As we reported just a few weeks ago, filming has begun on the new season of SIster Wives.

This is great news for the Brown family and for fans who had feared that rumors of the troubled

show’s cancelation would come true. It turns out that the show was saved from the chopping

block because Kody got a little creative and a lot desperate. Starring on most reality shows means raking in hefty sums of money, and Sister Wives is no exception. After Season 11 came to an end, the ratings were such a disappointment that the show just wasn’t making enough to be worth its timeslot. Or, of course, the hefty pay that Kody and his sister wives were making each season. Kody was able to avert cancelation at that time by reportedly dropping from $180,000 per adult per season to a mere combined $180,000. By our count, that sounds like an 80% pay cut to stay on the air. But hey, they were still making six figures.

They have a lot of mouths to feed, but are still doing better than a lot of families. After that steep sacrifice, the show went on — season 12 and season 13 went by. Now it’s time for season 14, and reports say that they’re already filming despite cancelation rumors. Now, filming in Flagstaff, Arizona has been tricky. It’s been financially complicated because the Browns are renting multiple separate properties (including a commercial building). The plan is to build their dream homes on plots of purchased land. That’s an expensive, long-term endeavor. What’s really thrown a wrench into the works is that people in Flagstaff don’t want to find themselves randomly on camera. This had made getting permission to film difficult, making it hard for everyone to get time on camera outside of their homes. Once again, it looks like a little creativity proved to be a balm for this production ailment.

Sister Wives could have lingered in Production Hell or just been canceled because of the restrictions on filming in Flagstaff. Instead, the Browns found a loophole: they could just film elsewhere for a little while. So they packed up and filmed in Chicago. There, Meri and Kody’s daughter, Mariah, lives with her fiancee, Audrey Kriss. That way, they can capture the beautiful engaged couple and film without having to bend over backwards thanks to Flagstaff’s concerned citizens. There’s one other way that a little bit of cleverness has gone a long way for Kody and the sister wives. See, being a reality star comes with a big paycheck, but the true success stories have always been about the stars who push it further. Kody and the sister wives advertise a slew of products on social media. For reality stars, social media product endorsements can bring in massive paychecks. The Browns could easily rake in tens of thousands of dollars — maybe hundreds of thousands — a year just on Instagram. A smaller paycheck is no fun, but it’s okay if you can make up the difference with a side hussle.