Spoilers ahead for for the November 25 episode of American Housewife Season 5 on ABC, called "Homeschool Sweet Homeschool."
Katie set her eye on a new endeavor in "Homeschool Sweet Homeschool," and the endeavor went south in true American Housewife style. She won't be taking up a career as a mommy vlogger after her failed attempt to sweetly and optimistically homeschool Anna-Kat and Franklin on camera. During that attempt, American Housewife took an unexpected shot at the TLC network and its hit 90 Day Fiancé franchise.
The shot came when Katie was on her way out of the house when she was supposed to be watching Anna-Kat and Franklin when they weren't at school due to mono. In response to Anna-Kat's objection at her leaving, Katie and Anna-Kat had this exchange:
Katie: "I'll put on educational TV."Anna-Kat: "90 Day Fiancé is educational?"Katie: "It's on The Learning Channel. 'Learning' is in the title."
Was this the sickest burn in the history of television? Maybe not, but I for one definitely got a laugh out of the exchange. 90 Day Fiancé has a pretty outlandish premise, which is presumably part of what made it such a hit that it has spawned an increasing number of spinoffs, so I think it's fair that it's the butt of some jokes. And honestly, the funniest part might be Katie's defense of 90 Day Fiancé as a show airing on "The Learning Channel."
The letters of "TLC" did indeed stand for "The Learning Channel" during the earlier days of the network, but it started going in a new direction back in 1998. With the network's biggest shows now being variations of 90 Day Fiancé, various spinoffs, My Big Fat Fabulous Life, and Welcome to Plathville, TLC is definitely a very far cry from what it was back when it was The Learning Channel. And apparently, American Housewife's Katie didn't get the memo at any point in the last 22 years!
Basically, the 90 Day Fiancé/TLC slam in this episode of American Housewife was more at Katie's expense than at the super successful (and pretty bonkers) franchise. It's also fun to imagine that Katie is a 90 Day Fiancé addict who glues herself to the various versions of the show without somehow realizing that "TLC" is no longer The Learning Channel.
If you want to give 90 Day Fiancé a shot after the franchise got a mention on American Housewife, you can find new episodes on TLC. New episodes of American Housewife air on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC, although only one episode is left on the schedule through the end of the year. The comedy returns with its winter premiere in January 2021. For some additional viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule as well as our 2021 winter and spring premiere guide.
