‘The Real Housewives’: The One Characteristic You Must Have to Be Cast on the Show
The Real Housewives franchise is a staple in the world of reality television. Each of the women featured brings something different to the table. Without the eclectic mix of personalities, the show simply wouldn’t work.
Though the women may all have their different vices and ways of throwing shade, there are certain things that the producers look for when casting who they will bring on for the next season.
What is the most important characteristic for a housewife?
The show is only as good as the women on it. Because of this, the cast has to be not only endearing but also shocking, as well. No one wants to watch an hour of people being polite to one another and exchanging pleasantries.
“We cast very highly volatile, emotional, driven, opinionated women, and because of that, they go to town!” Andy Cohen once told Attitude. “And you sit down with them at the end of the season and they all have it out with each other… It’s really fun.”
So needless to say, if you are quiet, don’t feel like you can speak your mind, or would rather be led than lead, you probably won’t be making it onto a Real Housewives cast.
What other characteristics should you have?
The Real Housewives is not a serious show, therefore the women on the roster can’t be too serious either.
On an episode of Watch What Happens Live, Cohen described what he looks for in a new housewife.
“Someone who is willing to be open, live their life fully in front of the camera,” he said. “Someone with a point of view. Someone who has a sense of humor or at least, funny or humorous or different in some way. Someone who will fit in with the group and hopefully someone who knows people in the group and has a natural connection to them. They have something to say, they won’t be run over and will open their lives up to the camera and share something that we haven’t seen before.”
How has casting changed over the years?
The cast of the show has evolved over the years. In the beginning, most of the women were actually housewives, whereas now, there are cities where half the cast is unwed.
On the early seasons of the show, if you were unmarried, you had to at least aspire to marriage in order to become a housewife.
“If you remember back to season one of The Real Housewives of Orange County, Jo de la Rosa was dating Slade, she was single and it was her aspiration to be a housewife and that’s why she was on and she really wanted to be a housewife,” Cohen continued on the show. “And then Real Housewives of New York came second. Bethenny was single, but she very much wanted to be a housewife. So, I think that’s how that started.”
What’s the easiest way to get cast on the show?
If you really want to be cast on The Real Housewives, the best way to go about it is to befriend one of the current wives. That way you already have a connection to the women and production doesn’t have to work to create a storyline as to why you are hanging out with the cast.
Read more: ‘Real Housewives’: Are the Interviews Scripted?
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