Heather Gay’s ‘Surviving Mormonism’ will debut on Bravo and stream on Peacock in November.
(Randy Shropshire | Bravo) “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Heather Gay, seen here at an event for her book, “Bad Mormon,” will host a three-part documentary, “Surviving Mormonism With Heather Gay,” to air on Bravo and stream on Peacock.
One of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” will take on the state’s biggest institution — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — in an upcoming documentary series.
The first episode of “Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay,” a three-part docuseries featuring Gay, will air Tuesday, Nov. 11, after that week’s episode of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” Bravo announced Tuesday.
In the series, Bravo said in a news release, Gay “uncovers the dark history” of the church as she interviews “abuse survivors, ex-Mormons and former LDS Church leaders,” Bravo said.
Gay has chronicled both on “Real Housewives” and in her memoirs — “Bad Mormon” and “Good Time Girl” — how she grew up in the Latter-day Saint faith, attended church-owned Brigham Young University and married a member of the faith. She’s also been open about leaving the church, which she further explores in the docuseries, according to Bravo.
The series aims to “bring awareness and enact change,” Bravo said in its release.
In the first episode, Gay meets David Matheson, a former Latter-day Saint who used to be a leading advocate for “conversion therapy,” the practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation. Matheson came out as gay in 2019.
Gay meets in the second episode with an old friend, Ben, whom Gay rejected when he was critical of the church. Now, she listens as Ben says he was abused — a story that “rocks her to her core,” Bravo said. Gay also speaks to others who say they were abused, as well as a former Latter-day Saint bishop about his experiences inside the church.
In the final episode, Gay talks with two sisters who say they experienced “indescribable” abuse from their father. The sisters also tell Gay that their bishop and church leaders ignored them when they reported the abuse. By the end of the episode, Bravo says, “Heather decides it’s time to take action.”
Spokespeople for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have regularly issued a statement, saying the church “has no tolerance for abuse of any kind. Those who engage in abusive behavior are rightfully subject to prosecution by legal authorities and also face loss of Church membership.”
The first episode will air at 9:15 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time — 7:15 or 10:15 p.m. Mountain time, depending on what cable or satellite TV service one uses. The episode will stream the next day, Nov. 12, on Peacock, and the second and third episodes will also debut on the streaming service that day.