or


[08/06/10 - 11:35 AM]
Less Proves to Be More as We TV's New Series Downsized Takes a Look at a Family's Life in a Recession
The eight-part series premieres Saturday, November 6 at 9:00/8:00c.

[via press release from WE tv]

DOING WITHOUT BUT DOING IT TOGETHER: MEET THE BRUCE-BUNCH (all nine of them!)

Less Proves To Be More As WE tv's New Series DOWNSIZED Takes a Look at a Family's Life in a Recession

Series Premiere Saturday, November 6 at 9PM ET/PT

Los Angeles, CA, August 6, 2010 - Here's a story... of a lovely family... with a very different twist. Laura and Todd Bruce, and their seven children were a happy blended American family, living a lavish life of vacations, expensive dinners, summer homes and more money than they could spend. Fast forward four years to a crippling recession, and you'll see the Bruce's flat broke with two homes in foreclosure, a collapsed contracting business and a daily struggle to make rent. The Bruce family's challenge of living life with nine people on a poverty-level budget is the focus of WE tv's riveting new one-hour, eight episode-series, DOWNSIZED, premiering Saturday, November 6 at 9:00PM ET/PT. Witness a modern day "Brady-bunch" use love, humor and discipline to navigation the very real stresses of life in modern America.

DOWNSIZED features a large, blended family brought together by Laura and Todd Bruce. When Laura and Todd married, they merged Laura's five children with Todd's two kids to become a large family, with a sizable appetite for spending. The real-estate boom awarded Todd a thriving construction business that made money hand-over-fist and allowed him to provide a posh-lifestyle for his new family. Then, the real estate market collapsed and their lives were turned upside-down. Household budgets were slashed and that meant a "rental" home, clipping coupons and rolling pennies. Everything from vocal-lessons and cheerleading camp to baseball equipment and shopping sprees became things of the past. With retirement savings and college funds depleted, this family is beginning the steep climb out of financial ruin.

In the midst of their economic pressures, Laura and Todd are raising seven teen/pre-teenagers that are going through important social phases daily. After witnessing the divorce of their respective parents, all children were faced with having a new step-parent and step-siblings. Boys they competed with a school are now the very ones they share a bedroom with and girls have to form new sisterly-bonds. Ages 10 and up, there are the "Bruce's": Heather and Levi; and the: "Rumsey's" Bailey, Rex, Dylan and Whitney (the triplets) and Danielle (the youngest). Through DOWNSIZED, the new "Bruce-bunch" are learning to navigate the difficult teenage years of dating, friends, high-emotions and the loss of life's former luxuries - all under the parents' watchful eye. The step-siblings have to learn how to deal with jealousy of others and even themselves. While Todd's children have access to generous gifts from their well-to-do mother, Laura's kids have to make due. This can mean the difference between Heather attending the prom when Bailey can't afford to go. Still, DOWNSIZED illustrates that what the Bruce's lack financially, they make up in love and camaraderie.

"What keeps our family together is that we laugh together," reflects mom Laura Bruce. "In spite of facing an enormous debt, we're united by love and laughter."

Each member is tasked with responsibility for contributing to the family as a whole. During the school year, the Bruce's have Laura's sparse teaching income, but that is hardly enough to sustain the entire clan. They have to shop with coupons and struggle with personal pride when using food stamps, finding clothing at Good WIll and cleaning other people's homes in the neighborhood to make money. They must baby-sit, swap clothing, dumpster-dive and work summer-jobs to help each-other stay afloat. Despite their difficult circumstances, Laura and Todd will use their misfortune as an opportunity to teach their children the importance of ingenuity, teamwork, perseverance and the value of every hard-earned dollar. The Bruce's will reveal the very real face of modern American family's economic-recovery.

Produced by WE tv and Pie Town Productions. Executive Producer for WE tv: John Miuller and Monica Ramone.

About WE tv

WE tv (www.wetv.com), a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, offers compelling, entertaining stories that focus on key life stages of a modern woman, from getting married to having children and raising a family. cptfc Available in nearly 77 million homes, the network's original programming includes the critically acclaimed, viewer favorite The Locator (the network's most-watched series ever), the poignant, and often comical, real-life story of a family raising multiple toddlers, Raising Sextuplets, and a robust line-up of wedding series, including the hit show Bridezillas, Amazing Wedding Cakes and My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. WE tv is available in HD and WE tv On Demand is available in more than 30 million homes.

