Stream It Or Skip It?

Mercedeh “MJ” Javid, Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi, and Reza Farahan are back on Bravo in The Valley: Persian Style. After starring in nearly a decade on Shahs of Sunset, which ended in 2020, these OGs are navigating the next chapter of their lives in the suburbs with a new group of parents and married couples. While we know MJ, GG, and Reza can deliver good TV, will the newbies be able to keep up with them? We watched the first two episodes, and here’s what we think.

Opening Shot: Following the four-minute cold open highlighting what’s to come this season and what has happened since we last saw MJ, GG, and Reza on our screens, the show picks up at MJ and Tommy Feight’s house in Woodland Hills, where MJ is in full mom-mode, making dinner for her husband Tommy, their son Shams, and her mom Vida. In her confessional, MJ gives an update on her life since Shahs ended, sharing that she’s had a neck lift, a breast reduction, and has joined Mauricio Umansky as a realtor at The Agency. The woman is booked and busy!

The Gist: The Persians are in town! After a successful nine-season run on Shahs of Sunset, MJ, GG, and Reza have made the move from Beverly Hills to The Valley, where they are taking on the next phase of life in the suburbs. Along with a new crop of fiery Persians in their close-knit friend group, these three mainstays will be juggling marriage, parenthood, successful careers, and roller-coaster friendships in The Valley: Persian Style.

What Shows Will This Remind You Of? The Valley: Persian Style will remind you of The Valley starring the OG Vanderpump Rules cast, in that the three main anchors went from a show about partying in Los Angeles to one with a bigger highlight on their domesticated lives. However, it still has that same old Shahs of Sunset feel, which values their Persian culture above all. It also goes without saying that without The Kardashians, there probably would not have been a Shahs in the first place.

Our Take: There’s nothing quite like OG Bravo, and having shows like The Valley and The Valley: Persian Style is the best way to keep the characters we’ve grown to know and love on our TV screens in a way that makes the most sense for where they are currently at in their lives. Having been six years since Shahs of Sunset went off the air, there’s been a true thirst to see how Reza, MJ, and GG have been doing — one that grew exponentially when MJ lamented herself as a fan-favorite in The Traitors Season 2. Bringing in these three icons to steer the ship of a new show with new cast members (many of whom they have already known for years) has, in my opinion, saved Bravo from adding to its series of bad decisions (ie: recasting the entirety of RHONY and not renaming Vanderpump Rules when a new cast was introduced).

The Valley: Persian Style is an exploration into an adult group’s adult lives (kids, families, careers, marriage), but while they might seem to have things figured out, the chaos is still ever-present. Reza is older-brothering GG into spending less money on rent and weed so she can focus on building her credit, MJ is starting to realize that Tommy might not be her endgame, and other couples, like Tanin Nikpey and Greg Haroutunian, are trying to figure out how they can keep up proper communication after years of marriage. Don’t even get us started on Sky Askari and Bamshad Akhbari, whose revelation that they don’t sleep in the same bed made for an awkward first cast dinner. The group is taking on real-life problems—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and baring them all for the world to see.

All this to say, The Valley: Persian Style is the natural progression for the Shahs of Sunset OGs, and the best way to introduce a new slate of fiery personalities to the Bravo universe. Much like The Valley, their friendships with the newcomers don’t feel forced or overproduced, and, as of now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is putting on for the cameras. The drama is entertaining, their backstories are intriguing, and if you’re worried about whether or not this series will do Shahs of Sunset justice, after watching the first two episodes, I can safely say it does.

Sex and Skin: There’s no sex and skin, but GG does talk about her OnlyFans page—which is primarily foot pics and lingerie shots!

Parting Shot: Episode 1 ends with GG storming out of the dinner party after her friends confront her about her financial situation.

Sleeper Star: For better or worse, anyone who dares to take on Golnesa in their first season of reality TV is bound to make a name for themselves — and it’s looking like Sky will do just that.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Adult life sucks.” GG says this when, at the ripe age of 44, she realizes she needs to start hustling and stop spending her dad’s money.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Valley: Persian Style is just the chaos we need to get through these cold, wintery months.