‘The Arrangement’ Takes A Dark Turn In Season 2

Image by Screenshot/Youtube
If you think Judaism has got problems, you’ve clearly never heard of IHM — the Institute For The Higher Mind. This self-help organization, which has some creepy similarities to Scientology, provides the dramatic setting of E! Network’s scripted show_ The Arrangement_, whose first season premiered last year.
Produced by Jewish producer Jonathan Abrahams — known for his work on Greek and Mad Men — the show follows Megan (played by Christine Evangelista), a struggling actress who meets A-list actor Kyle (played by Josh Henderson) at an audition. They fall head-over-heels in love, and Kyle offers Megan a contract marriage which, plot twist, would mean Megan has to be married not just to Kyle, but the more sinister sides of his life — IHM and Terrence (played by Michael Vartan), the organization’s creepy founder.
The contract marriage is, in many ways, similar to arranged marriages, practiced in many cultures and religions, including some more extreme sects of Judaism. This week, during a press event promoting the show, The Forward spoke to Evangelista and Henderson about what we can expect this season, what makes religion problematic, and why contract marriages and arranged marriages are, in fact, quite normal.
Watch the whole thing here:
Season 2 of The Arrangement, will premiere Sunday, March 11 at 9 p.m on E!
Michelle Honig is the style writer at the Forward. Contact her at [email protected]. Find her on Instagram and Twitter.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
Opinion Stephen Miller’s cavalier cruelty misses the whole point of Passover
- 3
Opinion I co-wrote Biden’s antisemitism strategy. Trump is making the threat worse
- 4
Opinion Passover teaches us why Jews should stand with Mahmoud Khalil
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Jews thought Trump wanted to fight antisemitism. Why did he cut all of their grants?
-
Opinion Trump’s followers see a savior, but Jewish historians know a false messiah when they see one
-
Fast Forward Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil for undermining U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism, judge rules
-
Opinion This Passover, let’s retire the word ‘Zionist’ once and for all
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.