“30 Rock” was far ahead of its time way back in 2008 when it aired an episode titled “MILF Island.”
The episode revolves around the season finale of Jack Donaghy’s (Alec Baldwin) hit reality television show. In one exchange in the episode, Donaghy tells producer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) the theme of MILF Island.
“All of my summer replacement shows were big hits: ‘America’s Next Top Pirate,’ ‘Are You Stronger Than a Dog?’, ‘MILF Island,’” Donaghy says.
Lemon: “MILF Island”?
Donaghy: “Twenty-five super-hot moms, 50 eighth-grade boys, no rules.”
Lemon: “Oh yeah, didn’t one of those women turn out to be a prostitute?”
Donaghy: “That doesn’t mean she’s not a wonderful, caring MILF.”
Fast foward to 2023. No, we don’t have flying cars, but we do have “Milf Manor.” The reality show bills itself as eight attractive mothers embarking on a chance to “find love with men half their age.”
But there’s a twist. The first episode, which airs on TLC, revealed that the “men half their age” are the sons of the eight women.
📢 BIG REVEAL 🚨 Meet the men (aka THE SONS 😮) looking for love with an older woman on #MILFManor 💘
What did you think of that twist in last night’s premiere? Let us know in the replies 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/DbkhbJIv3p
— TLC Network (@TLC) January 16, 2023
Milf Manor set social media ablaze.
“I think tlc has hit an all-time low with this one,” a user on Twitter wrote. “That is one hour of my life I can’t get back. My family laughs at me for watching some of your shows but this one is a hard pass. It was cringe worthy.”
“It’s disgusting… you’re [sic] producers are disgusting… the moms participating are Realllly disgusting and desperate (guess there’s a reason they’re all divorced & single) and the kids are just… well… disgusting,” wrote another.
“You guys are disappointing a lot of your fans that watch your shows with this nonsensical show… I’m appalled. You could’ve done the show without the younger guys being sons of the moms… That is extremely disgusting!! Period! Please bow out now and take a loss on this one,” wrote a third.
Another pointed out the irony. “A beautiful thing about America is that tonight a show called MILF Manor premiered on a channel called The Learning Channel.”
And one other noted that “Milf Manor” was inevitable.
“Fans of trash TV and reality TV: you only can blame yourself for MILF Manor. You gave bad networks like TLC and Bravo the power to produce such stupidity.”
But apparently, the moms on “MILF Manor” love the moniker.
“My oldest daughter — her friends referred to me as that when she was in high school, and we embraced it,” one mom said on the show. “It’s just a word to me. I don’t take it in a literal sense. I think it’s just ‘hot mom.’”
“I love ‘30 Rock’ and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. But no — I’m not into 8th grade boys, if that’s the question!” said another to the New York Post.
I’d declare here that we, as a society, have hit rock bottom, but “Milf Manor” proves that you can never underestimate how low we can go.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.