Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[Gray Bunny]

 

Not that I like her much (though her fine-ass philandering hubby is nice to look at), but I'm just glad we get to see something a little REAL on these "Real" Housewives shows.

Hi, it's me. Been busy drowning in work plus a lil vacay with the hubby to Las Vegas (His first time. He said he wasn't going to shop, but I insisted he was because he doesn't know what he's walking into. He was wrong; I was right, tee-hee. But I digress...) 

I echo everyone's sentiments about Potomac. And what a reunion it was! What happened with Juan's Roommate and Gizzard's desperate attempt to create a story with Chris really shines a bright light on how UNreal and manufactured these shows have become. And viewers are taking note. 

As I think I've mentioned previously, in an interview with Rinna a couple months back, her description of what it's like to be a castmember on Housewives sounded more like a description of being on Survivor or Hunger Games.

Some of these shows have gotten too vicious, playing with people's marriages, families, and personal businesses. Perhaps this is the veteran castmembers' route of generating storyline/relevancy, but in the world of Potomac and Beverly Hills especially, it's getting too dark. 

Meanwhile, RHOP Reunion: 

MVP Award goes to Candiace. Well done. 

Gizelle has egg all over her jowls. 

Robyn - Bravo is dragging you and I love it.  Much deserved. 

Ashley - My girl... Sigh... You disappoint me. We were rooting for you. We all thought for sure you had this prenup/post-nup in the bag. I don't know what to say... 

Karen - Stay winning. Though her isolation reminds me of LVP in her final years on RHOBH. 

Wendy - You've won me over. And I love her rock solid marriage :::fistbump:::

Mia - Zero credibility. None. Zilch. Whatsoever. Bye. 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Gray Bunny

[Taoboi]

Awwww but Drew had a great second season. 

 

Welcome back!!! You remind me that I'm overdue a Vegas trip. Haven't gone since my explosive bday back in 2012. And ha at your hubby.

 

I agree about the Housewives. All this mess. Meanwhile, RHOM is over on Peacock showing them all up on how to be dramatic AND real with your life. smh.

 

 

 

 

[Cat]

LVP was on WWHL last night talking VPR (you guys who follow can look those bits up), and continuing to needle Rinna in absentia.

 

[Faulkner]

RHUGT4: Brandi has lawyered up re: her alleged assault on Caroline Manzo. Her legal reps have given her/their account of the evening in question and say everything that took place was consensual. They demand they release the tapes!

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Faulkner

[Cat]

What a difference a year makes. Alexia was so great last season, and in seasons prior, but the adulation went to her head. She had great personal story, but this year she acted all tough and confrontational. Either that was to deflect from Peter beating up his girlfriend (and honestly she needs to stop coddling that manchild, because he spoke horribly about her to his cartel dad), or she thinks she has to play this bro role for fans. The right couch were letting Bobblehead run her mouth without landing any meaningful blows. She looked ridiculous. 

Larsa also looked a fool saying her butt was natural (ha!) and trying to make Nicole look mean regarding her dad. I don't know what she thought she was achieving by going after Nicole for no reason, but she was heading nowhere fast.

Nicole, Julia, Adriana and Guerdy have an unspoken unity and kindness with each other which radiated off the screen without words. On a superficial note, Adriana and Guerdy in particular looked spectacular. 

Lisa is the queen of revealing her life, painful subject and all. She has supplanted Alexia in that department. 

[Taoboi]

But can we talk about that? lol.

 

YAAASSSSS, Adriana!!! Look at how breathtaking she looked with the darker locks. I was eating up each and every frame she was in from the clips I've seen. THIS is the feisty (in looks) Adriana I'm used to seeing. And she was GIVING.

 

And Guerdy...OMG!!! I was so worried for her look when I first saw it. But like Garcelle's reunion dress this year...it was PERFECT for sitting. And she was DROP...DEAD...GORGEOUS. From the clips I've seen. Just WOOOW. 

