There's a Method to Choosing a New Real Housewife, and It Sounds Intense
A Bravo executive explains what goes into the search for the perfect Real Housewife.
Real Housewives fans have two questions on their minds after a seaons ends: When is the show coming back and will there be a new Housewife? It turns out a lot of effort goes into choosing those new additions each season. Will they fit in with the group? Will they be of interest to the fans? Ryan Flynn, a Bravo exec, explained what goes into the hunt for a new Real Housewife.
"It takes a village," Flynn told The Daily Dish podcast. "It is definitely not a one-person decision. Every season always starts with who wants to come back? Who maybe doesn't want to come back? What do we feel like in terms of what might be missing [from] the dynamic within the group? And then we always start with the women, sort of the core group that we think is coming back. It's always like, 'Who do you know that we should know?' Because it's always best to have a real-life connection and to have that history. And I think we definitely see that on The Real Housewives of New York City. Like it always felt like Dorinda [Medley] was there, because in a way she always was. It always felt like if you just turned the camera a couple of feet one way or the other, Dorinda has always been there. And so that's why I think her inclusion has been so successful. It's just so natural."
Once the Bravo team has an idea of which ladies they're interested in, that's when they'll bring in the cameras.
"There are interviews on tape. We've now gotten to a point where when we sort of narrow the list down, we'll go do a home shoot, just sort of a slice of life. What does a day in the life look like for our top choices? You know [we] meet husbands, meet kids, meet friends...You know what does that life look like?"
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