Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Married to Medicine is the latest arrival from the reality gods at the Bravo network. The Atlanta-based series features six women, two doctors and four doctor’s wives, who take viewers where Grey’s Anatomy can’t and where Private Practice won’t. The show airs Sunday nights at 9 pm and is already a proven ratings winner.
Not since Bethenny Getting Married, has a non-spin-off show on the network garnered over 1 million viewers for its debut and the numbers are steadily increasing. While I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the show airs right after Atlanta’s other housewives, Married to Medicine is clearly standing on its own and has even caught the attention of The New York Times. However, not everyone is pleased with the catfights, name calling and wig pulling. There is a small band of female medical students from Howard University that are mortified at the alleged negative portrayal of Black medical professionals and are calling for the show’s cancellation. But from the looks of Married to Medicine’s rising popularity, the ladies and their shenanigans are here to stay.
RC recently caught up with the show’s creator, producer and self-proclaimed Queen Bee Mrs. Mariah Huq. We talked candidly about the overwhelming success the show has received and what she really thinks about her critics. We also discussed the show’s other break out star, Quad Webb-Lunceford, what the viewers won’t see this season and how Huq is using this show as a platform to bring different cultures together.
RC: What made you decide to create this show?
MH: People are really intrigued by the medical world and I didn’t think that current TV was giving it to them in terms of the inside world of it. You see the Grey’s Anatomy and things like Private Practice. Hopefully, Married to Medicine shows viewers the lives doctors lead outside of the scrubs and lab coats.
RC: Married to Medicine drew 1.9 million viewers and is Bravo’s most watched premiere of a non-spin-off since Bethenny Getting Married in 2010. How exciting was that?
MQ: You know what? I was absolutely ecstatic because it just confirmed what I had already believed; there is a niche for this type of show. People really are intrigued by the medical world, so it was very exciting to watch my dream come true and watch it catapult was a wonderful feeling.
MH: I will tell them to keep watching. The second episode really dove deeper in the doctors and their practices. I think what I would also say to most critics is this show is very different. For the first time audiences see a cast of six women, five of which are minorities. All of us are college educated with multiple degrees and also wives with strong families living just wonderful lifestyles and really doing the work-life balance thing.
RC: Let’s talk about your business, Mariah Media Group…
MH: Mariah Media Group is the company I launched once I left corporate America. My background is journalism and I used to produce and anchor a news show for an NBC affiliate. Once my husband started practicing medicine, he said I could go back to my first love which is journalism and so I launched my media group to produce shows like this. I am currently trying to produce some other shows as well. However, I’m such a small company and I had to go under the umbrella of another company to produce Married to Medicine. Mariah Media Group is the original creator of the show.
RC: Who are some of your favorite designers: shoes, clothes, bags?
MH: I love Manolo Blahnik pointed toe shoes. I like Christian Louboutin of course. I like Roberto Cavalli. Molly Ombre Chiffon dresses. I like Reco Chapple, he’s is a friend of mine. I like classic looks too. More cost effective looks like BCBG, I love their slacks. Those are some of the items that you will catch me in.
RC: Tell us one thing that we won’t see on TV this season?
MH: Actually viewers get to see a lot. There are some things that we didn’t want viewers to see but ended up on the show. I will tell you, my family, the Huqs and my best friend Quad and her family, the Luncefords, really opened up our lives for this show. Everybody else was kind of protected. But we really just opened up. There isn’t much that you’re not going to see with us.
RC: The New York Times loved the premiere saying “stand out from the crowded field of Atlanta-based reality shows.” They also think that Quad Webb-Lunceford is the breakout star. Do you think that’s true or are you still the Queen Bee?
MH: Oh I definitely think Quad is the breakout star but that does not take away from me being the Queen Bee. (LOL) I know that Quad has a dynamic personality and she has a lot of energy. Quad is very fun. But I’m a boss. I believe I have all of those same traits but we’re at different levels in our lives. Quad is a newlywed and she is younger than I am. She is like a little sister to me. It’s kind of fun watching us interact because everything she is doing, I’ve done. But I definitely think Quad is the breakout star.
RC: In light of Porsha and Kordell Stewart’s divorce announcement, are you concerned about your own marriage or the marriage of the other ladies?
MH: Honestly, absolutely! Now I have an extremely strong marriage. My husband and I are best friends but I am concerned because of what history has shown us. Marriage just doesn’t go in the same direction as reality TV. While I think it’s something to definitely be concerned about, I believe that my husband and I have a great relationship and we work as a team. So I think the Huqs will be fine. I do believe it is one of those things where you do have to have a strong foundation. This is the exact same thing I told to Quad before she came into to the show, with her being a newlywed and all. You have to have a strong foundation to do a project like this because it can take a toll on your marriage.
RC: There is a Howard University petition to cancel the show citing “heavily associates Black females in medicine with materialism, cat fights and unprofessionalism.” What are your thoughts about this?
MH: I thought that was absurd. I don’t think that they realize that first of all, a young African American woman beat the odds and got this show picked up, myself! I cast and produced the entire show and I’m making dreams come true. On top of that its six women on this show. We are all educated and all have families and I think it’s absurd. I think they need to go study. I think Dr. Simone Whitmore from the show said it best. “When I was in medical school, I didn’t have time to sign petitions or circulate them.” (LOL) I think they need to go study and hope they can get to where these women have gone.
RC: Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta creator Mona Scott-Young says that reality TV can be used to create whatever platform you want. What is your platform or what is the brand that you want audiences to know about?
MH: Great question. I will tell you that already have a brand called Jewels and Jem. My sister and I are co-owners of the kids bedding and pajama line. We’re currently transitioning into Sears, JCPenney’s as well as Macy’s. The concept is that it’s a multicultural brand. My entire life built upon bringing people together from different cultures especially with me being in a multicultural marriage. My brand, whatever I do, be it hair products, beauty, health, the main thing for me is exposing people to different cultures. That’s what I enjoy doing. My husband is from Bangladesh and I am Black, so I say all the time that we are “Black-a-deshi.” That’s what it’s all about for us.
RC: Oprah Winfrey always ends her interviews with the question, “What do you know for sure?” Having taped the first season and now it’s a hit on Bravo. What do you know for sure?
MH: I know for sure that reality TV can create some monsters. I feel like we did start one way with these women and they end totally different even though we were the ones to bring them on board. Those cameras come on and people change. What I know for sure is that people will do anything for fame and I’m not one of those people.
Click here to see a sneak peek of the next episode.
Photography Credit/Bravo