I had no idea that Shahs of Sunset had been airing for so long, but apparently it’s been on for the entirety of my adult life. The Bravo (what else) reality series followed a group of wealthy Persian/Iranian Americans living in LA. So, very similar to the rest of Bravo’s programming in that regard. The show was just canceled after nine seasons. Coincidentally, this cancellation comes just after one of the cast members was arrested for felony domestic violence.
“Shahs of Sunset” will not be returning to Bravo, an individual with knowledge confirmed to TheWrap.
Season 9 of the reality series, about a group of Iranian American friends in Los Angeles, wrapped in August 2021.
The cancellation comes after Monday’s report that original series star Mike Shouhed was arrested and booked by LAPD on March 27 on a felony charge of “intimate partner violence with injury.” Shouhed paid a $50,000 bond and was released and is due back in court on July 25, People reports.
His attorney Alex Kessel denied the allegations, saying in a statement, “At this time, the only comment I can make with confidence is my client in no way committed any act of domestic violence and the truth will prevail.”
Shouhed announced his engagement to Paulina Ben-Cohen shortly after the Season 9 finale. It’s not known if she was involved in the alleged domestic violence incident.
TMZ first reported news of the cancellation.
[From The Wrap via Yahoo Entertainment]
I actually do think the timing was just a coincidence. The cancellation happened too quickly for it to be directly related to the arrest and Bravo is no stranger to problematic stars. Even their racism-related firings in 2020 were a reaction to the current climate and not to the actual actions of the ousted offenders. I didn’t really get into Shahs of Sunset because the name made me worry it would be problematic/stereotypical. But early criticisms of the show were not about the stereotypes I expected, people thought that it made the Tehrangeles community of Iranian-Americans look tacky and materialistic. Again, similar to the rest of Bravo’s programming.
I spoke to a Bravo expert who told me the show became depressing in recent years, but thought the cancellation was an unexpected and unfortunate move. Unexpected because the show was very popular in its prime and unfortunate because it was one in only a handful of diverse casts on the network. In addition to featuring a group that’s underrepresented in American media, the cast also was diverse in terms of religion and sexuality. Canceling this show may be a strategic move, and I wonder what they’ll replace it with. But the “reckoning” that Bravo alluded to in 2020 never quite materialized.
Shahs was always my guilty pleasure (what show on Bravo isn’t a guilty pleasure tho?)… but it did start to become sad and repetitive the last couple seasons. Although, I was kind of looking forward to watching GG navigate as a single Mom. Vanderpump Rules should be the next to go!
I found the show fascinating at the beginning, excessive spending included. It’s been awhile, though, I had no idea Reza’s hair turned white! And finally, finally, he & Adam got married! I’m not surprised about Mike, unfortunately. Each of these folks would say some of the most horrible things to each other, but at other times were capable of expressing the most thoughtful & loving ideas to each other. I never knew what to expect. Best to end it, though, and just live their lives. Oh, and one more comment. Since it’s been awhile, seeing what Destiney’s done to her face makes me really sad for her.
I’m not surprised about Mike’s arrest. We’ve watched him mistreat, gaslight and verbally abuse women the show’s entire run. He, Reza and Mercedes are a toxic sludge pile. And that’s saying a great deal since GG is the one with the hair trigger temper.
One of my favorite Bravo shows. Love the cast.
They were all long time friends which made all the petty drama more believable.
Mike has always been an A-Hole who tried to cover up his extremely bad behavior by repeatedly telling everyone he is a nice guy. FYI if you’re a nice stand up guy people will see it without you having to say it!! RED FLAG
I will miss all the food the cast ate. They loved their food and that was rare for a Bravo show.
Yes, the food! The food was incredible! And they ate it!!
Yes they did! I’m an eater so it always made me happy when they ate the food. I remember one reunion they had a full buffet as part of the set decoration. I think MJ asked if it was edible and Andy said yes but it’s part of the decoration. They ate it, it was so funny and real!
Mike was the king of undercover bad behavior. We have seen him treat his girlfriends and ex wife poorly. GG made a huge turnaround in her life. I too would have like to see how she handles motherhood. It did change her. How did she become the voice of reason – even telling Mike that he is not meant to be monogamous? Mike is trying navigate the expectations of his Persian parents vs being a ratchet fuck boy.
hahaha borgqueen
I always thought mike was the worst too-totally spoilt by his over indulgent parents who cleaned up after him his whole life, financially supporting each and every one of his loser moves from real estate failure to his dumb shoes and yes he was awful to jessica. don’t know about this last one but yah he is definitely not a nice guy, just typical spoiled doodool tala (golden penis in persian parlance, meaning he can do no wrong, according to his mama).