TLC has officially booked the return of Welcome to Plathville.
But the long-running reality show will look very different this spring than it looked in the past.
For starters, Olivia Plath has already said she will NOT return to the program… not after she and Ethan Plath ended their marriage and Olivia very quickly moved on with her life.
Now, meanwhile, in the first trailer for Welcome to Plathville Season 8, we hear Lydia decree on air: “Everyone’s stepping into a whole new chapter in their lives.”
She does so as we check out footage of newlyweds Lydia and Zac Wyse, the latter of whom was unwittingly involved in family drama last season after Isaac and Micah Plath got into a brawl at his wedding.
“I’ve been angry,” Lydia says in the trailer. “I’ve been really upset at my family for what they did.”
The preview also feature Plath matriarch Kim returning to the family farm in Georgia, ready to concentrate on her future and her rekindled relationship with boyfriend Ken Palmer.
While Kim seems happy in this relationship, though, she’s well aware that things are very fractured between her and Lydia. She’ll try to mend fences in a number of uncomfortable ways.
“I smoked pot in college, also known as a doobie,” Kim tells a confused Lydia during one of their mother-daughter bonding attempts.
In another scene, the two have a more serious discussion about their strained connection.
“You and I used to be really close before the divorce,” Kim says, to which Lydia (who has often slammed her loved ones as fake Christians) responds:
“Whenever I would talk to you, it just felt like I was talking to a brick wall.”
Season 7 of Welcome to Plathville wrapped up with Kim and Barry Plath celebrating the official end of their 24-year marriage and the news that they had at last finalized their divorce.
On future episodes, fans will see what Barry acts like as a single man while searching for a potential partner that has “the Sandra Bullock look,” according to the patriarch.
“I’m single and ready to mingle,” a back-on-the-dating-scene Barry declares.
For his part, Ethan Plath will make a “bold move” in the hopes of maintaining his relationship with girlfriend Teegan… while younger brother Isaac fears his relationship with girlfriend Kaylynn is moving too quickly.
Elsewhere: Micah Plath will be trying to rebuild his life after splitting from Veronica Peters; and Moriah Plath will be hoping to find peace in Montana.
Welcome to Plathville Season 8 premieres March 31 on TLC.