‘I’ve always likened it to Andy Warhol’s The Factory’: The surprising depths of the Real Housewives franchise

A long line snakes across the pink-carpeted floor as about a hundred people line up to take a split-second selfie with the four women from the series appearing today: Lisa Barlow (from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City), Ashley Darby (Potomac), Sutton Stracke (Beverly Hills), and Giselle Tank (New York).

Emily Buttevant, 32, told the BBC: “It’s not just my hobby, it’s my life.” Her friend, Rachel White, 32, explains that she watches about seven of the 40 different Real Housewives series currently filming in cities around the world, which often amounts to 20 52-minute-plus episodes per season: “It’s like a full-time show The whole action and we’re so committed! We love the realism of it, getting to know all the actors, and then obviously the drama – we’re addicted to it.

Elsewhere in the space, there’s a gallery hosting artifacts from some of the different editions of the series. A shiny pink facial roller, a plate of cookies, and a pair of leather pants are all encased in glass boxes, as if they were relics from Tutankhamun’s tomb. To a non-viewer, they won’t have any special meaning — they’re actually props from the show’s famous explosive scenes — but to the Real Housewives fanbase, the cultural context of these pieces makes them traditions: they’re Everything. Guests burst out laughing at the sight of the objects in real life, snapping photos on their phones and snapping photos to post on their social media.

To outsiders researching the Real Housewives phenomenon: its appeal may seem beyond comprehension. Critics have attacked the series as lowest-common-denominator television, with Gloria Steinem claiming that the series “Women are presented as rich, spoiled, dependent, and hateful to each other“, and New feminism Claiming that “the show undermines the great strides in women’s empowerment being made elsewhere in the public arena.”

Even more seriously, two separate lawsuits have been filed against Bravo, the US cable network that created the franchise, by former cast members. Caroline Manzo and Leah McSweeney Allegation of abuse. While both cases are still pending, Andy Cohen, executive producer of Bravo and Real Housewives, has denied all of the allegations. A Bravo spokesperson told the BBC they were unable to comment further due to ongoing litigation, but referred back to a previous statement of denial that included the following point: “We are always working to improve our policies and procedures including stricter guidelines on alcohol consumption.” “. “Guidance on when to intervene to keep cast and crew safe, increase psychological support, enhance workplace training, and requirements to provide cast and crew with a direct line to NBCUniversal to raise concerns.”

While legal complications continue – at the time of writing, The judge decides Whether McSweeney’s case will go to trial – It is debatable whether this will have an impact on the associations of Real Housewives fans around the world, for whom the franchise is more than just a TV show. Her fans include everyone from Rihanna (she The singer says: Her favorite obsessionafter her children). Tilda Swinton, Jon Hammand Michelle Obama.

The Real Housewives origin story

The franchise began nearly 20 years ago on Bravo in 2006 as The Real Housewives of Orange County, a reality TV show based on the popular drama of the time, Desperate Housewives. A year later, a show with the working title “The Mothers of Manhattan” – focusing on a similar group of older social women in New York – was placed under the same umbrella and became “The Real Housewives of New York City”, before a more spin-off run in Atlanta (2008). . New Jersey (2008) and Washington, D.C. (2009). There are currently 11 different US cities hosting the Real Housewives franchise, and 29 overseas versions – from Real Housewives of Athens to Melbourne, Dubai and Budapest.