Enter Duck Dynasty. A&E thought it would be Honey Boo-Boo with a Beverly-Hillbilly twist. In the Robinsons, however, we see a redneck family that viewers actually admire. They cover the genre by serving up plenty of over-the-top high jinks. But they aren’t buffoons, just a nice family who knows how to laugh at themselves and have a little fun. It doesn’t hurt that they’re also rich and famous with a successful business and a close-knit community of extended relations who actually seem to like each other.

How can it be surprising that Americans love the Robertsons? They show us a world in which men can be manly and women womanly, while children are happy and numerous. Where most reality shows revel in petty sin and vice, Duck Dynasty depicts a side of America that its 12 million viewers actually like. A&E tried to rein in the red state love-fest by asking the family to tone down their Christian references. They declined. They attempted to edge the show down-market by inserting bleeps where no cursing had actually occurred. Phil Robertson went to the press and complained.