‘RHONY’: Why Wouldn’t Jill Kargman Want to Join The Cast?
Writer/actress Jill Kargman seems like she would have been an obvious choice to join the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City.
Her Bravo scripted show, Odd Mom Out was a satirical commentary of high society parenting, which made her a ripe choice for producers. But she recently revealed she probably wouldn’t truly fit in with the cast. She dished on Out in the Wild podcast about why she never got into the Housewives franchise and which Housewives she’s met.
Kargman says that despite sending her children to exclusive private schools, she still tried to keep the family environment down to earth. That is one reason, among many to why she and Housewives simply weren’t a match.
She never watched the ‘Housewives’
Kargman said you “couldn’t pay her” to watch the Real Housewives. The podcast hosts were flummoxed because the world she described in Odd Mom Out was so RHONY. But Kargman insists her world and the RHONY world is different.
“This is going to sound really snobby but I’m gonna lay it out there,” she said. “The people on the shows they might be rich, and they might be in fact richer than Upper East Side people. But it’s just a different kind of refinement. Or lack thereof.”
“Especially in New York, these are not people who are, and I’m not —I don’t go to these clubs, I don’t care,” she continued. “But they would never get into the clubs. They would never get into proper schools. They’re not refined. So you can be loaded, and probably have way more money than these preppy, waspy people, I’m sure they have mansions and whatever. But whether it’s the plastic surgery or the lips that look like labia, or whatever. It’s just not a look that’s high fashion.”
She doesn’t love the fighting too
RHONY was originally supposed to be called Manhattan Moms. But Kargman pointed out no one would give producers actual access to the truly elite in the city. “I think there is a particular type of person in New York or anywhere and it’s usually like an old-line family, Mayflower thing. They believe that press is tacky. And you should only have your name in the paper at birth, marriage, and death. They don’t want exposure, they think it’s cheap.”
As far as watching the show, she just isn’t into the smackdowns notorious to the Housewives. “I just don’t want to watch people fighting,” Kargman said. “It’s just not my thing. I’d rather watch Mad Men or Game of Thrones.”
She’s met a few cast members, including Heather Dubrow from The Real Housewives of Orange County. Kargman was always partnered with a Housewife when she appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. She says every Housewife she’s met was nice. Plus, she met Aviva Drescher from RHONY too. “We share a mutual friend, Adam,” Kargman says. “And I like her too. Aviva said, ‘I know you don’t watch the show, but I want you to watch for me’ kind of thing. I couldn’t. I said I love you but I can’t do it.”
