While TLC has been keeping a lid on their plans for an upcoming season of Sister Wives, it looks like filming is underway. At the very least, Mariah Brown and her fiancée Audrey Kriss are filming something. The Learning Channel just wrapped the most recent season of Sister Wives back in April, but fans have been wondering whether they’ll get to see more from the Brown family in upcoming years. After all, the plural family left their fans with a giant cliffhanger- whether they’ll build one large house or several smaller homes on their new Flagstaff property.

Mariah’s Instagram story hints at another season

Mariah posted a few snapshots to her Instagram story recently that indicates both she and Audrey are in the process of filming. While Mariah now resides in Chicago, it looks like a team has been deployed to capture their life together; which might indicate her engagement and impending marriage could be a storyline for the family’s show.

Mariah captioned the snap with a heart emoji and stated that both she and Audrey love their camera crew. The sweet message indicates the filming isn’t a one-off thing. Not only are they close enough with the team to be taking selfies together, but they’ve clearly developed a friendship. That doesn’t happen overnight.

TLC hasn’t officially renewed the series

While Mariah is hanging with a camera crew, TLC hasn’t let the public know what they are planning for Sister Wives. That doesn’t mean the family isn’t returning. TLC is notoriously quiet about their show’s renewals and cancellations. In fact, it’s hard to tell what shows are currently filming and which series will never return to primetime.

Reddit fans have long surmised that TLC is likely to squeeze at least another season out of the family, primarily since fans are invested in seeing how they turn Flagstaff into their home base. It should be noted that the series has been suffering from less-than-stellar ratings in recent years. Low ratings could eventually cause the network to cancel the show.

The Brown family can’t afford to lose their TLC income

The Brown family isn’t exactly rolling in dough from Sister Wives. The family’s contract has never been made public, but the show has a budget of about $200,000 to $400,000 per episode. If that’s the case, the Brown family makes roughly 10% of the episode’s budget for their involvement. It can be assumed the family is pulling in anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 per episode. While that might seem like a lot of money, each episode’s pay is split between the adult actors. 

The adult principle actors on the show are making between $52,000 and $104,000 each for a 13 episode season. With several properties, rental homes, and languishing real estate investments in another state, the money dries up quickly. In fact, fans have long worried Kody and his family have been having a difficult time paying their bills.

If the show were to be canceled, the Brown family would be forced to rely solely on the income of Meri’s Utah inn and budding LuLaRoe business. While Jenelle purportedly has a job, and Christine is also a LuLaRoe consultant, Robyn has recently closed down her online jewelry business. Kody Brown has been evasive about his income outside of the show in recent years.