Perhaps just as intriguing as their hit television series, "Amish Mafia," is the real-life story line involving the sister and brother who star on the show.
Discovery Channel's show - based on a supposed gang of Amish enforcers in Lancaster County - portrays characters dressed in Plain garb engaged in acts of violence and aggression.
Ratings for last year's episodes and the current second season indicate people are watching.
Local viewers say they question the show's premise, but watch for entertainment and comic relief.
Off-screen, however, recent events involving Esther Schmucker and her brother, John Schmucker, are far from humorous.
Esther Freeman Schmucker, known on the show simply as Esther, recently filed multiple protection-from-abuse petitions against her on-and-off boyfriend, I'mir R. Williams.
In the petitions, Schmucker maintains Williams sexually assaulted her, beat her and threatened to kill her several times this summer.
Esther Schmucker, 27, and Williams - a 23-year-old rap artist who uses the moniker "Mirkat" - lived together in Strasburg, according to court documents.
John Schmucker also lives in the Strasburg area, according to court records.
"They have been problematic for the Strasburg Police Department," chief Steven Echternach said on Tuesday, He said there have been several times officers have been sent to the Schmuckers' residences.
The only female lead on the show and the love interest of gang leader Lebanon Levi, Esther Schmucker outlines an ugly cycle of abuse in the PFA petitions.
"He would knee me in the face, force me to take my dress off, ripped my bra off me, forced my underwear off me then continued to take advantage of me sexually," she wrote in one petition regarding an alleged incident on May 27.
"He told me he will chop me into pieces and throw me in the garbage can," she wrote in another petition.
"He told me multiple times that he is going to kill me and that he just has to figure out how to do it," she also wrote.
Temporary PFA orders against Williams were signed by a local judge.
However, at a pair of separate hearings this summer in Lancaster County Court, Esther Schmucker was a no-show.
The PFAs, in turn, expired.
Strasburg police investigated the sex-abuse allegations, but Esther Schmucker refused to cooperate.
"It was completely investigated by police," Echternach said. "But the alleged victim failed to cooperate with authorities. As far as we're concerned, it's now an unfounded complaint."
The problems between Esther Schmucker and Williams led to a fistfight between Williams and John Schmucker, according to court documents.
Strasburg police charged both men with disorderly conduct for a May 20 scrape outside a home on East Main Street in Strasburg.
Williams recently pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a fine of $199.48, according to court records.
District Judge William Benner found John Schmucker, 28, not guilty at a summary trial last week, according to court documents.
Williams testified that after exchanging words with John Schmucker inside the residence, Williams "requested" he come outside, according to Schmucker's attorney, Steven Breit. That's when the altercation became physical, Breit said.
Esther Schmucker appeared at the hearing with Williams, but didn't testify, court officials said.
Previously, Williams pleaded guilty to a harassment charge for physically abusing Esther Schmucker in Strasburg on May 14, records show.
"We've committed valuable time and resources to these investigations and these individuals," Echternach said.
Echternach is one of District Attorney Craig Stedman's liaisons to the Amish community, working with local Anabaptist groups on crimes of all sorts.
