Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[Gray Bunny]

I agree, it's an intense hour to watch. Though I will say both Danielle and Rachel have turned out to be pretty good additions to the cast. I think if Danielle gets a 2nd season, she'll either have watched herself and tone it down or ramp it up to become the next Teresa. I think Rachel is pretty level-headed and sensible, which is a needed character in this group (much like Dolores).  

Watching a recent WWHL with Jersey as the focus, when they speak of the endless nasty feud, you can just tell this is the final showdown of Teresa vs. Melissa/Joe. There's just no moving forward with them. One side has gotta go next year.  Their parents are rolling in their graves; all this over reality television. 

[Cat]

I think Margaret is smart, knows how to sell herself, was upfront from the start about her affair in her previous marriage, and knew that RH was going to be a popularity contest from Day 1. She understood that honesty was the best policy from the start of a HW's stint. 

As you say, Siggy basically manoeuvred herself right off the show with her crazy. Marge didn't have to do a thing. It always stunned me how angry Siggy was with Margaret for no reason. 

Margaret's ex-BFF said in the podcast interview that Margaret contacted Siggy's husband's ex-wife to get dirt on her. Unconfirmed. Maybe that was the reason, but Siggy didn't mention it on screen. And I feel like she would have brought that kind of thing up at reunion.

Margaret also knew to be nice to Melissa and Teresa. Which is why she felt so betrayed by Teresa a few seasons later. She couldn't understand why Teresa had sicced Danielle on her when she thought they were cordial (answer: Teresa was jealous of Marge's then-popularity).

Right. And I think Margaret's bubbly personality and snarky wit has started to curdle into something Rinnaesque. A lot of what she is doing is the Survivor stuff needed to protect her position on the show. To do this, you kind of have to do underhanded things and become a shell of the person you used to be. Margaret's not where Rinna got to, yet. She's not quite the ghoul who sold her soul for the show and lost herself in the process.

I mean, I love Dolores for precisely the reason you describe. I love her parents, her kids, even the relationship with Frank. She's upfront about their marriage. Paulie seems good to her. And she's happy to keep it copacetic with most of the cast. I'm ok with that. Dolores has history with almost everyone and holds the cast, past and present, together.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Cat

[Cat]

100%. The grudges are built into the Sopranos-lite DNA of the show. No forgiveness, ever. Even Dolores refuses to talk about Dina, ever.

S5 RHONJ nearly died a death because of the famb'ly grudges running in circles. We are near that point again with this second cycle of grudge matches. Bravo will have to do a reset and hopefully avoid another S6.

My view on Teresa vs the Gorgas is that what the Gorgas did to get on the show and throw the famb'ly under the bus was practically unforgiveable. Practically. There was a moment during S7-10 where I thought all three could finally put this behind them and present a united famb'ly front. Personally, I loved those seasons of RHONJ!

Unfortunately, both sides live to grudge and to one-up each other to the detriment of the other.  Teresa turned near-monstrous in trying to preserve the fakery of her 'perfect' life during S3-5.

The Gorgas realised in the last few seasons that conflict with Teresa ensures their place on the show. Baby-hankering and fake secret sisters don't cut it. When Louie got caught in their crosshairs last season, that was the final straw for Teresa who is basically in love with her Love Story that she gets to present to the world. 

A word about Louie: the Brooks Ayres of RHONJ. I'll keep saying it, too. Teresa is his mark: she's not bright and she has money. He's already making decisions on her endorsement deals. Plus there is no pre-nup. I'd say watch this space, except that Teresa is 1,000% invested in making this relationship look like perfection. It took years for her to publicly disentangle herself from Juicy Joe, even though that marriage was probably over way before the FBI even indicted them.

I really like Danielle, but Staten Island has to grow a pair. The reputation of her home turf depends on it! This is the same place that spawned Mob Wives, for goodness sake! 

