There’s a reason why the world is so obsessed with the Real Housewives Franchise. Bravo has clearly found a winning formula for an epic reality TV series.
For one, they always find beautiful and interesting cities with lots of character and charm to serve as the backdrop.
There’s also the rich and glamorous housewives chosen to represent each location. They are often not afraid to open up their lives for the world to see.
Mix in dramatic group dynamics and personal issues lurking in the background, and you’ve got lots of drama- and great TV.
One thing viewers may notice is that the network tries to find places that are diverse so that viewers get something different with each new franchise.
Whether it’s Atlanta, New York, Dallas, or Miami, all of the cities bring something different to the table.
You may have noticed, however, that while both Real Housewives of Orange County and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are both based in Southern California, they seem worlds apart.
Now, one Bravo Exec is telling us how they managed to make these two series feel so different.
Bravo exec talks RHOC and RHOB
The Daily Dish podcast recently featured the Vice President of Current Production at Bravo, Erica Forstadt.
She explained just how Beverly Hills and Orange County manage to feel so different, despite both being based in California.
“I mean, it’s like if we had The Real Housewives of New York City and it’s Manhattan and then you had The Real Housewives of Queens or Staten Island. It’s just that they’re far apart, you know?” Erica explained. “There’s a different vibe of Staten Island or Queens or Manhattan or Brooklyn.”
The Bravo VP continued, saying, “It’s in the same relation of Orange County, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and then even like, Manhattan Beach is different. You know, every area in California– which is a huge state- is different. Orange County is about a two-hour drive from Beverly Hills, at least.”
“I think that’s what makes these shows so interesting is seeing a different perspective on life and on how they move through it,” Erica added.
Bravo VP talks new season of RHOC
Erica Forstadt also dished about the new season of RHOC, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About four weeks into filming, the country went into lockdown, which forced the network to halt production on the show.
The team had to quickly find another option, and that’s exactly what they did.
“We had to stop filming Orange County midway through,” shares Forstadt.
“And what’s really interesting is we put down our cameras, but the women picked up their own cameras and started self filming, so we don’t miss a beat at all. We are following it through the entirety of pre-COVID, COVID, and where we are now.”
Season 15 of RHOC premiered last night, so viewers can tune in to see exactly what Erica described.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.