Get your popcorn. The latest Long Islanders to take a turn on the reality show roller coaster is the Martone family, who run a salon in East Northport. The show, Unpolished, debuts Sunday on TLC.
The series follows Lexi, a nail artist who specializes in over-the-top 3-D nail art, her hair colorist/makeup artist sister/business partner, Bria, and their mother, Jennifer, who keeps them organized, and the sisters’ stylist grandmother, Foxy. Together they run Salon Martone while juggling some TV-worthy drama along the way.
“Long Island women: Everything always has to be the biggest and the best,” Lexi says in a 10-minute teaser that TLC posted on its website. “And they are tough to please. There’s a lot of pressure on us because we want to be Long Island’s go-to salon.”
Prior reality shows shot on LI include the 2013’s Princesses: Long Island about six Jewish girls in their 20s who live with their parents, and 2014’s Secrets and Wives about a half dozen married women, both of which lasted one season on Bravo. Logo has aired Fire Island, about six gay men summering in Cherry Grove, for two seasons starting in 2017. And most notably, Growing Up Gotti, following the lives of late mob boss John Gotti’s daughter, Victoria, and her three kids, lasted three seasons on A&E, while Long Island Medium is pushing season 14 of Theresa Caputo communicating with the dead.
As for the Martones, the web teaser suggests there will be no shortage of colorful familial tension fueled by plenty of meatballs and the contents of jewel-encrusted flasks. And, of course, plenty of salon talk.
“There’s really no other salon on Long Island that’s like us,” Lexi says. “Everything is over the top. Nothing is subtle. Extra is our middle name.”
The hour-long premier of Unpolished airs at 10 p.m. Nov. 17 on TLC.
