“Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” the former governor’s new reality show, premiered on TLC Sunday night to an episode filled with grizzly bears, tough love parenting and plenty of scripted lines only Palin could pull off saying on air.

Following her whirlwind campaign run as the vice presidential nominee for the GOP back in 2008, Palin has been no stranger to the limelight.

Since then, she has resigned her governorship of Alaska after a two-and-a-half year stint, written a New York Times best-selling novel and gotten into public disputes with her daughter’s baby daddy, during which the media has captured her every move.

Now, Palin is going where no politician has gone before with a move towards reality television.

The eight-part miniseries produced by reality television king, Mark Burnett, most notable for creating hit shows “Survivor,” and “The Apprentice,” is like a virtual tour of Alaska’s scenic terrain and natural resources given by none other than the state’s most famous resident.

Additionally, audiences get to see that behind her public persona of designer power suits, clear-rimmed spectacles, and a heavy Minnesota accent, is just the average hockey mom and wife (as if this has never been mentioned by the Palin clan before).

Her latest endeavor should come to no surprise for anyone, as Palin, who is always under scrutiny from the media, would want to welcome a camera crew with open arms. This is, after all, the opportune moment to show the public exactly what she wants them to see.

The show would not have been a complete Palin production if she did not inject some of her conservative ideals into the hour-long program. When a writer moves in next door to work on an unauthorized biography about her and her family, Palin’s husband Todd constructs a 14-foot fence to block him out.

In response to the makeshift fence in her yard, Palin said, “This is what we need to secure our nation’s borders.”

Now the question that everyone seems to be asking is how serious she'll look as a political opponent, especially a presidential candidate, in the wake of this show?

In a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph, GOP strategic guru Karl Rove said, "appearing on your own reality show…I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of ‘that helps me see you in the Oval Office.'”

But perhaps, people like Rove should spend less time worrying if Palin’s next move will help or harm her political career as she manages to maintain an astounding amount of popularity despite her constant media blunders, inexperience and what the public’s opinions of her are.

Palin put it best during a scene of her show when she was having difficulty climbing a steep slope off a mountain.

Her climbing instructor tried to reassure her by saying, “You’ve always wanted to be a rock climber, Sarah.” To which she responds, “Was it a rock climber or a rock star?”

Touché Palin. Touché.

Reach Candice here.
Join our mailing list.