''My Unorthodox Life'' 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 by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

that premiered on July 14, 2021. The series centers on Julia Haart, the former CEO of a modeling agency and fashion company and a former

ultra-Orthodox Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

Jew, as Haart and her family acculturate to their new non-religious lifestyle in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The second season premiered on December 2, 2022.

Plot

The nine-episode web series documents Haart and her children's decision to leave the Haredi Jewish community in

Monsey, New York Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The ...

, and pursue their passions for fashion and design. Haart claims that she had left Haredi Judaism over her discomfort with the community's strict religious observances and principles that she views as a form of "

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

". Haart is depicted in the show as completing an autobiographical work recounting her personal journey. Haart's forthcoming memoir is titled, ''Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie''. The show features Haart's four children, Batsheva, Shlomo, Miriam, and Aron; her second husband, Italian entrepreneur Silvio Scaglia Haart; and her best friend and chief operating officer of Elite Model World, Robert Brotherton.

Episodes

Season 2 (2022)

Reception

Critical response

Writing for the ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...

'', Joel Keller recommends the show, writing that it is "going to ride on Julia Haart's personality, and this force of nature has personality to spare". Jenny Singer, in '' Glamour'', called the series "wildly compelling", and wrote that "Haart's anger at her upbringing is justifiable", while also critiquing the show for what she claims will "make life dangerous for Jewish people", by "making a reality show that depicts them as monsters". Irene Katz Connelly, in ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...

'', writes that the show is "full of clothing choices, but those who don't choose correctly get chastised", and notes that the show "barely touches on the intriguing logistics of Haart's fashion world ascent". Judy Berman also panned the show, writing in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' that "it's hard to tell which parts of the show have been massaged into ads for Elite, Batsheva's career as an influencer, or Julia's forthcoming memoir". In ''J.: The Jewish News of Northern California'', writer Esther D. Kustanowitz noted: "There's an interesting core story: Julia's goal to liberate and empower people in a way that she thinks allows them to be the most authentic and free versions of themselves...

aart Aart is a Dutch short form of the given name Arnout (English Arnold).Aart
at the

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

''".

Response from Orthodox Jewish community

Articles published in

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

media outlets were heavily critical of the perceived anti-Orthodox premises of the show. Many women turned to social media to post pro-Orthodox stories using the hashtag #MyOrthodoxLife, and to express opposition to the show as distorting their position in the Orthodox community. Author

Roberta Rosenthal Kwall Roberta Rosenthal Kwall is the Raymond P. Niro Professor at DePaul University College of Law. In 2006, ''Chicago Magazine'' highlighted Kwall as one of the Ten Best Law Professors in Illinois. Career Roberta Rosenthal Kwall is an American law pr ...

wrote in ''

Jewish Journal ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' wa ...

'': "Most people outside of Orthodox communities do not understand that Orthodoxy in general is far from monolithic", and the show omits how "Orthodox women are often highly educated and professionally accomplished even in the world of Jewish law, long a male-dominated field". Writing a review in the ''

Washington Jewish Week ''Washington Jewish Week'' (''WJW'') is an independent community weekly newspaper whose logo reads, "Serving the nation's capital and the greater Washington Jewish community since 1930."

'', writer Andy Gottlieb stated that the show is vapid, and the characters are narcissistic. Rabbi Yair Hoffman, writing in the ''

Five Towns Jewish Times The ''Five Towns Jewish Times'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Jewish communities of the Five Towns in southwestern Nassau County, New York, and the greater New York area, covering the area's large and growing Orthodox Jewish community. The p ...

'', said that the show is "spewing a vicious form of hatred designed to cast observant Jewry in a hideously negative light".

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2021 American television series debuts 2020s American reality television series English-language Netflix original programming American religious television series Television series about Jews and Judaism Television shows set in Manhattan Anti-Orthodox Judaism sentiment