Cat

It was indeed one of the best moments of RH I have ever seen. Gizelle's father had no f***s left to give when it came to Jamal and was happy to unload on a producer about it. This is his face just before they sat down for that fake scene with Jamal and Gizelle, and it never fails to crack me up. I couldn't find the scene anywhere (sob! Did the Bryants have it scrubbed from the interwebs?), but I did find another short clip featuring Curtis Graves, the one where he showed the women around that former plantation in Louisiana. One of RHOP's best episodes ever IMO (on a par with RHOA's episode when they stopped at a school in South Africa).

Oh no! Gizelle's father, Curtis Graves, has passed away.

Kandi has been doing a lot to keep drama going this season, and I do not understand why she is on the Siberian end of the couch. In this most recent episode, she even resurrected the ghost of Bolo, with Drew Sidora playing the role of Porsha! Because if Porsha hadn't left,you know she'd be in the hot seat about kissing a girl and liking it, not Drew. In hindsight, I sometimes wonder if Bolo wasn't Kandi's attempt to expose something Porsha didn't reaally want out there. Also, the irony that a beefcake of masculinity like Bolo actually led to much of the cast dallying with each other instead, lol. Anyway, Drew is now showcased as Production's new Porsha, as per this seating chart. If I'd been doing this, I would have gone: Kenya - Kandi - ANDY - Drew - Sheree - Marlo - Sanya. Because the divide between the OGs and the rest of the cast is notable. A mess of peacockery. The hair and makeup collectively looks great, but these outfits are giving me Gizelle Bryant's Closet. Sanya is pregnant! I didn't know. Congrats to her and her fine husband.

The way that I thought you were talking about Kyle for a second 💀

I really miss Nene from RHOA, and appreciated that she talked openly and at length about a whole range of topics. She's not wrong that she built RHOA into a hit. And she has a point about Kenya bringing on the fake boyfriends and this kickstarting a trend of self-produced SL fakery across the franchise (hello, Gizelle!). I remember the rest of the Atlanta cast dragged Kenya at her first reunion for this very reason, and she never really got over it. I don't know whether Nene will ever admit this, but while I have no doubt that Bravo wanted the highest-paid HW off the network, Nene's ego played straight into the network's hands. After The Apprentice she thought she was too big for RHOA, and her attitude was apparent. I say this as someone who loved Nene and believe she was the best RH. I still want her back! But her attitude really worsened over time. And if Cynthia did indeed try to get Nene axed (which I am really surprised by; I don't think Cynthia would do that to Nene, though Nene did that to her on WWHL), do you think she was Bravo's willing lapdog? Maybe we will find out in Part 2. Definitely agree with her that current Production on RHOA is a big part of the problem.

Jessel's a-ha moment changed my view of her completely. It is clear her body and mind has been through a battering with IVF and she just couldn't face physical intimacy after she had children. It bothered me that Sai and Erin in particular were haranguing her for not having had sex with her husband. Yes, it's an alarm bell for Jessel's marriage, but it also felt like Erin and Sai pounced on this info in order to put Jessel down (and make themselves look great). "Like, your husband hasn't touched you in over a year?" That kind of competitiveness. They sensed Jessel's insecurity and uncertainty and went for it. Jenna was the last to be cast by some distance, apparently. The rest of the cast had been found but Bravo felt the dynamic was missing something. Personally I like that Jenna is a 'new' friend and sort of odd man out. We've all entered a friendship group as the newbie and felt that way. I thought the lingerie was indeed, as Jessel pointed out, cheap and of poor quality. In line with J. Crew's nosedive in product quality over the last 2-3 decades.

Episode 2 of nuRHONY was better than Ep. 1 IMO. Focused entirely on the trip to Hamptons, and without Beautiful Brynn to hog the spotlight, it allowed other cast members to come out of their shells. I'm thinking specifically Jenna, Ubah, Jessel and Sai. Jenna talking about her relationship with her mother and her general awkward shyness were actually quite endearing. Ubah sensing all that and deflecting Sai's questions about why Jenna's girlfriend isn't on the show were also quite endearing. I really like that Jenna does not have typical RH attributes in terms of her personality. Ubah has a joyousness which came across the whole episode. Jessel came across less harsh also. It's clear her roommate-marriage is in serious trouble. Having to hide the pain and trauma of multiple failed IVFs from family and friends was an a-ha moment. Sai did more this episode (including trying to bring out the fact that Jenna refused to bring her girlfriend and son on the show) but I'm not sure I warmed to her at all. Also, she's an influencer inconveniencing everybody with her 20 bags and countless wardrobe changes. Her backstory is interesting but I can't shake the fact that there may not be much substance there. Erin is Miss One-Upmanship. She's got to have all the caviar, the best house, the best taste, and honestly, I'm waiting for her to get nasty if she suspects one of the other wives has got it better than her. She's already snide about Jenna. Next week: Brynn shows up in a college tee + a full fur coat. Very "Look how rich I am! And how relatable I am! But mostly rich!" RHOA: Nene and Carlos King sat down for a chin-wag. Here is Part 1:

No problem! I'm sorry it was so much work, but I'm glad you went Pest Control on their asses. It was like the Board was being overrun by fast-moving ants or something.

