Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[Taoboi]

BUT there's the thing about RHOA (which I admit I'm behind on)...

 

...if Production is playing favorites a la how Production is with RHOP, how can we pick on some of the cast? Kandi STAYS busy, but we see NONE of it. Kenya had to go on the record to reveal how much she DID film (like her spa opening drama I heard about), but Production DOESN'T SHOW it, given the impression to viewers that she did nothing, BUT she did A LOT more than what is being shown. 

 

Sounds like (I will be caught up by the reunion) Production wants to be like ABC (since we all use that allegory here) and focus on who they like/newbies a la Frons, making it sound like there are no more stories to tell when there are plenty still. 

[Cat]

The playing of favourites by Truly Original is a problem. It's not quite as egregious as Frons was with ABC Daytime, but RHOA should have just let Porsha and Marlo show us who they are, as it did with Nene, Phaedra, Kim, Kenya and the others.

It's a complete misreading (and assumption of stupidity) of the audience that viewers only want perfect heroines. We do not. We value complexity and honesty in a Real Housewife.

Porsha isn't dishonest per se, but she is extremely controlled with her image and only wants to be America's Sweetheart. Marlo is no saintly aunt, and she wants the show to rehabilitate her image in return for doing production's bidding. It's always been about transactional relationships with her (hmm, can't think why!).

RHOBH has long pulled this ish, and it drives me insane. LVP, Kyle, the Coven, Sutton, Garcelle all want (or wanted) to be beloved by the audience and never be seen on camera doing wrong. 

One franchise which has allowed the audience to make up its mind is the glorious RHOMiami. Last season Adriana said some awful things, but she also showed that she has a heart and soul and isn't uniformly the villain. Similarly, Princess Alexia gave us her finest telenovela suffering-heroine, but also showed her mean-girl, cliquey side. Again, the audience took this for what these women are and enjoyed the ride to a highly entertaining conclusion. I think Purveyors of Pop produce Miami, and the difference in how story is paced and the cast is represented is noticeable. 

On the plus side with Truly Original, they also produce RHODubai and Family Karma, two shows I love. They've done good jobs with those. With Dubai, Caroline Stanbury said they brought in the same crew which did Ladies of London. Family Karma seems to have a tight relationship between cast (especially aunties) and producers.

[GLATWT88]

I agree on the RHOBH being contrived and the women wanting to be perceived a certain way on camera. It may not be a popular opinion, but Kyle is not a good housewife...she cares too much about what the audience thinks and this plays a role on how she maneuvers and acts on camera because she wants to be portrayed in a certain light. As seasons went on, Kyle began to demonstrate this more and more, to the point I don't even get why she's there. I think this is a big issue with many of the longstanding housewives shows, because the women know how to play the game, they want to be liked and well received, so you're getting less authenticity and more of a forced persona. There's also more hiding or control of the narrative on their part. All of which makes it less fun to watch.

[Cheap21]

Allison did an interview and the tea is HOT! She exposes Courtney and Ralph. This is a good interview before even getting into the RHOA mess. Allison has a REAL story. I love her and hope she returns

 

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[DaytimeFan]

RHOA Reunion Part 1

Really boring...except for Sheree explaining why she looks so different. She had a nose job. Honestly, what a mistake. Who has their nose made rounder? It's likely still swollen, noses take around 1 year to reach their final destination, but my goodness, not the choice I would have made.

[Soaplovers]

RHOA:

I didn't like the cast lineup in season 14.. and will not watch until there is a reboot of sorts.  Not a NYC style reboot.. but time to clean house.

RHONY:

I watched the episode.. and I have some thoughts...

1) This show is called Real Housewives of New York City not the vacationing Real Housewives.  I wish more of the city was seen and there was maybe just one vacation near the end of the season like in the old days of the franchise.

2) I was hearing about a pile up in past posts.. and what I saw wasn't a pile up at all.  Shannon Beador, Lisa Vanderpump, Denise Richards etc.. they were ganged up on... but Jenna was not in this episode in my opinion.

3) I like the Jenna solo scene with her brother... as well as Brynn's solo scene with her brother... plus the brief vignettes of Jessel and hubby and Erin and hubby.   More of this please (and I seem to prefer watching the flashback scenes that are shown that we haven't seen vs the actual scene we're seeing in person.

4) Erin repeated the coach comment to the group... no different then Jenna repeating Jessel's comment to Erin or repeating Erin's comment to Sai.  This is housewife 101.

5) Brynn is 100 % on the money about Jenna in terms of the baby voice, using her condition for sympathy, etc... probably because Brynn does the same thing... and Jenna does come off as elitist.. just as much as Jessel does yet she gets a pass by viewers.  Double standard at work..imho.

I like Jenna.. but I'm not drinking the kool aid and will call out her shady behavior just as much as the other women.

Lastly, we were deprived of Ubah for 2 episodes due to her having Covid.. can we please get another solo scene of Ubah without the other women because I feel we've not gotten as much time with her and she seems fun.

[Liberty City]

This is the first major trip of the season, though...?

[Taoboi]

SLC

 

So is there a show without Jen Shah?

 

That appeared to be ONE of the general themes of the premiere episode. And perhaps it's because it was a long few work days for me...or my desire to see THE Mary Corsby grace my screen again...but I sat down after work and watched. I said that I would watch the first episode at least. But I thought it was a really good premiere. It touched on how things were and you got caught up with the cast. You got to see the start of some feuds and the introduction of new wife Monica who is given Brynn from the (first) episode of new NY. And SPOILER ALERT...or not...Mary was in the very first episode...and not just for ONE scene. I loved how she was weaved into the episode. And if there is one thing Mary is going to do she is going to SHADE JEN SHAH. I'm going to miss that rivalry. hehe.