 

I saw the clip and I was disgusted as Team Right Couch was when Alexia came for Lisa like that. How dare she! And she was rightfully dragged online for that. Ms. Drug Husband 1, Closest Husband 2 Heffa Girl. I hope that judging from the looks, Team Right Couch drag Alexia (and Lisa does the same) in Part 2 for that. 

 

I thought the trailer was keeping all the good stuff out because it looks like from clips Guerdy and Nicole are giving it right back so far. I hollered at how swiftly Nicole gathered Marysol in one. Shut her right up. Go on, Ms. AmEx.

[Cat]

There's a clip in next week's preview for the reunion where Natural Diaper-Butt screams at Adriana "Shut up you and your bird mouth!" with her unrecognisable face and silicon-bursting lips. Adriana, looking impossibly gorgeous, just stares at her like 'You're nuts.' Because Adriana is looking like S3 Adriana-- simply the most stunning she has ever looked. Bringing back her darker hair and curling it 1940s style? LOVE.

And Guerdy is probably not the richest in the cast, but her fashion sense is probably the most refined. At reunion she was channelling 1930s Paris Josephine Baker -- a style Beyoncé herself has channelled, not least in her mv Deja Vu. It also reminded me of Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard.

Alexia and Larsa seriously are so hypocritical going after Nicole and Lisa's significant others/marriages -- when both of them are engulfed in relationship scandal (Alexia's ex husband, the budget Pablo Escobar, and of course Larsa quite literally robbing the cradle).

Edited March 12, 2023 by Cat

[Cat]

Been missing RHONY a LOT these days. To the point where I am re-watching S12 RHONY again (aka the season where Tinsley left and Dorinda self-destructed).

I'm going to go out on a limb and say S12 was better than S11 (aka the Barb season + "Life is not a cabaret!!"). First of all, Tinsley came into her own. Whether Tinsdale was boxing with Martin, ushering Leah into the group, confiding in Dale, or standing up to Dorinda's bullying, Tinsley finally broke free of the rest of the cast's shadow. It was a shame she left for her (now broken) fairy-tale in Chicago halfway through.

Secondly, Leah came across pretty well her first season, with good chemistry with the OG cast. If only we could pretend S13 never existed!

Dorinda going after Tinsley for no reason seemed particularly cruel and deluded. That pause was deserved, and I'm not sure she doesn't need another one.

Elyse -- gone too soon! Elyse could have been a great addition to the cast given her links to the OGs.

 

I only mention all this because it seems like the Legacy RHONY series has grounded after wage negotiations fell through. Jill Zarin confirmed that she insisted that she be paid the same as all the other women, which caused Bravo to basically drop Legacy. To which I say: Jill needs to sit down. She was last relevant in 2010. Back them, she went after Bethenny for not bringing Jill on board her GMA segment! It's a similar premise here. I don't believe Jill needs to be paid the same as, say, Luann, who gave us 13 seasons of Pirate affairs, divorces and arrests.

If I had been Bravo, I would have bid Jill adieu and tried to get Ramona back. I'd even try to get Tinsley (and maybe Leah and Eboni?) back at this point. Kelly Bensimon is a giant meh for me.

Edited March 13, 2023 by Cat

[Liberty City]

S12 felt like they wanted Dorinda to be the villain since they had Luann as the S11 villain and Bethennyk was gone, who I do think would've had Dorinda's back in a way the others did not. Bethenny confronting Dorinda about her drinking ("you're a drunk") in a one-on-one was more impactful than everyone ganging up on her through the season.

I don't get the hate S13 gets, other than people wanting to protect the ever-so-fragile Luann & Ramona, who got what they deserved that season, especially the latter.

Elyse deserved a second-go, too. I enjoyed her.

