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I was all set to hate this. The bits I had seen on the internet were terrible and Clint Eastwood's wife, Dina, seemed either to be a bit mad or trying too hard to come across as being endearingly super-kooky.

So it is with surprise that I find myself reporting that there is something really quite charming about the way in which Mrs Eastwood interacts with her daughters, 16-year-old Morgan and 18-year-old Francesca. There seems to be a lot of love in the house. And a fair few laughs, too.

Most of the laughs come courtesy of the Eastwoods' delightful middle-aged Korean housekeeper, the oh-so-wonderfully named Lisa Thrash. When she's not busy feeding the pet pig and giant tortoise, the fast-talking Thrash can always be relied upon to inject a bit of levity, common sense and/or mischief into proceedings. And she's game, too - last week when Dina got her belly button pierced to discourage Morgan from doing the same, Lisa went along and got her nose pierced in a show of moral support.

Clint doesn't spend a lot of time onscreen, though he has popped up in both episodes so far, seeming in good humour but looking all of his 82 years. We see a lot more of the members of Overtone, the remarkable South African a cappella band that Dina manages. (She took them under her wing after she saw them play while Clint was directing Invictus in South Africa in 2009.)

Tonight's first drama revolves around the fact that Morgan's 16th birthday falls on the day that one of the guys from Overtone is getting married. Dina and Clint are going to the wedding, but Morgan wants to have an unsupervised party in a hotel room. Dina doesn't like the idea.

''They have curiosities so they try something they're not supposed to,'' Lisa warns. ''Morgy's friends, they go buy liquor. Then they go crazy, they do things crazy. There can be boys that come in after you leave. Then they might make a baby.''

Meanwhile, Francesca (daughter of Clint and actor Frances Fisher) is off to London with her photographer boyfriend, Tyler Shields (the one who had her burn a $100,000 handbag for a photo shoot the other week).

All seems to be going swimmingly until Shields directs Francesca to climb a bridge rail for a dangerous photo session. Francesca, scared, ends up in tears, but rather than listen to her Shields forces her to pose for more photos. She later tries to explain her feelings to him again, only for him to tell her, ''I just erased everything you said to me out of my brain.'' What a rotter.

Mrs Eastwood & Company is unexpectedly engaging, even though there is no real reason for it to exist - the world needs another celebrity vanity show like it needs a catastrophic asteroid impact. But if it's a toss-up between this and the Kardashians, go with the Eastwoods.

Mrs Eastwood & Company airs Tuesdays @ 9:30pm on E!