Some reality TV formats are built to last, and House of Villains helped usher in a new wave of addictive unscripted series in 2023.
Thankfully, E! execs took note because the show has officially snagged a renewal for a second season, set to premiere later this year.
Amid a wave of people cutting the cord and picking and choosing streaming services, the series broke through despite airing linearly on cable with no second window on streaming as the show was airing. It’s pretty much unheard of nowadays.
With seven days of viewing included, the October series premiere picked up a terrific 1.2 million viewers, and the show became the network’s most-watched new series since 2020.
Episodes will finally be available on streaming because E! has confirmed the entirety of House of Villains Season 1 will be available on Peacock beginning February 19.
But hopefully, that window will shrink with House of Villains Season 2 because the series dominated the conversation on social media as new episodes rolled out.
House of Villains could be an even bigger success
The numbers would be far greater if it followed Bravo shows’ footsteps, with episodes made available on Peacock the day after their linear debuts.
House of Villains excelled by recruiting well-known villains from shows like 90 Day Fiance, Love is Blind, Survivor, and Vanderpump Rules.
Anfisa Arkhipchenko, Johnny Bananas, Shake Chatterjee, Jonny Fairplay, Bobby Lytes, Corinne Olympios, Omarosa, Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Jax Taylor, and Tanisha Thomas were in the cast.
The series put the 19 villains against each other in a series of challenges as they tried to outmaneuver one another to win a $200,000 cash prize and the distinction of being named “America’s Ultimate Supervillain.”
The format was a breath of fresh air, allowing for unique twists, villains going to war, and some special guests.
We had Abby Lee Miller, Danielle Staub, and many other recognizable faces along for competitions that brought a different energy to the show.
Tanisha Thomas emerged as the winner of House of Villains
After a season of scheming, Tanisha Thomas emerged as the victor. Still, her win wasn’t shocking because she was smart and cultivated connections with her fellow villains whenever she wasn’t in power, allowing her to slip under the radar often.
Now that House of Villains Season 2 has been confirmed, with the incomparable Joel McHale back as the host, it’s hard not to imagine who could be on the cast.
Filming is underway in February, too, so we shouldn’t wait long for new episodes.
Which reality TV villains should join the cast?
Monica Garcia from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City could be a good name because she’s the biggest villain to hit the small screen in recent months.
Jasmine Pineda from 90 Day Fiance would also be a good name to throw into the mix because she makes for excellent TV.
Big Ed Brown is another name who would thrive on the show, but something tells us he’s keeping all his eggs in the 90 Day Fiance basket as long as they’ll have him before branching out elsewhere.
Tom Sandoval could also be a possibility after emerging as the ultimate villain last year on Vanderpump Rules, but hey, maybe some of his fellow villains would call him a savior because there’s no way that show was getting renewed without Scandoval.
There are many possibilities, and we can’t wait to see what the producers come up with.
House of Villains is currently on hiatus but should return to E! later this year.