Critics blast Alec Baldwin’s TLC reality show for ‘outright offensive’ PR spin on Halyna Hutchins tragedy

On Thursday, critics officially weighed in on Alec Baldwin’s reality show The Baldwins – premiering this Sunday on TLC – upon watching the first of eight episodes, titled ‘Along Came Hilaria.’

TIME’s TV critic Judy Berman marveled at how the 66-year-old Oscar nominee was in the midst of an existential crisis, gripped with OCD and PTSD, just 10 days ahead of his involuntary manslaughter trial over the shooting of Rust DP Halyna Hutchins.

‘”Why did I have seven kids?” he asks [his wife] Hilaria. “To help carry me and you through this situation.” It’s an answer vulnerable and psychologically complex enough to make you wish for a show that really did humanize the Baldwins, instead of just bugging us about how normal they are, like a toddler tugging on his dad’s pant leg for attention,’ Berman wrote.

‘The strain the case has put on the Baldwins is palpable, and perhaps the most authentic element of this snoozy infomercial of a reality show.’

In one scene, Alec lamented he had ‘never been through anything like this in my entire life’ adding: ‘Everything was so different before this happened, and our lives are very, very different. Our children have been forced to recognize that. They’ve been forced to deal with that, with us, in their own way.’

The Telegraph critic Ed Power gave Baldwin’s damage-control series one star out of five, calling it ‘a self-pitying attempt at image rehabilitation.’

On Thursday, critics officially weighed in on Alec Baldwin’s reality show The Baldwins – premiering this Sunday on TLC – upon watching the first of eight episodes, titled ‘Along Came Hilaria’ 

TIME’s TV critic Judy Berman marveled at how the 66-year-old Oscar nominee was in the midst of an existential crisis, gripped with OCD and PTSD, just 10 days ahead of his involuntary manslaughter trial over the shooting of Rust DP Halyna Hutchins (pictured)

Variety chief TV critic Daniel D’Addario wrote: ‘What we are watching is a father of seven minor children anticipating the potential end of his life as a parent as he’s known it; as such, the canned, stock reality-show instrumentals feel extra-tinny, the moments of gaiety extra-forced.’

Daniel said the tragic 2021 death of the cinematographer, at age 42, ‘hangs uneasily throughout the reality show’ and winds up being treated like ‘a misfortune that befell Baldwin.’

‘A would-be Jon and Kate Plus 8-style family sitcom about one kooky family seems like an outright offensive response to this tragedy,’ D’Addario noted.

‘The Baldwins feels like being trapped on a vacation with someone else’s family and watching with creeping horror as they get on each other’s nerves.’

Los Angeles Times senior writer Meredith Blake wrote that there are a ‘few eye-opening moments’ in The Baldwins but it’s ‘not exactly chock full of revelations’ as ‘Alec doesn’t weigh in on his wife’s [fake Spanish] accent’ and there’s only ‘a fleeting mention of the family’s two nannies.’

Indeed, the married couple of 12 years – who don’t have a prenup – enlist two nannies to help care for their daughter Carmen, 11; son Rafael, 9; son Leonardo, 8; son Romeo, 6; son Eduardo, 4; daughter María, 3; and daughter Ilaria, 2.

Hilaria (born Hillary Lynn Hayward-Thomas) admitted halfway through the pilot about her 2020 Spanish scandal: ‘I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me sad and it didn’t hurt and it didn’t put me in dark places.

‘But it was my family, my friends, my community who speak multiple languages, who have belonged in multiple places, and realize that we are a mix of all these different things and that is going to have an impact on how we sound and how we articulate things and the words that we choose and our mannerisms. That normal. That’s what’s called being human,’ the 41-year-old culture vulture defended.

Only one critic approved of The Baldwins – Daily Beast senior editor Kevin Fallon – who wrote: ‘The pair of them are actually… charming. How susceptible am I to this reality-TV image rehab, that I found the couple and the whole family to be so endearing?’

‘”Why did I have seven kids?” he asks [his wife] Hilaria. “To help carry me and you through this situation.” It’s an answer vulnerable and psychologically complex enough to make you wish for a show that really did humanize the Baldwins, instead of just bugging us about how normal they are,’ Berman wrote 

‘The strain the case has put on the Baldwins is palpable, and perhaps the most authentic element of this snoozy infomercial of a reality show’

In one scene, Alec lamented he had ‘never been through anything like this in my entire life’ adding: ‘Everything was so different before this happened, and our lives are very, very different. Our children have been forced to recognize that. They’ve been forced to deal with that, with us, in their own way’

The Telegraph critic Ed Power gave Baldwin’s damage-control series one star out of five, calling it ‘a self-pitying attempt at image rehabilitation’

