Electus’ “Mob Wives” Reunion Racks Up the Ratings

“Mob Wives,” produced by Electus, hosted a reunion special on Sunday night and was met with season-high ratings. VH1 aired the special at 8 p.m. and also had an encore airing at 11 p.m. During the 8 p.m. showing, 1.1 million of the viewers were in the age 18-49 demographic. The show garnered 2.7 million viewers for its special, and had an average of 1.33 million total viewers per episode in its first season. Throughout the season, “Mob Wives’” premieres have made VH1 the no. 1 non-sports cable network in the 8 p.m. timeslot with women age 18-34.

Because of its high viewership, VH1 picked up “Mob Wives” for a second season, which will premiere in the fall. The network slated “Mob Wives” for 12 new episodes. “Mob Wives” goes into the lives of four Staten Island women — Renee Graziano, Drita D’Avanzo, Carla Facciolo and Karen Gravano — whose husbands or fathers have been arrested or imprisoned for mob-related activities. Graziano’s father has been charged with mob-related crimes, and her sister is the creator of the show. D’Avanzo’s husband has been imprisoned for crimes relating to narcotics and robbery. Facciolo’s father was the former acting boss of the Lucchese crime family. Gravano’s father was the underboss of the Bambio crime family and also served as a federal informant.

Electus’ “Mob Wives” will return the same four women for its second season.

“Mob Wives” Gets Second Season

Electus’ hit “Mob Wives” has proved its staying power: VH1’s Jeff Olde has announced the show will be renewed for a second season. High viewing numbers encouraged the network to continue its programming, after the show averaged 1.3 million viewers during its first five weeks on air.

“Our viewers have connected passionately with these women and their unique, authentic stories in the realms of pop culture and music,” Olde said to Gather.com. “We’re very happy to be able to continue these storylines.”

The show follows the lives of four women who run their households while their husbands or fathers are focused on the Mob. The main characters are all friends who live in New York’s Staten Island. “Mob Wives” is produced by The Weinstein Company, Electus studios, JustJenn Productions and Left/Right. Alongside Olde, the show’s executive producers include Shelly Tatro, Kari McFarland and Rick Hankey.

Electus and 'Mob Wives'

If Real Housewives was able to get you hooked, Ben Silverman’s new series “Mob Wives” most definitely will. The new series that is supposed to air in March 2011 can be seen as a mix of “Sopranos” and “Real Housewives.” The creator, Jennifer Graziano, explains that the 10-episode show will follow the every day lives of women whose husbands or fathers were involved in Mafia related activities. It will portray what they have to go through to rebuild their lives. Ben Silverman, CEO of next generation studio Electus will co-produce the series that is expected to start shooting shortly after Thanksgiving.

Electus will partner with The Weinstein Co. on this series, which is already expected to be so successful that VH1 did not require a pilot before taking on rights for it. According to them Silverman carries around golden nuggets with him and drops them here or there to watch them prosper. By tapping into the cable market Electus is taking another large stride ahead of competition, which is hesitant to attempt similar moves.

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