The Real Housewives franchise has been a hit since The Real Housewives of Orange County premiered, but how do the producers get so much drama out of multiple seasons? Bravo developed quite the hit, which mixes wealthy housewives from affluent areas with some not-so-normal situations. What is produced is a revved-up season full of fights and lies.
There is no denying that many people love sitting down to watch their favorite Real Housewives show, curled up on the couch, waiting to see who will fall out with whom. All the Real Housewives shows are guilty pleasures for most who need to decompress from their work day. However, some of their fights seem so provoked, garnering the question of how the producers get the women to react and give the camera what it wants.
7 Changing the Call Times
At least once a season, no matter what the Real Housewives franchise, a Bravo star complains about one of the costars being extremely late for a meet-up. As viewers know, housewives hate being kept waiting, but the move is genius for the producers who are trying to create a tiff between two women. A great example of this was during The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
One moment between Dorit Kemsley and Teddi Mellencamp ended up giving a whole season of drama. Both had agreed to meet at a restaurant; however, according to Teddi, Dori was 45 minutes late, but Dorit believed she was only 20. What would normally be a little misunderstanding for everyday friends turned into a bickering session about who was the late one.
6 Telling A Housewife She Is Boring
This is one of the oldest tricks out of the Bravo producer’s playbook. Telling a Real Housewives star that she is boring and they won’t use her interview is like kryptonite to any Bravo personality trying to make it big on their particular franchise. The whole point of anyone sharing their life on reality TV is to get screen time which in turn should make them famous.
Veteran reality producer Seth Grossman once told Gawker that he often needed to pull a lot of strings to get the women to open up. Seth shared that his secret was to “Check your phone, yawn, flip through your notes, unwrap and start eating a hoagie, and force the interview subject to get your attention.” There is nothing a housewife hates more than being told she is boring.
5 Remind Real Housewives of Their Privilege
Another great way that producers get women to have so many golden moments is to remind them that in American society, it’s a privilege to be able to share their life on screen. For some reason, Americans feel it is quite an honor to be on reality TV, which in turn usually makes them C-list famous. Once that point is driven home, the confessionals they are forced to film don’t seem like such a chore, allowing them to often off loud some great sound bites.
4 Producers Come Across As Friendly
Oftentimes, when the fourth wall has been broken, Real Housewives viewers get a chance to see the star and the producer interacting. There have been multiple meltdowns where the housewife has asked to speak to their producer, who’s supposed to be a close confidant. This is because, more often than not, the producer and star have developed a true friendship. The producers will often divulge secrets from their own lives to establish trust between them and their subjects.
3 Real Housewives Like A Challenge
It isn’t uncommon for a Real Housewives star to have an unpopular opinion. However, if a housewife’s interview turns out to be boring or a producer senses that they are trying to hide an opinion, they will often have tools to illicit a reaction, which usually involves either challenging the star’s opinion or agreeing with them. Often what works, according to Seth, is to find a belief that the star holds dear, like Kelly Dodd from RHOC saying that the pandemic was “God’s way of thinning the herd” and arguing it.
If a producer finds themselves dealing with a smarter cast member who doesn’t want to share their true intentions, it’s a good idea to agree with them during the interview. This technique allows the star to relax and not feel guarded. While this doesn’t happen often, they have to deal with it from time to time.
2 Producers Get Involved
While Real Housewives viewers should be watching an unscripted TV show about the women of that particular franchise, there are times when the producers have to involve them self into the timeline. One of the best ways producers do this is to send text messages to the cast pretending to be a “friend.” The texts in question usually have bits of information on the other housewives or a specific insult one has said.
Usually, when a housewife claims they got a tip-off from a friend who’s a blogger, it’s producers inserting themselves. A great example of this was in The Real Housewives of New York City when Dorinda Medley received a text from a friend that contained an interview Sonja Morgan had done calling Luann de Lesseps’ wedding “tacky.” This happened to be the most iconic fight of RHONY season 9.
1 The Reunion Seating Chart
Without a doubt, some of the biggest fights come at the reunion. So it makes sense The Real Housewives producers would want to have the best seating chart available in hopes of causing the most drama. Viewers will recall that there have been multiple times when a housewife has come to the stage and asked where they were seated, with usually the most popular ones sitting next to Andy Cohen. It makes sense that if two ladies are beefing, they would automatically be sat together.
Another great example of this would be the dinner on the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Teresa Giudice became famous for flipping the table on Danielle Staub, who had annoyed her all season. Even Caroline Manzo was strategically placed across from Danielle, so she could deliver her thick-as-thieves speech.
Source: Gawker
