As mentioned many times before, TV rewatch podcasts are big and Housewives is probably the most popular genre. There are multiple Bravo commentators (like Bitch Sesh) and then there are former Housewives who host. Bethenny Frankel is one of the few Housewives who quit the show – twice. Most others are demoted or not renewed and Bravo will let them act like they quit or are choosing to move on. Bethenny has always made it a point to say she quit and doesn’t need or care about Housewives. Except she does. Desperately. That’s why she started a podcast about it. There are probably less than ten former Housewives (out of over 100) who left and never looked back. The majority of them do not want to be ostracized from the kingdom. And King Andy, to his credit, doesn’t seem to hold grudges. He knows the messier the relationships, the better.

 

Chrishell Strause is on her way from being a reality TV breakout start to villian. I think she’s trying to imply that the People’s Choice Awards are homophobic for not inviting her partner G Flip, but she doesn’t have the backbone to say it plainly so she is trying to get her fans to do it for her. True to a reality TV star, she starts with a good point and it then devolves into her throwing a tantrum, then walking it back when she doesn’t get full support. This is chapter one in a reality TV villain origin story.

 
 

The bangs are going to make people so mad at a show they already love being mad at. I can’t wait.

 

Clearly I have reality TV on the brain (spurred by Lainey’s story on the Sussexes). I’m not a “I don’t care” person, but I’m not a stan either. The larger storyline is interesting even though I find the individual cast unremarkable. And as Lainey pointed out, the juiciest reality TV storyline is a rift or feud. This is baked into the formula and it can simmer for years because the audience knows reconciliation is always possible. Even the most bitter cast feuds can be resolved with the right amount of time and a camera. Reality TV audiences have been trained to expect a resolution and that will be the challenge, as we saw with Princess Diana. One minute people are cheering the truth bombs but that same audience can turn on the truth-tellers pretty ruthlessly.