Andy Cohen was the inaugural guest at the Deadline Reality TV Summit, where he offered insights into producing and the future of The Real Housewives franchise.
This year, Cohen and Bravo are celebrating 20 years of The Real Housewives franchise. Rhode Island was the setting of the newest extension, which not many people thought of at first.
During the summit, Cohen gave insight into some cities that were scrapped, including Napa and Chicago, which they have cast “several times.”
Another potential city was Boca Raton in Florida, which Cohen said would’ve been like the Golden Girls.
“I really wanted to do that — I got voted down,” he said, adding that the reason that didn’t move forward was that “the cast wasn’t right.”
Coincidentally, E! is in production of The Golden Life, casting former stars of The Real Housewives of New York City who are now living in Florida.
Cohen reiterated that casting for extensions of the franchise “has to be right” and “right now the bar is so high,” they wouldn’t just put anything on air.
“We want to keep these shows as special as they are,” he added. “The audience is so smart, and they know the show so well.”
The executive producer doesn’t think that Real Housewives is oversaturated, yet people still ask why a certain show isn’t in production.
“You want to keep them fresh, and you want to keep a little distance too,” in pauses between seasons.
One show fans keep asking about is The Real Housewives of Miami, which Cohen said is hopefully will be back.
“I hope it’s coming back,” he said of RHOM. “If it was up to me, it would be, and it’s not. It’s a great show, and we love it. Last season was a blockbuster. We brought a Haitian mortician into the vernacular, and I want to meet the guy. I have a coffee maker waiting for him.”
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