You’ve gotten ready with her, you’ve seen her tear up the ballroom floor on Dancing with the Stars, and perhaps you even waited in a ridiculously long queue to splurge on her new skincare line, Reale Actives… it’s Alix Earle! The 25-year-old influencer and entrepreneur has got quite the resume, and now Alix, along with the rest of her family, is adding a Netflix reality TV series to that lengthy list of accolades. Before you poo-poo the Poppi princess’ new show, or question whether her life bares enough fruit to fill the bowl of an eight-episode series, think again.
Opening Shot: We see a montage of what’s to come in the episodes ahead, as Alix offers a brief summary of her rise to TikTok stardom and teases that her life is “not always as perfect as it may seem online.”
The Gist: Cameras pick up as Alix is two months out from her breakup with NFL wide receiver Braxton Berrios, whom she was with for over two years. Though Braxton was the “first actual real love” she’s ever experienced, Alix admitted in a confessional that Berrios, who is five years her senior, being “ready for marriage in the near future really stressed [her] out.” Fortunately, she’s got her best friend since high school, Sally Carden, to help her move her things out of his place. Though Sally consoles Alix in the moment, Alix still takes to TikTok when she can’t sleep, crying and connecting with those who are also feeling “weird” at the moment.
Alix FaceTimes her younger sister Ashtin, 23, who she describes as her “sister,” “best friend,” and “spirit guide,” while she’s in Paris. Though Alix is set to visit Ashtin there for Paris Fashion Week, Ashtin expresses her concern about seeing Alix crying in TikToks she’s posting online. Luckily, they get some much-needed girl time in the City of Love (though as they joke, they both don’t have any at the moment).
But Ashtin isn’t the only one concerned about Alix. Their father Thomas “TJ” Earle, who is also the manager for both girls, tells his wife Ashley (who is Alix and Ashtin’s stepmom) that “Alix is fucking crying again” after he spots another emotional TikTok of hers, but as her “dadager” (dad and manager), he concedes that “she does have 2,200 comments.” TJ and Ashley share three kids — Izabel (13), Penelope (12), and Thomas (9) — who live with them and their slew of pets in New Jersey. Like her two half-sisters, Izabel has delved into content creation on TikTok, which is something on Ashley’s mind.
We meet Alix and Ashtin’s mom, Alisa, over FaceTime, who, as Alix says, is “a mom, a best friend, [and] a sister wrapped in one.” Alisa is also in remission from breast cancer, and as Ashtin shares in her confessional, has the BRCA gene. After cameras take us to the Earle home in New Jersey and we learn more about Ashley’s rough adjustment to the family (see below for more context), we also see an Earle family outing, which includes all the kids, TJ, Ashley, Alisa, and her boyfriend, Todd.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? When we’re talking family-centered reality shows, The Kardashians immediately becomes a point of reference.
Our Take: I’ll admit, as a 25-year-old woman in media, I align pretty closely with what is likely Earle Meets World‘s target demographic — I mean, my name is also Alex (with an e), and I’m also from New Jersey (insert Spider-Man meme here). That being said, I still feel confident in saying that this series offers something for all reality TV enthusiasts, no matter how familiar they might be with Alix and her family and friends.
Not every family is suited for a reality TV show, but the Earle family takes to the medium pretty seamlessly, with even the youngest of the bunch delivering punchy one-liners with pristine timing. The Earles have been in the public eye longer than you might think — while still married to Alisa, TJ had an affair with Ashley, who previously made her own headlines as an escort in the scandal that ousted former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Yet over time, the Earles have managed to create an authentically loving, albeit chaotic and fairly abnormal, familial dynamic, which we see at a family dinner at a restaurant.
The debut episode also skims the surface of Alix’s drama with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper, and her weighing how and where to address Cooper, whose Unwell Network network Alix previously belonged to, after Cooper posted a TikTok earlier this year asking what the “beef” between them is and reminding her that there is no NDA preventing her from speaking out.
Parting Shot: Sally, TJ, and Ashtin each being shown the viral video of Alix and Tom Brady in St. Barths in separate confessionals. After headlines pulled from several news outlets — as well as clips from social media videos assessing the news — appear onscreen, Alix tells viewers, “I don’t think I necessarily have a type. It’s just always personality… and then maybe athletes.”
Our Call: Earle Meets World might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the tea the Earles are willing to serve is still piping hot. STREAM IT!
