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Sister Wives is returning to TLC, but without two of its most familiar faces. 

Season 21 of the reality series premiere October 4. But Kody Brown and his wife will not be part of the new episodes, which will instead focus solely on Kody’s three ex-wives: Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, and Christine Brown. 

Kody and Robyn Brown exit ‘Sister Wives’ after 16 years 

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“After 16 years of filming Sister Wives, Kody and Robyn will not be returning to the show,” according to a message at the beginning of the season 21 trailer, which was released on September 14. 

“I don’t know what it means. I have no idea,” Christine tells a producer in an interview segment. 

Janelle was “was flabbergasted, really, when I got the news,” she says.

Meri also was unprepared. 

“I was actually surprised when I was told Kody and Robyn weren’t coming back to the show,” she shares in a confessional. 

The reason for Kody and Robyn’s exit wasn’t shared, and it is not clear if they stopped filming voluntarily or were not asked to return. But whatever the reason, their departure is a welcome one for many Sister Wives fans, who have grown frustrated with Kody’s behavior over the years. Many have called for a refreshed version of the show focusing on his three ex-wives and their lives post-polygamy. 

“Yay!!!! We were listened to for once,” one person commented on TLC’s Instagram after the network revealed the trailer. 

“Finally! I will definitely be watching the ENTIRE episode and not fast forwarding through certain parts lol. These are the 3 I want to watch,” another wrote. 

What’s ahead in ‘Sister Wives’ Season 21? 

The new season of Sister Wives will follow Meri, Janelle, and Christine in the next chapter of their lives. But even though they are no longer part of a plural marriage, the women remain linked, for better or for worse. 

“We were married to Kody, and there was always that underlying tension,” Janelle says. 

In the trailer, the trio come together for the first time in years to talk about their past – and engage in some healing. Each woman shows up at a home with multiple large plastic totes, apparently containing memories of their time as a united family. While the meeting has the potential to be “awkward,” as Christine puts it, they seem to find some common ground, pulling out the jewelry they received from Kody and melting it down to make something new. 

“The ex-sister wives melt down all the jewelry from the ex-husband,” Meri says. “I’m gonna do it.”

“When we were all sister wives still, this was us at our best,” Christine says. 

Can Meri, Janelle and Christine forge a new bond?

But moving on from the past won’t be without its challenges. In the trailer, Meri and Janelle sit down to talk about the fraught sale of Coyote Pass and Meri’s reaction to Kody and Robyn’s accusation that Janelle tried to cut her out of the land deal. Later, Meri and Christine – who have both admitted that they have little desire to be friends post-divorce – try to find a way forward. 

“Meri and I are going to meet up,” Christine says. “It’s hard when you burn a bridge to go back over and cross it again.” 

“If this conversation doesn’t go well between Christine and I, how do we move forward?” Meri wonders. 

In addition to multiple meetings for Meri, Janelle, and Christine, the new season will also the Brown return to Flagstaff for a moving memorial at an animal shelter for the late Garrison Brown, who died in 2024. Later, a long-discussed mini family reunion becomes a reality, allowing family members to come together and highlighting both the bonds and the complexities that continue to shape the Brown family. 

Sister Wives Season 21 premieres Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on TLC.  

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