Co-sign. I have some great conversations with people on this board and (not to get sappy either) it warms the heart and makes you feel part of a community. I end up learning a lot, too. Been here a long time.

And she was joined by Gamble and Pettifleur:

Two things can be true at the same time, and IMO it is both a production and cast problem. S10 RHOA is replaying where I live, and is where the shift to mediocrity started happening, in my view. If it wasn't for Kim Z getting put in her place at reunion, the season would have been a write-off: a sudden emphasis on lewks & glam; filler produced scenes to fill in space where there was no story; the HWs allowed to self-produce whatever image they want to project (Kenya keeping her husband away while making her marriage the entire conversation); and the length of time spent rebuilding Porsha's ruined image into a TV-ready personality (which ended biting Bravo in the butt when she found her sugar-daddy and dumped her reality career). A lot of those tropes are still in play in the current season, but we are so used to this crappy production team that we've just grudgingly accepted that this is the lacklustre way it's going to be. There is a lot less humor, quickness, tightness and energy, production-wise. It means the episodes feel lethargic and stitched together. And obviously the cast do not have star power in numbers to hold the show together like, say, M2M has done. Kandi worked hard at this most recent group lunch to subtly bring out gossip, but as you say, this is a marketing platform for her. She and Todd have had the same SL over the past 9 years. Kenya is once again hiding a love interest from the cameras, but jumping on everybody else for their choice of BF. I don't know what this Marlo + BudgetPeterThomas coupling is, but a relationship it is not. Sanya and Marlo don't have the It Factor. Drew is still playing the ingenue and could be good as a HW if she wasnt hiding so much. Sheree is still bareface-lying to camera. RH Twitter keeps mentioning how much it misses Nene, Porsha, Cynthia (and a couple people even miss Phaedra). I know there is talk of rebooting RHOA completely, but I think fans would love the old cast back, and some kind of resolution to the Nene-Bravo fallout. JMO.

The manic energy from Bethenny's YT trailer turned me off, but if @Gray Bunny recommended the interview, I might give it a listen. My uneducated view is that both Bethenny and Jill made a deal with the devil, and it suited them when they had Andy's ear and made $$$ off their fame from the show. Now that Andy is bored and everyone has moved on, they seem to be looking for relevance. Jill hoped to get back on the show, once after Bobby died, and again when Legacy was in the works, and she hot played both times. Bethenny is looking for a crusade, and yesterday posted an IG thing calling for a RH union. Now, I totally understand why and support this endeavour at this crucial time for Hollywood when journeymen employees are trying to save their livelihoods and not get used by these tech barons running the studios. But as Nene also pointed out yesterday, she's been saying the same things as Bethenny for years.... but wasn't listened to. Hmm. RHOA: A really good episode I thought. Kamdi saying that she didn't think Drew was innocent and naive but is good at pretending was a light bulb moment. And so Atlanta's Scandoval commences. Kenya is good at digging scandals out of others' private lives, but won't bring Roi around the other ladies. We see you, Kenya. It's only been one episode so I can get into Sai as the season progresses. It was just my snap reaction, and I've been wrong before. Same with Ubah. Alex would have been a great addition. Especially as a contrast because she's pretty self-deprecating. Good spot re: Jenn having something on Tamra. Tamra was very keen to direct the convo elsewhere. There were rumors when Tamra left that she and Eddie had an open marriage situation, so it could be that there were flirtations with Ryan which she thought she could use to her advantage here.