 

Overall so far...

 

MEREDITH. I think we all know that an ENGAGED Meredith is an interesting Meredith. And the fact that she is our gateway to Mary's return already has on the #winner side of things for me. And I felt the resident (IMHO) heroine was potstirring throughout by just having Mary around. And then she started a petty (the best kind on a HW show) feud with Little Girl. Hehe. So far, so good.

 

LISA. Hmmm...I believe they showed it in the trailer, but it's nice to see the...authentic drama she is giving with her son and his distancing from her and his dad. I was trying not to read between the lines. But on the other hand, THIS should be the way that she should be going. For once, her emotions...the side viewers claim they want to see from her...shined through. But there was still enough of Fabulous Ice (cuz she's still in charge of Sundance don't you know

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 ) to give viewers that self absorbed housewife people were used to. 

 

HEATHER. As expected by me and @Cat...he goes Heather playing the Betrayed Friend over Jen being gone. Meanwhile, I just felt she was on damage control because of her lying last season as well as her mess with Little Girl on the show and ALL STARS 4. She was not annoying me as much as last season, but I looked at her and just thought smoke and mirrors...right down to her trying to resolve her issues with Little Girl. Of course, she would. Just strategic. 

 

WHITNEY. LITTLE GIRL. I liked for her reaction to seeing Mary face to face. As ShebySheBroke would say...you betta get to running, B!! lol. That said...it seems like she is going to be the punching bag this season and I couldn't be happier. Drag her, Meredith!!!

 

ANGIE K. Outside of Confessional looks and introducing Monica, she did not really do much. 

 

MONICA. So far, I like the new girl. She's a little firecracker. And the tea she gave on Jen was mouthwatering. Because could you IMAGINE if she had been around last season with what she was saying about Jen and the FBI. But that goes back to what Dana said last season as well so hmmmm about those SLC folk and what they knew? And like I said, she reminds me of Brynn. I still haven't finished binging the new NY, but that's her whole vibe and I liked Brynn's vibe. I can't wait to see how she does.

 

So...good start. I am shocked.

 

And Mary is STILL LOVE. Her shade was STILL on point. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Taoboi

[Cheap21]

RHOSLC

Its safe to watch again now that Mary is back! She truly was the missing ingredient to that awful third season. She injected so much missing humor and light-heartedness into this show. She was working perfectly as a friend, asking the right questions and clocking in. Im glad she is back

Monica is giving me more NJ housewife and she reminds me of Jennifer. so far I like her. Its wild that she snitched on Jen and now has her old job

Speaking of which, Angie legit stole Jen's job. Well played

I like Meredith but she was making a montain out of a molehill when it came to her bathroom. Production needs to kill this now bc its reminding me of BH and how they would run with a minor issue and make it the main story of the season

Heather has been riding this Bad Mormon story for 4 seasons now. We bored

 

[DaytimeFan]

SLC

Really enjoyed the premiere - the cast seemed to gel a helluva lot better than last season. 

It will be interesting to see how Mary does this season. She is so demented that I wonder if she'll be able to move into any storyline of her own.

[Gray Bunny]

SLC: 

I enjoyed the premiere! It looks like they're bouncing back, putting the final blow finishing touches to the Jen Shah era, and will forge ahead. 

Meredith... oh boy, so this season's Petty Fight will be about a bathtub.  "Don't talk about my marriage, don't talk about my bathtub, and don't talk about my kids." In that order. LOL 

I'm now on the bandwagon of just calling Whitney "Little Girl" because she is the one who won't let the dumb Bad Weather feud die out. She kept it alive on RHUGT and she'll continue on this season against her cousin. Now that Meredith has picked her target this year (first Jen, then Lisa, now Little Girl), she better watch out, because Meredith is lethal. Plus, I like watching Meredith do her Rosie The Robot malfunction ticks, similar to a Ramona Singer meltdown. 

I'm also warming to the Lisa Barlow praise. She's like The Grande Dame of Salt Lake City. Unfazed, unbothered, totally into her own fabulous self and damn the haters.

Mary. God bless Mary. Just what the doctor ordered! She will be perfect as a Friend Of role so that I don't get icked out by her personal life and cult church. 

Heather: "Did you all read my book?"

Mary (under her breath): "No one's reading that book." 

LOL. 

I'm liking what I see of the new girl so far as well. Loved the Jen tea she dropped. And in keeping with modern Housewives tradition, this year's marriage under attack will be Lisa and John's. Joy. 

[Taoboi]

Oh how you just made me holler.

 

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And Production was oh so messy for that. I gasped and I...LOVED...EVERY...MINUTE. The bonus? NO ONE released that juicy tea AT ALL. So everybody online geniunely seem shocked. 

 

I bet Jen threw a fit from jail. 

 

Yeah, I was done after Black Eye last season, but hearing Mary was back changed my tune. And I was worried it would be a cameo. But WOOOOW...it was like she had never left except on a vacation or something. And it was so logic how they did it. And yes, if there is one thing (other than shade Jen) that Mary will do is speak the truth and ask the real questions. 

It really is wild about Monica. And now that you mention it...she DOES remind me of NJ Jennifer. Probably why I like her so far. hehe.

 

But is Housewives even Housewives without a petty feud of some sort? Bathtub just makes it funnier.

 

We ain't bored. We are already zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

 

 

[Cheap21]

Its okay for the first episode but i dont want to be hearing about this on episode 10

[DaytimeFan]

Exactly. It's an absurd thing to have a fight about. Fine for an episode, but not longer than that.

[Antoyne]

Definitely in agreement there. Enjoyed the premiere.