Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[Cat]

So @Gray Bunny did this last year, and I am basically copy-pasting most of the categories used.

 

***THE BEST & WORST OF 2021***

2021 was a rough year for RH shows. Covid impacted filming. Tolerance of bad behaviour and selfishness has changed – it’s harder to enjoy certain kinds of pettiness when, in a pandemic context especially, we see how cruel, selfish, petty behaviour can harm. I also think we are generally exhausted by life in general. RHs has tried to evolve and adapt, but with varying degrees of success. And the job is unfinished.

Has RH passed its sell-by date? Could be. I'm still watching, and I am still addicted to many of the shows. However, I may be more inclined to let go of the ones that no longer work for me. There is some light at the end of the tunnel -- Peacock streaming of RHUGT and Miami reflects a new, lighter RHs premise. What this means for RHs on Bravo, or for Andy Cohen? Unclear.

 

Best Show 

RHOBH.

As over-produced and scripted as it is, the show finally worked this year. It worked because it was coldly forensic in its focus on Erika and Did She/Didn’t She Know. Very Columbo-style as Team Pretty (Garcelle and Sutton) tried to avoid the traps set by Team Coven while pointing out the ridiculous discrepancies in Erika’s story.

As with soaps, I often watch these shows for eventual karmic retribution for characters I hate, so it helped that Rinna, Erika and Dorit ended the season in relatively precarious positions. For once. 

Most Entertaining Show

On Bravo: RHONJ. Just the right amount of family ("fam'bly"), fun and toxic rivalry (Teresa in Ep 1: “F****ng BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEP”).

On Peacock: RHUGT and Miami have been no struggle to watch. I have been rushing to watch them within 24 hours of release – a sure sign that I am invested in the season.

Show You Love to Hate

RHOBH. Still waiting for The Comeuppance of Kyle & Rinna to one day manifest itself.

 

Best New Housewife

Couldn't think of any. I guess Dr. Tiffany Moon, RHOD? If Dallas hadn’t been such a disaster, she might be leading the new season reboot.

 

Show That's Heating Up

RHOP. Did RHOP already peak in 2020 with its Gizelle Takedown reunion? Perhaps. 2021 represented a pause as Covid disrupted the flow of the show. I have hopes 2022 is going somewhere, though. If I were Candiace, I would watch my back.

 
Show That's Cooling Off 

RHOSLC.

I’m still watching. I’m still enjoying. The Bus Episodes were amongst the top-tier of RH episodes. But it is getting very scripted and alliance-based. Jen’s trial (and I imagine production is crossing its fingers for Mary and Whitney to eventually get arrested on camera) means S3 has great potential to be another rollercoaster.

 

Shows That Crashed and Burned 

When RH shows crash, they crash spectacularly. See: RHOC, RHONY and RHOD.

RHOD is already gone. RHOC is being more or less successfully rebooted (all it needs is Tamra back). The jury is still out on RHONY, and honestly, if I were on the production team, I wouldn’t know what to do. Burn everything to the ground? Try and preserve some fragile balance between what we used to love about the show and fresh new blood? All I know is that Leah cannot be anywhere near this. And possibly Ramona. And possibly Eboni. And maybe Luann. Or Sonja. Or… you see?

 

Show That's in Trouble

RHOA. I said this last year, and it still stands. Too much Bravo interference and mediocre production means we are not getting a full picture of these women -- just a surface, inauthentic one. And as with BH, glam cannot replace organic story or genuine characters.

 

Biggest Fall From Grace (Tie)

Porsha, RHOA. Bravo's Pet thought she could get her very own Don’t Be Tardy show and control the narrative when people started asking uncomfortable questions regarding her work with BLM and hooking up with an old married dude. Porsha Family Matters has ended up being the opposite of what she intended.

Leah, RHONY. Alleged Saviour of RHONY in 2020. How times change.

 

Biggest Turnaround

Gizelle, RHOP. Unbelievable but true. There’s always next season to look like a jealous fool, though.

 

Most Welcome Comeuppance

Brandi, RHOD. Finally the world (or, rather, all 7 remaining viewers of Dallas) saw what I saw -- Brandi's racist, lying ass was finally exposed, along with Stephanie, Kary and Kameron. Unfortunately, that behaviour, and Bravo sticking with her to the bitter end, completely wrecked the show. 

 

Pending Fall from Grace?

Andy Cohen? 

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The problem is, once he is gone, I don’t think Bravo will be championing the RHs nearly as ardently as he would.   

 

Most Annoying Ex-Housewife

 

You know it. She and her master, Kyle, are doing everything to get her boring ass back on BH. ‘Special correspondent’ on Extra co-signing Dorit’s fake robbery? Check? TWO Real Housewives podcasts? Check. Trying to bait LVP, Sutton and Garcelle on Instagram in a bid to stay relevant? Check. Bravo needs to stop trying to make the human Womp-Womp happen. I'd rather have Brandi Glanville back.

 

2022 Prediction

Without an honest-to-God RL scandal, RHOBH will crash and burn in the ratings.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Cat

[Taoboi]

I was wondering if we would be doing this again so YAY!!!

 

Like last year's Imma gonna need time.

 

And it looks like my list might be more different this year.

[Soaplovers]

@Cat

@Taoboi

I always forgot about Teddi...so she never annoyed me.

I think Drew on RHOA is the new Teddi.  She lacks presence in photos, has no charisma, nor a personality.  Cynthia, at least, had the beauty and fashions to compensate for her more low key approach.

