1st photos from Tori Spelling’s True Tori reality series on Lifetime

Filming began on Tori Spelling’s new Lifetime reality series True Tori less than two weeks ago and the network has already released the first official photos featuring Tori, her husband Dean McDermott and her children: Liam Aaron, Finn Davey, Stella Doreen and Hattie Margaret.

It seems obvious from the photos that the show is going to be very emotional as it documents Tori and Dean struggling to keep their marriage intact amid very public cheating allegations. “Tori has made the courageous decision to allow the audience to witness the most difficult and unpredictable period in her life,” it says in the network’s description of the show. “Intimate, raw, emotional and completely real, Tori will tell her story for the first time as it should be told – by her.”

Amazingly, True Tori is set to premiere on April 22 — less than three weeks after filming began. The fast-tracking of the show is an example of what appears to be a new trend in reality television in which producers try to dramatically cut down the time between filming and airing — due largely to the proliferation of instantaneous social media. (Who wants to watch that wedding when you already saw tons of photos and videos three months ago?)

I don’t know how you feel about it, but I think I will be a big fan of the shift — not only because I often blog about the lives of reality stars and I’m even more susceptible to “this is old news” fatigue than most, but also because less time means less editing and more reality. Theoretically anyway. 🙂

Either way, I’m excited to watch Tori’s dramatic story unfold almost in real time starting April 22!

Photos: Lifetime