REALITY CHECK

At first, he was reluctant. Billy Corgan, who has lived much of his life in public view, wasn’t sure if he wanted to turn the cameras on himself and his family. But his production partner had a vision for what a new reality television show could look like, and Corgan signed on.

The new show, Billy Corgan’s Adventures in Carnyland, covers both the personal and professional. Corgan’s band, The Smashing Pumpkins, the challenges of running his professional wrestling enterprise, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and he and Mendel’s wedding a few months ago are all featured in the show.

“My life’s pretty calm these days and I’ve had my moments in the past and I just wanted to go about my business,” Corgan says. “We live in such a complicated landscape trying to promote my wrestling company at some point you just have to figure it out. If I’m not willing to put myself all in then what am I asking of others, and I think that was the ultimate deciding factor for me.”

Corgan insisted that the show be entirely organic with no staging of scenes—an authentic documentation of what it’s like to run a professional wrestling company and maintain a musical career with one of the best-known bands on the planet.

“I was willing to give access to tell that story and how you balance that with an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old—to go from a sold-out show to struggling to sell tickets for the NWA,” he says. “The highs and lows are contrasted sharply in the show, and I wanted to tell that story because it’s a uniquely American tale. A guy has a dream, and can he pull it off? Is the dream worth doing? The show gets into a lot of these organic extremes.”

For her part, Mendel says she was supportive of the show and of Billy’s ultimate vision for it, and that being supportive of each other is in the DNA of her and Corgan’s marriage.

“I think our relationship is very successful because we support each other in our endeavors as crazy as they are,” she says. “I never questioned Billy’s pursuit in doing the show. We are passionate people, and the show really shines a light on him and the idea that following your passion is so important. I never second-guessed it because I knew my husband’s heart was in the right place.”

For the show, the couple was very careful of what they allowed to be shown. As the executive producer, Corgan had control over what was filmed, camera angles, and what shots made the final cut. Protecting the family’s privacy and private spaces limited the intrusiveness so common in reality television productions.

Highland Park is also a backdrop for a number of episodes in the series. Episode three is about the July 4, 2022, mass shooting in downtown Highland Park and a subsequent fundraiser, “HP Cares for Cooper,” that Corgan, Mendel, and NWA organized for Cooper Roberts, a young boy who was paralyzed in the gunfire.

“I think when Billy and I made the commitment to living in Highland Park full time we always wanted to support our community and to give back,” Mendel says. “It’s really making sure we are part of the positive change in the community. It’s part of our lives and we want our children to be part of that, too.”

As if he’s not busy enough, Corgan and bandmates from The Smashing Pumpkins will be putting Highland Park in the rearview for a lengthy tour of Europe this summer as well as some stadium dates with Green Day and Rancid, including a show on August 13 at Wrigley Field.

Corgan and Mendel now run five companies between them—including a new fashion brand Mendel recently launched with her father, Gilles Mendel, inspired by the wedding dress he made for her and Corgan’s big day.

“We’re going to have our busiest year yet,” Corgan says of the Pumpkins. “It’s been a while since we’ve been this busy.”

All eight episodes of Billy Corgan’s Adventures in Carnyland are available for streaming free on the CW Network, cwtv.com.