What Happened to MTV’s ‘Made In Staten Island’?
Fans of the VH1 series Mob Wives were delighted when MTV announced a new series, Made in Staten Island. The show would feature the children of some of the women featured on Mob Wives, including Karen Gravano and her daughter, Karina Seabrook.
When Made in Staten Island mysteriously disappeared from the air after a few episodes, fans wondered what happened. Here’s how Made in Staten Island became Families of the Mafia.
‘Made in Staten Island’ only ran for three episodes
In 2019, MTV premiered a new series called Made in Staten Island. The series followed the young adults of several families who had ties to the mafia and criminal activity, including Seabrook, Dennie Augustine, and twins Taylor and Joe O’Toole.
The Staten Island community was disappointed in the show’s representation of the island, claiming it “[was] built on the premise that kids from Staten Island all grow up surrounded by the mafia in their lives; this is far from the truth.” The community asked that the show change its name or be removed from MTV altogether.
MTV stopped airing the series after three episodes but returned in April 2020 with Families of the Mafia. The newly named series has the same focus as Made in Staten Island — young adults with connections to infamous mafiosos — but without mention of the location.
Was ‘Made in Staten Island’ canceled?
After only airing three episodes, MTV removed Made in Staten Island from the air. Gravano spoke out about the series on The Wiseguyz Show podcast, addressing the rumors that it had been canceled.
“We are working. We weren’t canceled,” Gravano explained. “We just had a couple of things come up and felt we wanted to add more layers to the show, so we’re still working on it. We’ll definitely be back.”
And back they came, in the form of a new series titled Families of the Mafia.
‘Families of the Mafia’ is in hot water
Spyglass Media Group (formerly the Weinstein Company) owns the VH1 series Mob Wives, which ran from 2011 to 2016. The series followed Gravano and many other women with ties to the mafia including Drita D’Avanzo, Renee Graziano, Ramona Rizzo, and Angela “Big Ang” Raiola.
Because Families of the Mafia features some of the same women, themes, and stories as Mob Wives, MTV was sent a cease-and-desist for copyright infringement.
MTV nor Spyglass have commented on the legal matter. “Mob Wives focused on the women,” Gravano told Page Six. “[Families of the Mafia] focuses on the parents raising their kids. It’s a multigenerational show that really comes full circle when you see the struggles the parents come from and wanting the kids to do better and learn from their mistakes.”
The first season of Families of the Mafia is only six episodes. Whether or not this is due to the legal issue is unclear.
Will there be a ‘Families of the Mafia’ Season 2?
As of right now, MTV hasn’t confirmed a second season of Families of the Mafia. Considering the copyright infringement case against the series and the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) has had on the production of many shows, it’s likely that it will be some time until we find out whether or not the series will return for Season 2.
