Hulu Drops Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 5 Trailer: Shorter Season, Cast Exit, and 20 More Episodes Already Filming
Hulu released the trailer for Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Wednesday morning, confirming a 10 September premiere with a trimmed five-episode run — half the ten episodes previous seasons carried (Deadline).
The shorter season arrives after a production disruption. Hulu halted filming in March, according to PEOPLE, before confirming in July that cast member Taylor Frankie Paul was set to resume filming for Season 5. Cameras are now rolling again — and then some. Hulu has renewed the series for an additional 20 episodes beyond Season 5, with production already underway (Deadline).
One cast member will not be part of that next chapter. Whitney Leavitt is leaving the show after Season 5 (Deadline). The trailer teases a confrontation between Leavitt and Jen Affleck that reportedly stems from their time filming Dancing with the Stars, giving the exit a pointed on-screen lead-in.
The trailer also wades into territory connected to a show that never aired. It alludes to the pulled, still-unaired season of The Bachelorette involving Taylor Frankie Paul's 2023 incident with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen (Deadline). One clip from the trailer shows Paul on FaceTime with Mortensen, asking about a tattoo of her initials on the inside of his lip.
For a reality series built on personal drama spilling across social feeds, Season 5 is pulling from a wider orbit than usual — a network dance competition, a shelved franchise spin-off, and a cast departure all feeding into the same five episodes. The 20-episode renewal signals Hulu's confidence in the property even as one of its central figures steps away.
The five-episode format is a notable shift. Whether it reflects the earlier production pause, a scheduling decision, or a creative choice, Hulu has not specified. What is confirmed: a shorter season, a cast exit, a long filming commitment still ahead, and a premiere less than two weeks away.