Variety chief TV critic Daniel D’Addario wrote: ‘What we are watching is a father of seven minor children anticipating the potential end of his life as a parent as he’s known it; as such, the canned, stock reality-show instrumentals feel extra-tinny, the moments of gaiety extra-forced’

Daniel said the tragic 2021 death of the cinematographer, at age 42, ‘hangs uneasily throughout the reality show’ and winds up being treated like ‘a misfortune that befell Baldwin’

‘A would-be Jon and Kate Plus 8-style family sitcom about one kooky family seems like an outright offensive response to this tragedy,’ D’Addario noted

‘The Baldwins feels like being trapped on a vacation with someone else’s family and watching with creeping horror as they get on each other’s nerves’

Los Angeles Times senior writer Meredith Blake wrote that there are a ‘few eye-opening moments’ in The Baldwins but it’s ‘not exactly chock full of revelations’ as ‘Alec doesn’t weigh in on his wife’s [fake Spanish] accent’ and there’s only ‘a fleeting mention of the family’s two nannies’ 

‘I am self-aware enough to know that this is blatant crisis management for the family amid their snowballing heap of controversies,’ Fallon cautioned.

‘The Baldwins gives us all the content we could want from the show. It doesn’t run from the drama; in fact, it engages with it head on. Is that a noble thing? I don’t know. But, and perhaps against my better judgement, it’s certainly entertaining.’

Alec’s involuntary manslaughter trial only lasted three days before being dismissed on July 12 after he denied ever pulling the trigger on the revolver that fired a single bullet into Rust director Joel Souza’s arm and punctured Halyna’s chest killing her.

Hutchins – who’s buried near the pond at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery – left behind her husband Matt Hutchins and 12-year-old son Andros.

On January 9, Baldwin filed a civil lawsuit against the Rust case prosecutors, investigators, and commissioners for defamation and malicious prosecution and civil rights violations due to ‘intentionally mishandling evidence.’

Meanwhile, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility on April 15 for involuntary manslaughter conviction for her role in the shooting.

Later in the season, Hilaria is seen sitting down for dinner with her Oregon-based stepdaughter Ireland Baldwin (from the three-time Emmy winner’s seven-year marriage to Kim Basinger) as well as her 20-month-old daughter Holland and babydaddy RAC.

‘My relationship with my daughter Ireland was so negatively impacted by my divorce from her mother,’ explained Alec, who once called her a ‘rude, thoughtless little pig.’

‘It took a long time to restore that. This is why I think I’m so aware of my relationship with my [younger] kids.’

Indeed, the married couple of 12 years – who don’t have a prenup – enlist two nannies to help care for their daughter Carmen, 11; son Rafael, 9; son Leonardo, 8; son Romeo, 6; son Eduardo, 4; daughter María, 3; and daughter Ilaria, 2

Hilaria (born Hillary Lynn Hayward-Thomas) admitted halfway through the pilot about her 2020 Spanish scandal: ‘I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me sad and it didn’t hurt and it didn’t put me in dark places’

Only one critic approved of The Baldwins – Daily Beast senior editor Kevin Fallon – who wrote: ‘The pair of them are actually… charming. How susceptible am I to this reality-TV image rehab, that I found the couple and the whole family to be so endearing?’

Alec’s involuntary manslaughter trial only lasted three days before being dismissed on July 12 after he denied ever pulling the trigger on the revolver that fired a single bullet into Rust director Joel Souza’s arm and punctured Halyna’s chest killing her

Hutchins – who’s buried near the pond at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (pictured in 2022) – left behind her husband Matt Hutchins and 12-year-old son Andros

Later in the season, Hilaria is seen sitting down for dinner with her Oregon-based stepdaughter Ireland (from Baldwin’s seven-year marriage to Kim Basinger) as well as her 20-month-old daughter Holland and babydaddy RAC

The three-time Emmy winner – who once called her a ‘rude, thoughtless little pig’ – explained: ‘My relationship with my daughter Ireland was so negatively impacted by my divorce from her mother. It took a long time to restore that. This is why I think I’m so aware of my relationship with my [younger] kids’

On Sunday, Alec introduced the commercial parodies segment during Saturday Night Live’s star-studded 50th Anniversary Show on NBC

The former yoga instructor has two books coming out this year – skincare beauty guide (co-written by Carmen) called Glowing Up coming out March 4 and motherhood guide Manual Not Included coming out May 6 

Tuesday marked the inseparable couple’s 14th anniversary of their first meeting while dining separately at the since-closed restaurant Pure Food and Wine in New York City.

On Sunday, Baldwin introduced the commercial parodies segment during Saturday Night Live’s star-studded 50th Anniversary Show on NBC.  

The former yoga instructor has two books coming out this year – skincare beauty guide (co-written by Carmen) called Glowing Up coming out March 4 and motherhood guide Manual Not Included coming out May 6.