@DaytimeFan thought you'd appreciate Sonja's response to Bravo promoting the new RHONY reboot 😊 I watched. And.... rather enjoyed it. *hides* It feels like a whooooole different show, more in common with RHODubai. This does not take away from my deep and abiding love of OG RHONY, which is the RHONY of boomers and early Gen Xers, of old-school, non-standardized Manhattan. It was messy and quirky and non-self-aware hilarious. Obviously the last few seasons curdled for a variety of reasons. I still say that both OG and this new entry can co-exist. The OG RHONY UGT may decide whether that actually happens. This nu-RHONY, by contrast, is very millennial and Instagram-curated. All (or most -- I'll get to that later) of the homes look spotless and incredible, like prepped for a photo shoot but not actually lived in. It's all very aspirational, maybe a little too much so, because behind those carefully curated images, I feel someone is going to crack. My money is on Jessel first, who isn't just going through a (rather obvious) divorce, but also seems very aware that these women are competing with each other in terms of their 'aesthetic' and fashion and homes. Erin, too, comes across as a little Bethennyesque and hyper-competitive. The others, like Brynn, Sai and Ubah, make it less obvious that they might be assessing whether their stuff is better than Jenna's stuff. Jenna is the Queen Bee. I like the work she did to bring J Crew into the 2000s, and I like her quirkiness here. She also came out a few days ago about a genetic disorder she has which means she has to wear wigs and false teeth (https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/07/jenna-lyons-on-being-outed-and-her-fake-teeth#:~:text=During the appearance%2C she also,lot of money for them.”). The article refers to her talking about wanting to go into fashion so that she could gain control over her physical appearance and try and fit in. She is very much an OCD Fashion Person, though (and if you've ever had to accommodate an OCD Fashion Person in the work arena, the demands from them are INSANE). On the show it sometimes comes across like she is just a little too curated and particular with her party themes and personal taste. Including the open-shirt/necklaces/boobs-out look she invented. Also, I cannot vibe with her apartment. It looks dark and melancholic, with all the natural light shuttered away. It's also staged to look expensive, but I'm not sure her furnishings and trimmings are that good quality. Ok, ok, bitchiness over! Erin and Jessel, as I said, are very aware of the pecking order and lowkey worried about not coming out on, or near, the top. Erin is also milking this frenemyship with Brynn for all it is worth. Brynn has already decided that she is the pot-stirrer. Didn't see as much of her this episode, but I'm guessing ep. 2 she gets more airtime. Ubah doesn't have (yet) the sparkle and Alpha Female personality of her cousin, Chanel Ayan, but she does seem fun. I cannot shake the feeling that Sai might be a one-season wonder, but I'm not sure why. I'll be tuning into Episode 2. And the vibe, as @Faulkner pointed out, was more Brooklyn than Manhattan, even though most of the women live Downtown. It really shows just how much the crazy wealth of the super-rich + huge tourist numbers + 0% interest rates (which overinflated the value of other assets, especially real estate) has completely changed NYC in the past 15 years. Manhattan is for the uber-wealthy, or those with a hefty real estate investment, or the tourists. Normally-wealthy NYC have decamped to and gentrified Brooklyn and other boroughs. RHOC Tamra is doing A LOT. Too much! I would have probably lunged at her if she'd tossed that napkin in my face, so kudos to Jenn for drawing on her years of yoga training and keeping her reaction under control. Having said that, this episode was apparently the highest rated of the season thus far. Tamra is going back to her Greatest Hits to try and woo the audience. I'm not mad about it, as it is way more entertaining and watchable than the last few seasons. Even if it is contrived, I'm enjoying RHOC because the other women are lowkey calling out the contrivances of everybody. It's part of the theme this season. Heather, for example, is also being called out on her fear of confronting Old-New Queen Bee Tamra. Emily is doing a great job of asking the questions that matter of these women! ...Except for Gina who is equally as contrived and all the more irritating for it. Gina has a problem with Jenn and with Heather for sh!t that is really Gina's problem, not theirs's. Also that fake loud laugh with Travis in next week's trailer. 😬 Emily's phone call with her mom was unexpectedly tender and lovely. Shane continues to not give a F. Next week: Vicki is back!

@alwaysAMC @Taoboi yeah if id had a drink thrown on me, im not sure how I'd have reacted in the moment, but i would probably be in fight mode too. Sesame Street has been trying to provoke from the offset. And for that, i have to side-eye Ashley a bit.

What was Candiace going to do with that champagne bottle?? Remember when she and her then-buddies iced Monique out of the show for less? Time to bring Monique back, and stop hiring these strippers and wannabes. Not to sound like S1 Grande Dame, but it's all becoming a little déclassé. Couldn't see Gizelle or Robyn -- they're usually around instigating this mess. A problem a lot of the RHONY cast had with Tinsley was her, for lack of a better phrase, lack of substance. She didn't really want to share much more of herself outside the parameters of her 'finding my prince' SL. Regarding Dale Mercer, I adored her and would have LOVED for Dale to have been made a full-time RH on NYC after Tinsley left. A wealth of life experience, pushy mom, lively, shady, has a life in Palm Beach too, plus she is apparently teetotal! An added bonus The trailer and previews of new RHONY certainly look glossy and gorgeous, so for sure I will check it out. But beyond the curated Instagram of it all, I'm not getting a feel for personality or a group dynamic, which I did with Dubai. So, yeah, I'm worried that it is entirely style over substance. I can only scroll Instagram for so long before I get a bit bored, lol.

Lord. I'm getting desperate RHONJ S5 vibes here with these hangers-on thinking theyve got a chance on the show. Yikes. And I don't disagree with the writer's view on where RHONY went wrong. But yeah, I can't shake the feeling that it might be a whole lot of style over substance. I'll give it a shot though.

