Less Proves to be More as WE tv’s New Series DOWNSIZED Takes a Look at a Family’s Life in a Recession
Series Premiere Saturday, November 6 at 9PM ET/PT
Los Angeles, CA, August 6, 2010 – Here’s a story…of a lovely family… with a very different twist. Laura and Todd Bruce, and their seven children were a happy blended American family, living a lavish life of vacations, expensive dinners, summer homes and more money than they could spend. Fast forward four years to a crippling recession, and you’ll see the Bruce’s flat broke with two homes in foreclosure, a collapsed contracting business and a daily struggle to make rent. The Bruce family’s challenge of living life with nine people on a poverty-level budget is the focus of WE tv’s riveting new one-hour, eight episode-series, DOWNSIZED, premiering Saturday, NOVEMBER 6 at 9:00PM ET/PT. Witness a modern day "Brady-bunch" use love, humor and discipline to navigate the very real stresses of life in modern America. Photos are available for download at http://press.wetv.com.
DOWNSIZED features a large, blended family brought together by Laura and Todd Bruce. When Laura and Todd married, they merged Laura’s five children with Todd’s two kids to become a large family, with a sizable appetite for spending. The real-estate-boom awarded Todd a thriving construction business that made money hand-over-fist and allowed him to provide a posh-lifestyle for his new family. Then, the real estate market collapsed and their lives were turned upside-down. Household budgets were slashed and that meant a "rental" home, clipping coupons and rolling pennies. Everything from vocal-lessons and cheerleading camp to baseball equipment and shopping sprees became things of the past. With retirement savings and college funds depleted, this family is beginning the steep climb out of financial ruin.
In the midst of their economic pressures, Laura and Todd are raising seven teen/pre-teenagers that are going through important social phases daily. After witnessing the divorce of their respective parents, all children were faced with having a new step-parent and step-siblings. Boys they competed with at school are now the very ones they share a bedroom with and girls have to form new sisterly-bonds. Ages 10+, there are the "Bruce’s": Heather and Levi; and the: "Rumsey’s" Bailey, Rex, Dylan and Whitney (the triplets) and Danielle (the youngest). Throughout DOWNSIZED, the new "Bruce-bunch" are learning to navigate the difficult teenage years of dating, friends, high-emotions and the loss of life’s former luxuries – all under their parents’ watchful eye. The step-siblings have to learn how to deal with the jealousy of others and even themselves. While Todd’s children have access to generous gifts from their well-to-do mother, Laura’s kids have to make due. This can mean the difference between Heather attending the prom when Bailey can’t afford to go. Still, DOWNSIZED illustrates that what the Bruce’s lack financially, they make up in love and camaraderie.
"What keeps our family together is that we laugh together," reflects mom Laura Bruce. "In spite of facing an enormous debt, we’re united by love and laughter."
Each member is tasked with a responsibility for contributing to the family as a whole. During the school year, the Bruce’s have Laura’s sparse teaching income, but that is hardly enough to sustain the entire clan. They have to shop with coupons and struggle with personal pride when using food stamps, finding clothing at Good Will and cleaning other people’s homes in the neighborhood to make money. They must baby-sit, swap clothing, dumpster-dive and work summer-jobs to help each-other stay afloat. Despite their difficult circumstances, Laura and Todd will use their misfortune as an opportunity to teach their children the importance of ingenuity, teamwork, perseverance and the value of every hard-earned dollar. The Bruce’s will reveal the very real face of a modern American family’s economic-recovery.
Produced by WE tv and Pie Town Productions. Executive Producer for WE tv: John Miller and Monica Ramone.
About WE tv
WE tv (www.wetv.com), a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, offers compelling, entertaining stories that focus on key life stages of a modern woman, from getting married to having children and raising a family. Available in nearly 77 million homes, the network’s original programming includes the critically acclaimed, viewer favorite The Locator (the network’s most-watched series ever), the poignant, and often comical, real-life story of a family raising multiple toddlers, Raising Sextuplets, and a robust line-up of wedding series, including the hit show Bridezillas, Amazing Wedding Cakes and My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. WE tv is available in HD and WE tv On Demand is available in more than 30 million homes.
WE tv’s public affairs initiative, WE Empowers Women, is dedicated to creating programs that foster and celebrate women’s strength, confidence and diversity. The network’s newest initiative, WE Volunteer (www.wevolunteer.tv), is a call-to-action for women to become more involved in their communities by volunteering one full day – just 24 hours – of community service to make a difference in someone else’s life.