''Gene Simmons Family Jewels'' is an American
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series that premiered on
A&E on August 7, 2006. It follows
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
bassist and vocalist
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...
, his longtime
partner
Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to:
Books
* ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997
* ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928
* ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart
* ''Partner'' (m ...
and wife
Shannon Tweed
Shannon Lee Tweed Simmons (born March 10, 1957) is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller. Tweed has appeared in more than 60 films and i ...
, and their two children,
Nick
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
and
Sophie.
"It is very much like ''
The Osbournes
''The Osbournes'' is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 20 ...
''," Simmons noted. "But I believe that people will see us on television and see how I run things and the rules I make, and they'll think, 'Put that guy in charge!'"
Although it is presented as a
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
series, some events shown did not actually occur. One of these was in the finale of Season 3: the viewer is led to believe Gene purchased the
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
Football team
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition.
Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...
. In reality, there is no record of the team being sold to him. Additionally, the episode shows Simmons convincing
Brendan Fevola
Brendan Fevola (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Fevola is regarded as one of the most effective ...
to join Carlton Football Club, while in reality Fevola had been playing for Carlton since he was drafted in 1998. Other events include casting biker extras, as well as a bit actor in the show.
Prior to the third season, the series was the second highest rated series on A&E, behind ''
Dog the Bounty Hunter''. In Australia, the series is shown on
The Biography Channel
FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pr ...
every Wednesday at 8:30 pm on
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
and
Austar
Austar was an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity was subscription television but it has also been involved with internet access and mobile phones. It was founded in 1995 under the name Community Entertainment Telev ...
. It is also shown on the free to air channel
7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
. The first three seasons were played back to back ending on April 1, 2009. Seasons 1-5 have been released on DVD. Season 6 premiered on June 14, 2011 on A&E with the episode "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." In addition to relationship troubles between Simmons and Tweed, that culminated in the two marrying, the season shows Simmons' March 2011 visit to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. After the show's most successful season ever, ''Gene Simmons Family Jewels'' returned for its seventh season on Monday, May 28, 2012, with a special one-hour premiere. In August 2012, A&E announced the seventh season would be the last, and Simmons added that he would not shop the series to other networks and, instead, will focus on the Kiss tour and other business commitments.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2006)
Season 2 (2007)
Season 3 (2008)
Season 4 (2009)
Season 5 (2010–11)
Season 6 (2011)
Season 7 (2012)
See also
* ''
The Osbournes
''The Osbournes'' is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 20 ...
'' (2002)
* ''
Hogan Knows Best
''Hogan Knows Best'' is an American reality documentary television series on VH1. The series debuted on July 10, 2005 and centered on the family life of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea). Often focusing on the Hogans' raising of th ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Rock of Love with Bret Michaels
''Rock of Love with Bret Michaels'' is an American reality television dating game show. It stars Bret Michaels, the lead singer from the band Poison. The show closely resembles the show ''Flavor of Love''. The first season featured 25 women comp ...
'' (2007)
References
;General references that apply to most episodes
*
*
*
External links
*
*
Press release announcing the series
{{Kiss
2000s American reality television series
2006 American television series debuts
2010s American reality television series
2012 American television series endings
A&E (TV network) original programming
English-language television shows
Kiss (band)
Television shows set in the United States