She looks freaking amazing, and I hope the chemo is a rapid success.

VPR editing definitely deserves an Emmy for the way they tweaked/recut an entire season as a slow build to Scandoval (OR DID THEY?? Conspiracy theories abound), and the way they filmed the fallout and played every beat. In answer to the question posed in this Tweet, classic RHONY S1-10 (and possibly 11 & 12). Longtime editor Peter Gamba, who passed away from Covid during the first wave in 2020, made RHONY a comic powerhouse with his amazing cuts alone.

It was a sweet show! I missed them. The lovely thing about Sonja especially is how she treats people the same, whether on RHONY or here. And she's a great sport and wants to connect with people peer-to-peer. I thought it was divorce too, which is a shame because Rob comes off as a pretty nice husband. Hopefully they just want to move to a different neighbourhood. Gives me Dubai vibes. Brynn's is the best tagline. Some of the others are knockoffs of other RH lines.

While I enjoyed the Montana trip, I definitely see your point. I've become so used to a scripted girls trip on RHs that I expect to see the contrivance now. I think I enjoyed the episode because of the old relationship chemistry between Shannon, Tamra and Heather mainly. But it's clear that Heather and Tamra have a pre-agreed alliance, and Gina and Taylor's attempt to put a crzck in it won't work until Heather chooses to make it happen as a SL. Either later this season or at reunion. I missed Emily a lot here, and agree that her scene with Shane and the kids was the most real and refreshing of the entire episode. Every week she's had a family scene, and I've been loving them. I think Shane is hilarious too. Emily is currently my fave this season. An episode like you describe would definitely help solidify the cast in the eyes of the audience. I think Jenn's family life blends right in with the old school OC dynamic.

@Taoboi re: the RHOA mid-season trailer. So, I wasn't expecting it to be NC-17 rated. LOL and it's Drew! I did not have 'Drew may have a gay lover' on my bingo card. Given everything that happened this week, including whatever it was that Wig pulled, I have to ask if someone over at Bravo has instructed all shows to brew up a Scandoval and make sure a same-sex third-party might be involved. Which makes no sense in RHOA's timeline, because they finished filming months ago, before Scandoval. They sure did keep it under wraps, didn't they -- I was convinced the Pittmann divorce happened because of Ralph! i will say this -- RHOA is actually showing and discussing what BH refuses to film. Anyhoo, it looks like Drew will be carrying the rest of the season, because I don't remember anything else in the trailer. Except for Kenya claiming she might get back with Marc Daly. Yeah, right! I made the same face Kandi did. 😬 Kenya's comment says to me that Ms. Moore has little energy for this season. Kenya, Kandi seem a little over the current cast -- certainly on other media, etc, they have been willing to entertain a return of people they originally didn't like so much (Porsha, Nene, Cynthia). As for me, I am enjoying the season thus far, it just seems like it hasn't taken off yet. It feels like we're only at episode 3 or 4. Re: The Umansky separation... I KNOW!!! I can't believe I wrote that, thinking it was all Twitter rumor-mongering, and then NothinButAttitude was like 'They just announced their separation in People.' It was a lot of fun to read the memes and posts after that shocker. The thread was hopping for about 2 hours. Re: RHOM, I'm glad you've finally been able to dig into the season. I hope you enjoy it because it is a great slow burn. And Lisa really brought it this season. So did Adriana. And, in her budget Kardashian way, Larsa. Still can't stand her, though.

RHOC What's interesting about Tamra's return isn't so much that she's 'doing the most' by stirring the pot. It's that she's getting the other women to work. It is a constant switcheroo of alliances between Tamra & Jenn, Tamra & Heather, Tamra & Taylor, Tamra & Shannon. One minute she's your friend, kiki-ing with and cuddling you, the next she's thrown you under the bus. Tamra is one of the best practitioners of RH pot-stirring and, crucially, she doesn't care if she gets caught on camera. What's of interest to me is Heather not wanting to confront Tamra on what she knows must be true, which is,Tamra talking behind her back. The hasty alliance they slapped together since Tammy Sue returned is already cracking -- Heather already fears that when T and Shannon make up, she'll be on the outs. I am really liking Shannon so far this season. Also, Jenn is a good pick for a newbie. Heather talking to Travis on the phone "She's fine. She'll call you back" and then hanging up on him had me LOLing.

There's a reason I never watched her asinine Tardy show -- because of her lazy ass. She really thinks she pulled a Kyke & Mauricio with this one. At least BH can say it has an audience. Where are all the RHOA fans clamoring for her return? I'd rather have DeShawn Snow back than those two do-nothings.

Ok WTF is going on over at Bravo