E!’s controversial reality series Pretty Wild wraps up tonight with what is sure to be 30 minutes of jaw-droppingly explosive reality drama! The show has followed Andrea Neiers and her three “daughters” Alexis Neiers, Gabrielle Neiers and Tess Taylor, the latter of which isn’t related by blood, but has been virtually adopted by Andrea.
Initially the show was to be about a former model mom raising two young party girls (Andrea and Tess) and their 15-year-old sister Gabby, who was more grounded and practical than either of the other three. But, the focus of the show took an immediate turn just after filming began when police arrived at the Neiers’ door to arrest Alexis Arlington for her involvement in the infamous “Bling Ring,” who had robbed a number of celebrity homes over the previous year, taking millions of dollars worth of clothes, jewelry, art and more.
Police found out that Alexis was present when actor Orlando Bloom’s house was robbed and though she claimed she was drunk at the time and didn’t know the people she was with were planning a theft, authorities pursued the case and Alexis was caught in a tight legal spot. (CLICK HERE to find out more details about the case, including Alexis’ confession)
Unlike most reality shows, which finish taping before the first episode begins, E! still had cameras rolling last week when Alexis pleaded no contest to the felony burglary charges and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. Footage from the court room will be featured in tonight’s show as well as a scene where Gabby and Alexis are surfing the internet and discover Orlando Bloom announced he would testify at the trial. Prior to that, Alexis and her attorney, Jeffrey K. Rubenstein, were planning on fighting the charges, but the idea of a well-liked celebrity like Bloom taking the stand against her in court motivated Alexis to take the no contest plea deal.
Gabby and Alexis are shocked to find out Orlando Bloom plans to testify
Rubenstein was asked by the L.A. Times whether or not keeping the cameras rolling through the trial proceedings was a detriment to his client’s case, to which he responded, “Of course. But it was her way of earning money. If she was an airline pilot, I wouldn’t have her stop flying. If an actor gets in trouble, they still do their things. It just so happened that the show decided to follow the criminal proceedings.”
(E! conducted an interview with Alexis just after she was sentenced – you can see that HERE)
So what can we expect during tonight’s finale? FIREWORKS! In addition to the sentencing footage and the emotional fallout from that, it is revealed that Alexis has been abusing drugs to try and cope with the stress. My guess is that the burden of getting her to stop will eventually fall on poor Gabby.
Meanwhile, Tess Taylor attempts to step out of the immense shadow of her sister’s legal troubles and land a modeling contract with swimwear designer Susan Holmes, a former supermodel and wife of Guns and Roses rocker Duff McKagan.
Tess Taylor models a silver bikini for swimwear designer Susan Holmes
Prison sentencing, drug abuse, hot chicks in bikinis… Now THAT’S Pretty Wild!
Given the success of the show, which garnered an average of 1.3 million viewers for first-run airings, according to the Nielsen Co., we would assume the gals would be back for another round. When asked about the potential for a second season, a representative for the network told us, “A second season of Pretty Wild has not been confirmed, so we have no news regarding that at this time.” Stay tuned – we will announce it one way or the other whenever we hear from E!