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 Seriously, though, I like that Danielle has a sensitive side, but when it comes to Margaret and Jackie, she needs to woman up and realise that their judgment does not matter. They're hardly all that.

Rachel is level headed and I like that the best about her. However, there are entire episodes where she's quiet and then she appears on screen and I'm like "Oh! It's you. Yes, of course, you're on the show."

The Gorga parents are spinning in the family grave. Teresa, Joe, Melissa and Kathy basically destroyed that family for a Bravo cheque and reality TV. And yeah, one side is going to leave after this season. My money right now is on the Gorgas, but Teresa has been known to flub a reunion.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Cat

[Gray Bunny]

I would’ve put Dolores between Margaret and Rachel. 

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Edited April 22, 2023 by Gray Bunny

[NothinButAttitude]

Speaking of Jersey, AllAboutTRH spills everything on their podcast about the reunion. 

https://www.allabouttrh.com/2023/04/21/exclusive-tea-on-everything-that-happened-at-the-rhonj-reunion-taping/

Apparently, much didn't get covered b/c Tre and Melissa cursed each other out the entire reunion. 

The husbands (minus Paulie, Bill, and Nate) had an axe to grind with Louis with all these conspiracies, which were obviously an attempt to buy them all another season. 

Honestly, Bravo has to retool the show after this reunion. Either Tre or the Gorgas must go to save this show... and the audience stands firm that the Gorgas need go! They've been carried long enough. 

[Taoboi]

It sounds like once I start to play catch-up on NJ it's going to be a chore. Ugh.

 

And we know how I feel about Marge and I'm in the minority here on that though I do like what everyone said.

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[Faulkner]

OC trailer with return of Tamra:

 

And a jump scare at the end…

[Gray Bunny]

Love it! LOL The bitch is back! 

Though I must admit my disappointment that Taylor didn't make the cut of being a full-time castmember. But it sounds like she's in it alot in friend group situations. 

[Cat]

Yes, it's too bad about Taylor who is an underrated HW. Great to see her, tho. I'm not sure I registered much in that trailer other than the LOL end. I was expecting to see a lot more Tamra vs Heather, that's for sure.

Noella! I kind of miss your crazy ass.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Cat

[AMCHistory]

We’re all going to regret Tamra’s return. She is Lisa Rinna toxic. I think she show us going to take a dark turn. 

[NothinButAttitude]

Agreed. IMO, OC should've did what RHONY is about to do--a total reboot. Bravo needs to stop being fearful about reboots. It worked wonders for Miami. I am pretty certain NY is going to be a good reboot. A lot of these shows need to be rebooted. Many of these women are way past their expiration date.

[Soaplovers]

I think Gina, and to a lesser extent, Noella are examples of what a OC reboot would offer....and that makes me not want one.

Season after season, I see viewers curious why Gina is still on the show..and season after season..Bravo keeps trying to fix the show.  Perhaps maybe axe Gina as an idea

[Gray Bunny]

I don't have a problem with Gina. I kinda don't get the disdain for her from the twitterverse/Insta etc.  It's not like she's trying to take over the show or the show focuses too heavily on her. 

@NothinButAttitude I see both sides of the argument, but the bottom line is that these shows are like modern-day soap operas, and people want to see familiar faces year in and year out. Since New-RHONY hasn't debuted, the jury is still out. But I will say it's weird they're branding it as Season 14 of RHONY as opposed to considering it a new show at season 1. At the end of the day, it's a new show but with the old name. 

In regards to axing a large part of a cast, a massive overhaul with half the cast gutted didn't fare too well for RHONY when they went from S4 to S5.  One thing people forget is that there was nearly a year and a half break between S5 and S6 (the clunkiest season of all, with Aviva coming and going from the opening; LuAnn's random appearances in the bumpers; an overall directionless season). The show did not air in 2013 at all. And for the most part, the interest in this franchise was no longer there. Had they not brought back Bethenny and had the successful addition of Dorinda, I would've thought they'd throw in the towel after the sixth season. 