[Faulkner]

The way they used Elyse early in the season was soooooo weird. Her dead-eyed presence at meals and events was barely explained. It was, “Who is this woman who doesn’t speak? Did they test her as a housewife, she failed because she didn’t contribute that much, and they couldn’t edit her out?” But then, boom, she became very much part of the action and she had this really interesting backstory. And she REALLY got under Ramona’s skin in a way that few people can.

I feel like the producers lost their way after Bethenny’s departure. She galvanized that group and pushed them out of their comfort zones a bit. They tried to make Leah the new Bethenny, a truth-telling Greek chorus, but she was so obnoxiously transparent in her quest to be the new star.

And Eboni was really set up to fail IMO. There was no way Ramona and Luann were going to survive being exposed in that way. And if people wanted them off the show, great, but that’s the only outcome that would have made sense in the current cultural environment. For me, the dynamics of these women had gotten stale, and COVID really exposed that further, since their lives were essentially on hold. Seeing them drink and fight was no longer fun.

[Liberty City]

They really did lose their way post-Bethenny. They semi-did in S4 by trying to bring Cindy in as the "Bethenny replacement," and it smacked them in their faces. The same happened again for S12. Bethenny is a personality that cannot be replaced/duplicated easily. It would have served them better to just... in a way... ignore that she was gone. I think Leah did a bit better than Cindy; Cindy, I felt, melted into the group while Leah stood out in her own way. But, it is clear, losing Bethenny both times shook producers.

It seemed like she was there to be there. Like, "Oh no! You're filming? Awesome! Let me come, too!" Plus, wasn't she there for the infamous "I don't shave my p*ssy" moment from Sonja? Or was that someone else in a different season? Elyse, from my viewpoint, was the Bethenny answer producers NEEDED in S12, especially re: Ramona.

I've always stated this since the season aired: had Eboni come in at any other point she would've been better received. But, she came in when the 2020 presidential election was a major moving point and she was not going to allow Luann & Ramona just coast (nor should they be allowed to), and that was needed. Plus, COVID was still at a highpoint; the city itself is part of the cast, and the city was on lockdown. Even Salem was quiet; I went to Salem (or part of it) this past year, and it was ten times busier than when the cast filmed. They should've paused a full year. They really should have. NYC, unlike any other franchise, is so dependent on the city as being the unspoken "nth" cast member of the season; without it, the season wasn't going to have that push it needed.

[Faulkner]

Totally. Bethenny was born to be part of a reality-TV ensemble. She flails when she’s the main event (like on her flop solo shows) or when she’s given too much power (which is true of all of these women, Nene and LVP included). But when she’s amongst these women, she had an effortless charisma. You can’t replace her with a Cindy Doorstop or a thirsty Leah. (Leah definitely did better than Cindy. But that’s the lowest of bars IMO.) They should have gone in a different direction entirely instead of trying to replace the irreplaceable.

I think Eboni would have been better placed on another franchise. Too bad she’s NYC-based. I would say Potomac not because she happens to be black but she would have had a better give and take with the other cast members. And the Potomac cast would be empowered to call her on her bullshit (her Fox News background, etc.), and she’d be willing to call people on theirs. (Hopefully not just a rubber stamp under the thumb of Gizelle.) Let’s be real: Potomac is also the smartest cast of any of these franchises, so she would have been better matched.

[Liberty City]

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 They are. Despite my gripes with [some] of the cast, Potomac has been non-stop giving, cast-wise. They really are proof new franchises can work when done right. Eboni would've been a wonderful fit.

[Faulkner]

Not sure why Ken of all husbands made the Final Four of Worst Househusbands, given how devoted he is to his wife. Did Rinna and her bots rig the voting?

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Faulkner

[Cat]

Ken Todd in the same group as Lenny 'I do tits' Hochstein, Drew Sidora's semi-permanent-hard-on of a husband, and the vile Marchese psycho from NJ's forgotten season? Rinna's bots and Ryle Kichards are no doubt behind this outrage!