‘My Unorthodox Life’ ruffles feathers while rousing curiosity

A REALITY TV show can be a hit or a miss, depending on what the viewer is looking to take away from it.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians (KUWTK) sold beauty, entrepreneurship, fame and success as a glamorous family unit.

And for 20 glorious seasons, viewers lapped up every melodramatic moment as the royal family of reality TV navigated their way through triumphs and failures in their personal and professional lives.

Scandals were a double-edged sword. It made them more popular but also easy targets.

I loved that it also explored their Armenian roots along the way.

The exposure to different cultures, especially in the lives of the rich and famous, have manifested in a plethora of offerings including The Real Housewives franchise, Bling Empire, Selling Sunsets, The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives and Indian Matchmaking.

Like many addicts of reality TV, I’ve found it a struggle finding a series that comes remotely close to KUWTK. Yes, there have been plenty of suggestions, some even drafted by myself, but nothing mirrored its appeal until now.

Yes, I’m staking my reputation on it. But My Unorthodox Life gets my vote as the new reality fix to fill that void.

As the title suggests, there’s nothing kosher about the show’s approach. And, honestly, it will probably come under further criticism for being so.

But it is a celebration of one woman’s journey to discovering herself, her sexuality and her place in the world. Her decision to walk away from a lifestyle that she found oppressive wasn’t without sacrifices. And she defied naysayers by not just becoming a success story but by also living her truth and, more importantly, embracing her freedom.

I want to once again point out, it’s not so much an indictment on the faith she was born into. It is about a choice she made for herself and her children.

A barefaced feminist, fashion mogul Julia Haart’s values go against the teachings of the Torah.

The show’s no-holds-barred approach was evident from episode one, where Julia is seen having a frank conversation about sex and role-play with her TikTok star daughter Batsheva and son-in-law Ben Weinstein, who is in real estate.

The chief executive officer of Elite World Group, which represents some of the biggest catwalk queens in the world, she is a testament to the cliché that dynamite comes in small packages.

Oh-so-glamorous and stylish, Julia is a force to be reckoned with. And her second husband, Silvio Scaglia, was clearly drawn to her spirited side. So much so, that he defied convention and took on her surname.

Viewers get to see the different sides to Julia. Her foresight as an entrepreneur is not just inspiring, it’s commendably disruptive. As a mother, she’s empowering, supportive and, unintentionally, overbearing.

She has no filter when she talks but it often comes from a good place.

I love how she is wholly supportive of her app-designer daughter Miriam’s sexual identity. She encourages her to embrace the opportunities out there and to never settle.

In many ways, Miriam shares a similar mindset to her mother: she isn’t one to follow the rules.

Then there is Shlomo (Julia’s eldest son). He is a mild-mannered lawyer and like Batsheva still follows certain Jewish practices and remains religious at heart while embracing liberal sensibilities.

The youngest in the family is Aron, who still lives with his dad, Yosef Hendler, in Monsey. A high school student, he finds himself conflicted between staying true to his religious upbringing or embracing the world the rest of his siblings and mother live in.

While viewers get to be a fly-onthe-wall at Julia’s penthouse, Bat and Ben’s home as well as the ultra-chic offices at Elite World Group, they also meet the extended family of which Robert Brotherton, the company’s flamboyant COO, is an integral part.

He is Julia’s confidante and best friend. The interactions between the two of them are also one of the best things about the series.

As with her children, she’s a mama bear to him.

Julia embraces her opulent lifestyle with the vigour of a model on the ramp. She’s flashy, generous (I mean she did rent out a castle for the entire family for Paris Fashion Week) and has that unmistakable chutzpah.

She may not be popular in her community, but her L’chaim (which means a toast to life in Hebrew) makes her the spirit animal for most women, myself included.

◆ My Unorthodox Life is currently streaming on Netflix.