WE tv's public affairs initiative, WE Empowers Women, is dedicated to creating programs that foster and celebrate women's strength, confidence and diversity. The network's newest initiative, WE Volunteer (www.wevolunteer.tv), is a call-to-action for women to become more involved in their communities by volunteering one full day - just 24 hours - of community service to make a difference in someone else's life.





  [august 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· DOWNSIZED (WE)





[09/09/26 - 01:01 PM]
Star-Studded Lineup Set to Present at the 78th Emmy Awards, Sept. 14 on NBC and Peacock
They'll join host Emmy Award-winning actor, director, producer and television icon Mariska Hargitay.

[09/09/26 - 12:09 PM]
ESPN to Exclusively Televise MLB Doubleheader on September 23 Featuring Matchups with Postseason Implications
Look for Cleveland Guardians/Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros/Seattle Mariners on said date.

[09/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 31
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," "The Grand Tour," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.

[09/09/26 - 11:51 AM]
BYUtv's "Big Stories" Returns for Fourth Season Featuring NFL Legends and Untold Stories from Across the Big 12
Each 7-to 10-minute episode will be available to stream for free alongside each game on the BYUtv app and at BYUtv.org.

[09/09/26 - 10:52 AM]
Lifetime Announces New Original Documentary "Kimora Lee: On Her Own" Premiering September 20
Model, businesswoman and mother, Kimora Lee, tells her story through candid interviews with her children, family, friends and collaborators to chronicle her extraordinary journey from one of Karl Lagerfeld's youngest Chanel models to the visionary behind Baby Phat.

[09/09/26 - 10:15 AM]
Michael Kelly Joins Season Three of the Paramount+ Hit Series "Landman"
Kelly will star as William Crockett, the leader of the largest oil management firm in the world.

[09/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
Host Jane Krakowski and New Bandleader Robin Thicke Set the Stage for an All-New Season of "Celebrity Name That Tune"
Ice-T and Tony Hawk face off in the season premiere on Monday, September 21.

[09/09/26 - 10:00 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" to Premiere 52nd Season Sept. 26 on NBC and Peacock
Jalen Brunson, Dakota Johnson, Shane Gillis, and Inde Navarrette are the first wave of hosts.

[09/09/26 - 10:00 AM]
Prime Video Announces 2026 New York Comic Con Programming
"Blade Runner 2099," "Bloodaxe," and "Helluva Boss" are the featured projects.

[09/09/26 - 09:19 AM]
Johnny Knoxville and the Gang Make One Final Raucous Return for "Jackass: Best and Last," Streaming on Paramount+ September 24
Grab your buddies, raise your glasses and experience the cinematic event that promises to be the last time you'll ever laugh this hard.

[09/09/26 - 09:16 AM]
New Dating Series Will Discover If Singles Can Fall in "Love at First Sight"
Do you believe you could see someone and know instantly that they're the one?

[09/09/26 - 09:07 AM]
Nirvana to Receive Video Vanguard Award During "2026 MTV Video Music Awards" Airing Live Sept. 27 on CBS
On this date in 1992 (9/9/92), Nirvana took to the "VMAs" stage for the first time - shaping music, culture and MTV forever.

[09/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
"Ghost Adventures" Returns with Chilling All-New Season - Wednesday, September 30 on Discovery Channel
Navigating abandoned frontier towns, centuries-old landmarks and historic estates, investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley delve into the shadows of America's turbulent past in pursuit of restless dark forces wreaking havoc on the living.

[09/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: HBO Max Releases Trailer for "The Howard Stern Show"
Each week, Howard's SiriusXM show will be adapted into a streamable episode for HBO Max.

[09/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
USA Network's "The Rainmaker" Returns for Season 2 on Friday, October 16 at 10:00 P.M. ET/PT
In 2025, "The Rainmaker" became USA Network's most-watched freshman series in seven years and finished the year as the #1 highest-rated new scripted TV series across all of cable.