Andy Cohen Weighs in on Fine Line Between Antics and ‘Reprehensible Behavior’ From Bravo Stars
Andy Cohen is a reality TV mastermind and one of the executive producers of The Real Housewives franchises. The Bravo personality used to be an executive at the network before giving himself his own show and becoming an icon himself. Being in the business for so long, Cohen is weighing in on Bravo stars who cross the line into “reprehensible behavior” territory.
Good TV or reprehensible behavior?
Bravo is going through a change after its shakeup on Vanderpump Rules last summer. The show fired four of its stars for racist actions as the Black Lives Matter movement took over the United States. As a cable network, the message was clear, they would not stand behind their “talent” that expose their bad behavior.
However, where is that line drawn between what makes a reality TV character entertaining for viewers and what is something that is not forgivable. After all, in the past, reality television had awarded the villains of shows. Cohen recently weighed in on this matter during an interview he did with Kate Aurthur for Variety.
“I think that we’re all figuring it out at the same time. And I think that people love watching outspoken, funny, shocking people on television,” Cohen said. “That’s been the backbone of Bravo, the people who are in it. Sometimes you love ’em and sometimes you love to hate ’em.”
The Watch What Happens Live host used Brandi Redmond from The Real Housewives of Dallas as an example. Redmond was called out on social media for mocking Asians in a video. Bravo didn’t fire the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader even after fan outcry.
“I think just as the line is always kind of moving in the world, we’re all testing the line and pushing the line,” Cohen added. “I’m especially proud that we were able on the Housewives of Dallas to watch Brandi figuring out what she did, and talking it out with the first Asian Housewife. I thought that was really effective. And more effective than saying, ‘Well, you’re gone.’ So I thought that was really interesting.”
Is ‘The Real Housewives’ concept fading?
Although not officially confirmed, there are talks that a spinoff of The Real Housewives is in the works for the Peacock streaming service. The premise of the show would have housewives from all the different franchises come together for a fabulous getaway was cameras film their moves.
The idea of having an All-Star cast really made fans exciting and social media has been rampant with their dream cast selections. It has been 15 years since The Real Housewives of Orange County made its debut on Bravo. The show has seen multiple spinoffs with different takes in cities across the United States. With the All-Stars concept, many would think the franchise might be grasping for air and Cohen said so himself back in 2016.
“You know what? We will do Real Housewives: All-Stars when the show is just about out of gas,” Cohen told Entertainment Tonigh at the time. “So right now we had our second highest season of Beverly Hills, New York’s highest ratings since 2012, and Orange County, last season had its highest-rated season in 10 seasons.”
Cohen was opposed to the idea of an All-Stars show and said it would only happen “at the end of the line.”
“We will, and I can’t wait to do it,” Cohen added. “But it’s going to be at the end of the line … We’ll do it at the end. It’s something that we don’t waste now. We want to save it for later.”
Could fans of The Real Housewives be seeing the end of the line of their favorite shows?
