replacing JoJo Offerman as she decided to focus more on wrestling.
Unlike other WWE programs, most of the performers use their real names instead of their ring names, leading to Cameron, Naomi, Natalya, Jimmy Uso, and Tyson Kidd being referred to as Ariane, Trinity, Nattie, Jon, and TJ respectively. During the first season, Daniel Bryan was similarly credited as Bryan Danielson. Beginning with the second season, performers are credited with both their ring name and real name on lower third graphics where applicable (exceptions include Daniel Bryan now being credited with his ring name even though he is still usually addressed as "Bryan", and Natalya still being credited as just "Nattie"). Summer Rae, Paige, and Alicia Fox along with other performers mentioned or rarely appearing (such as Brodus Clay, Fandango, and Titus O'Neil) are referred to solely by their ring names.
On May 19, 2014, E! announced that the third season of Total Divas would premiere on September 7, 2014, with Rosa Mendes joining the cast. On February 24, 2015, Paige announced Total Divas was renewed for a fourth season, with filming commencing at the end of the month. It was then announced at the end of season three, that the fourth season would premiere on July 7, 2015, moving from Sunday to Tuesday nights. On April 1, 2015, E! announced the show had been renewed for a fourth season via a press release. In the press release, it was confirmed that Naomi would return as a series regular with Cameron and Rosa Mendes being removed from the main cast. All of the other Divas would return as series regulars.
On September 5, 2015, an online article stated that there could be a strong possibility Total Divas will be renewed for a fifth season. It read that season four will "wrap up this fall" and the new season "won't air till 2016 some time". After the September 22 episode of Total Divas aired, it was announced that the following week's episode would serve as the season finale, rather than a mid-season finale. On September 9, 2015, Naomi revealed on Twitter that she had been taken off the main cast after the season four finale, which aired on September 29. WWE Tough Enough runner-up Mandy Rose joined the cast for season five.
Season 5 was announced on October 6, 2015, which started airing on January 19, 2016 with majority of last season's cast returning. Naomi was officially removed from the main cast with Mandy taking her place and Rosa Mendes returning as a series regular.
Season 6 was officially confirmed on April 18, 2016, by the E! Network with a fall premiere date and the majority of last season's cast returning, along with Naomi returning as a series regular and Renee Young, Lana, and Maryse replacing Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, and Mandy Rose. Additionally, the E! Network announced that the Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki) would be getting their own spinoff show also with a fall premiere date, titled Total Bellas, that will be following the lives of the twins and their family.
On July 7, TJ, Natalya's husband, confirmed via Twitter that he would not be appearing on the upcoming season of Total Divas, making him the first partner of a current cast member to not be featured on the show in a recurring capacity.
On January 28, 2017, it was announced that Nikki Bella will serve as an executive producer of the show when the series returns in April 2017.
In speculation of the seventh season of Total Divas, on May 16, 2017, it was announced that Eva Marie would not be returning as a series regular, and questions have been raised in regards to Paige remaining on the show. However, Brie, Nikki, Naomi, and Natalya will definitely return as series regulars for the upcoming season. Filming began in June 2017. On June 9, 2017, it was reported that Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax would be joining the upcoming season of Total Divas. However, the rest of the seventh-season cast is still to be announced. On June 10, 2017, Renee Young confirmed via Twitter that she will not be returning for the seventh season. In a recent interview, it was confirmed Lana would be returning to the show for the upcoming season, along with her storyline of becoming an independent superstar on the SmackDown Live brand. On June 29, 2017, it was reported that Carmella would be joining the cast and that Paige wouldn't be returning for the upcoming season. On September 20, 2017, E! revealed that the seventh season will premiere on November 1, 2017.
On January 8, 2018, WWE announced that The Miz and Maryse would be getting their own spinoff show, set to premiere in 2018 on the USA Network, titled Miz & Mrs., that will be following the personal lives of the couple.
On April 4, 2018, speculations arose about the upcoming eighth season of Total Divas, as reports stated that E! cameras had been filming a handful of WWE female superstars in New Orleans during the WrestleMania weekend. Paige, who was a part of the main cast from seasons 3 to 6, was also seen being followed by E! cameras, speculating her possible return to the series. On April 13, it was confirmed that Paige would be returning to the series for the eighth season, along with Sonya Deville, who had posted a video alongside Total Divas cast members Lana, Natalya, and Naomi while filming an episode for the show. The report also speculates Liv Morgan could be joining the show, as she was seen filming an episode with current cast member Lana. With these reports, the status of the remaining cast members are left unknown. On May 15, 2018, it was announced that Carmella would not be returning for the show's eighth season. On May 25, Paige and Nia Jax posted a video together using a hash tag indicating they were filming for the show, confirming Nia Jax as a cast member for the upcoming season. On May 31, it was reported that Brie and Nikki Bella were seen filming an episode of the upcoming season with cast members Lana, Natalya, and Paige, confirming their involvement with the eighth season.
On May 7, 2018, E! and WWE announced that Total Divas had been renewed for seasons 8 and 9. Season 8 is expected to air in fall 2018.
Maps Total Divas
Cast
Main
Recurring
Episodes
As of January 31, 2018, 100 episodes of Total Divas have aired.
Awards and nominations
Reception
Ratings
The series premiered on July 28, 2013, drawing 1.34 million viewers, as well as becoming the series' highest rated premiere to date. The highest rated episode is "Planet Funk is Funked Up" garnering 1.67 million viewers. The lowest rated episode of season one is "Seeing Red" garnering 0.92 million viewers. The season two premiere episode "New Diva On The Block" received 1.07 million viewers. The following episode "The Braniel Bus" had a strong rise in viewers garnering 1.28 million viewers. The lowest rated episode of season two is "Red and Gold" garnering 0.75 million viewers. The season three premiere attracted over 1.2 million viewers and 821K Adults 18-49, the series was up +15% and +17% respectively versus the season 2 premiere, as well as garnered 26,000 tweets and ranked as the #1 ad-supported cable program of the night. The third-season premiere of Total Divas did not post spectacular ratings. It did, however, outdraw last season's opener.
Critical response
Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media gave the show 2 stars out of 5. Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine said the show is uninteresting. Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine said of the show, "Total Divas feels real-ish. If the stars are doing any damage to their reputations, it's that they appear to be too nice. That might make their fans happy, but viewers expecting a smackdown can and will go elsewhere." Diva-Dirt.com stated "Meet Your New Guilty Pleasure!". Eric Gargiulo of Camel Clutch Blog said "I tuned in to WWE Total Divas expecting to see a scripted reality show in the vein of Hogan Knows Best. Instead I got an interesting look behind the scenes of the WWE and its superstars more in the same vein as Beyond the Mat."
References
External links
- Official website
- Total Divas on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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