BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – By winning Wimbledon this month, Venus Williams gave her new reality show a promotional boost that “The Osbournes” and “Newlyweds” never enjoyed. And yet, Williams is not taking any bows for her timing.
“You can’t plan those kinds of things,” she says. “I guess people are really kind of interested in the story. It definitely worked out really well.”
“Venus & Serena: For Real” debuts at 10 p.m. EDT today on the ABC Family cable channel. This six-part series takes viewers into the private lives of these tennis-star sisters, who share a home in Palm Beach Gardens. The show will add an epilogue about their performances at Wimbledon, where Venus triumphed over Lindsay Davenport in a classic, three-set championship match.
Venus says the latest victory means more than her four other Grand Slam titles.
“I still don’t know how it happened,” she says. “It was just so tough, especially in that final. I’ve never played a match like that before.”
The sisters accentuate their glamour in meeting the nation’s television critics. Venus, 25, wears a silk flower in her hair and glittery makeup under her right eye. Serena, 23, has bronze streaks in her hair and her beloved dog, Jackie, at her side.
In the opener, Serena’s Jack Russell terrier angers her owner by eating a turkey breast. But usually hyper Jackie is quiet through the news conference. The series premiere also offers scenes of Venus training diligently, and Serena taking a tumble and injuring herself in a tournament.
The fourth episode will contain some boyfriend drama, although the sisters won’t provide details. Their parents and older sisters appear in the series. Cursing doesn’t.
“We don’t believe in that because we were brought up Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christians,” Serena says. “We consider ourselves role models.”
The series photographed the two women for six weeks in what executive producer Fernando Hernandez calls a truncated production schedule.
“These girls are rock stars, and it’s very difficult following them,” he says. “There was one point where we were in five cities in eight days, and there’s 20 of us following them around.”
If nothing else, “Venus & Serena: For Real” should provide an interesting preview for this year’s U.S. Open. When asked about more Grand Slams, a confident Venus says, “I definitely have a lot left in me.”
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