 

Ugliest housewife (personality)(tie).

Adriana (RHOM) and Heather (RHOC).

Both of these women need to have their asses whooped.

 

Most Sympathetic housewife:

 

Tiffany (RHOD)

I felt so bad for her.  She was an introvert that got thrown in with the wolves.  I remember thinking that the other women couldn't read social cues because she wanted to be left alone and no one would respect her boundaries.

 

Housewife regaining my sympathy:

Shannon (RHOC)

What made her popular originally was that she was an under dog for season 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.  

Maybe Heather being back has a silver lining because Twitter is not liking Heather and I'm seeing some team Shannon tweets.

 

Best new housewife with trainwreck potential:

Noella (RHOC)

Wow, she just seems so eager and emotional.  She'll be eaten alive....yet she's the only one offering anything interesting so far on OC so far.

 

Lastly, I love that it was Shannon that gave Tamra a taste of her own medicine.  After the crap Tamra pulled on Gretchen, Alexis, Quinn, Jeana, etc....nice to see someone pull that on her...and it being Shannon was icing on the cake.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Soaplovers

[Cat]

 

Thank you for doing a BEST & WORST 2021 list in the light, fun spirit in which it was intended!

Looking back on mine, I feel mine was too downbeat and 'End of Days.' So, to you and everybody here who read it, I apologise.

There are lots of things I love about the RHs -- after all, I watch a fair amount of RH programming each week, so I'm not about to stop anytime soon! My negativity was very premature. I think the Covid situation has been getting me down the last few weeks and affected my general outlook. 

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I'm glad you went for stuff like "Best new housewife with trainwreck potential" / "Most Sympathetic housewife" / "Ugliest personality." These are the categories that actually matter when we are talking about these shows.

ITA about Noella. I'm still not sure whether Sweet Bambi in the Headlights is an act, or if she really got thrown into the deep end without a clue! I would also add Mrs. Martina Navratilova, aka Julia of Real Housewives of Miami in the "Best new housewife with trainwreck potential" category. I don't know where this is going but whew, girl, way to mess up your marriage to an adored and respected tennis icon.

ITA about Tiffany, I think she has a sweet heart and honestly, I think she and D'Andra would have headed up a S6 RHOD reboot, so well-received was she by fans.

I had a "Worst New Housewife" segment good to go, but honestly, there were a lot of people filling that list, and Drew was at the top, followed by Leah (well, second-season wonder, but who's counting) and a host of others. So I deleted. But please know that Drew's worstness has not gone unnoticed by me! I also had a Worst Overall Housewife (and that was Kelly Dodd).

Yep, Shannon is giving Tamra a taste of her own medicine -- and that's one reason I want Tamra back on OC. The other is that Tamra stirs the pot in a genius way. She is a born EP.

As for Terri... LOL. Yeah. I get a not-inconsequential amount of joy hating on her sanctimonious ass wherever I can on this thread! It's illogical, but...  

ETA.: And in the "How Would I Save RHONY" category, I would put 'hire back Heather, Carole and Aviva.'

Edited December 31, 2021 by Cat

[Soaplovers]

Heather said she'd never go back after her visit this past season.

To save NY, you need some new blood.  Someone that has a love and passion for the city and actually lives in the city.

You need an Alex type that lives in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, etc.  Someone fun to shake up the boring status quo.  Lean and Eboni were attempts at that...but neither were fun or interesting to me.

 

Not sure Julia on Miami has train wreck potential.  I still have Anne Heche vibes..and Martina so doesn't like Adriana lol

[Cheap21]

Miami

F--K Adriana! Team Guerdy all the way. I also love how Martina called her out for flirting withJulia.

[DaytimeFan]

RHONJ

 

[DaytimeFan]

RHOC

The visual evolution of Noella:

 

[Taoboi]

BH

 

Oh, how I want her to take them down next season now that she has allies and real friends...

 

 

[Faulkner]

Well, Andy got hammered on CNN tonight:

 

 

[DRW50]

There really are no good New Year specials at this point - I am probably just going to look up an  old Guy Lombardo special - but I found him to be truly embarrassing and sad, and I got the feeling Anderson did as well.  

[Faulkner]

It was an odd evening. They traded off the role as scold and drunkard throughout. They have a very off-putting relationship.

[DRW50]

I'm sure they are genuine friends (as much as Anderson can actually have a friend...), but the neediness from Andy bleeds off the screen. When he "proposed"  to Anderson I full on cringed.

[Soapsuds]

All the new year's specials suck this year. How many times do I have to hear New York New York... Zzzzzzzzz

How is this guy a parent? Scary!!

Anderson and Andy are toxic together.

[Cat]

I've been watching recently seasons 2,3 and just starting 4 of RHONY, and my goodness, Bravo truly underappreciated the gems they had with Alex & Simon. Alex stood up against the big bad witches pretty much all alone and never received the justice she deserved after she was unceremoniously fired (although i think she probably won at life in terms of moving to Australia, starting a new career and still seemingly happilly married).

IA we need someone from another borough or neighborhood who represents another aspect of NYC, but I think Manhattan will remain the common denominator in terms of going out and mingling.

He ain't wrong about DeBlasio. A piss-poor, do-nothing idiot.

Admittedly, coked-up AC delivering the message is a little 

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Edited January 1, 2022 by Cat