The only time I can recall where half the cast was replaced and it worked out nicely was on OC when Gretchen, Alexis, and Lydia were booted and Shannon and Lizzie were brought on. But they still kept their top stars: Vicki, Tamra, and relatively new but successful Heather. 

You do bring up a great point in that many of these long-time castmembers throughout all the franchises are in fact past their expiration date. I think it's part of the reason why people are getting SO nasty and playing a game of Survivor, digging up family dirty that used to be untouched; they gotta keep stirring the pot to stay relevant and stay on the show. At the same time, most of the recent new castmembers are either lukewarm or total duds. There's very little standouts to become the next *big* thing like a Bethenny, Nene, Teresa, Vicki, etc.  And those that try to become the next big thing come off as a performance, which the audience has caught on to. 

Which brings me to the return of Tamra. She's back because booting off the OG's and bringing on less than stellar newcomers backfired, and those that weren't booted (Gina, Emily, etc.) are mostly the B-team supporting players. The show needed a sure thing. 

Catch 22. 

Sorry for the long rant.

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[Side Note: I don't watch Miami so I can't comment on it] 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Gray Bunny

[Cat]

Well encapsulated. This is very much how I feel regarding RHs currently (and in the past, Daytime). Because essentially they have become my soaps.

At this moment in time, I am torn between my enjoyment of, and loyalty to, these RH franchises -- but it comes alongside a feeling of diminishing returns. I do hold out hope that the RHs can turn things around, because in Daytime terms, this is a young set of franchises.  And Daytime in the past was able to pivot and reinvent itself. Well, until the last 15 years or so.

The long-time cast members issue is a conundrum. For example, I love and miss Nene A LOT -- the old Nene. Because I have a feeling that if Current Nene were to return now, I'm not sure she'd give us what we are craving. She has a complicated relationship with Bravo and RHOA, one marred by bitterness. Personally, I am looking forward to Tamra. Tamra looks like she has been highly activated, and that burning need to Bring It may blow up in her face. However, she also has history with a bulk of the existing cast -- history we have seen play out on the show.

I don't dislike Gina either, and think she has somewhat unfairly become the poster child for 'all that is wrong with RHs currently.' Gina is, as you say, a B player, not an A player, and maybe there is a slight millennial aloofness to her that does not translate in terms of personality. However, RHOC, to its credit, used to show more so-called 'normal' lifestyles (and not necessarily the hyper-aspirational ones built on fake money and a Bravo cheque).

I don't want to jump on the culture wars pitting us against different generations (!), but do you think it is a case of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers giving RH a certain life-well-lived specialness, as opposed to Millennials and Gen Zers? (Clearly this is not a hard-and-fast rule: Rinna and Erika are Boomer and Gen Xer, respectively, and their arrival drove BH in a vastly more toxic and manufactured direction. By the same token, Teresa's brood of Gen Z dorters are giving me more history & authenticity than some actual cast members).

I will add one more thing: the RH social media behometh. So much of RH now plays out off the show. On social media, in podcast interviews, on the After Shows. It's like, the show is the core brand. Bravo needs to show what happens ON THE SHOW + REUNION and keep the cast in line when it comes to leaking and giving everything away. Eventually, no one is going to want to buy the cow if they're getting the milk for free (to paraphrase a nasty old saying with regards to women). Or maybe I've got it wrong, and the RH ecosystem actually helps to drum up viewership for the core show.

I guess one good example (for Bravo) has been VPR. That Affair happened in secret, but as soon as it came out, VPR rushed over with a camera crew and told the cast they were filming again to get their real-time reactions. Reunion was delayed, and Editing poured over the season's footage to edit it 'in hindsight.' This was a great pivot from Bravo, understanding that it needed to bring immediacy to a product which had been filmed prior to more recent events.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Cat

[NothinButAttitude]

The alphas are back and coming out the gate swinging!!!

 

The remainder of the sneak peek is on Bravo at this time.