Bravo's Era of Hypocrisy
On RHONY, Vanderpump Rules, and Bravo Fan Fest in Miami
It looks like Vanderpump Rules is going the way of The Real Housewives of New York. A full series reboot is coming with season 12, leaving the legacy cast on the unemployment line. This came as a shock to most Bravo viewers (though, are we surprised?) as opposed to the RHONY news: the latter suffered a slow death before season 14’s full reboot and even included a canceled RHONY: Legacy series and an extremely boring Ultimate Girls Trip season with some of the legacy cast.
I haven’t gauged how much fans are willing to embrace the VPR reboot versus RHONY, though, for my part, I’d rather cancel the show. Bravo is now in an era where they have the name-brand recognition of popular franchises from which they want to keep making money. I understand the impulse. But those shows also have to be good. And it seems that when it comes to these reboots, like with RHONY, “good” turns out to be relative, and fans are dismissed when they question the quality of a show.
Recently, Ubah Hassan told RHONY fans they’re “very hard to please.” Idk, you had Bravo fans claiming Dubai was fun this season. I don’t think they’re that hard to please. But when Salt Lake City, Orange County, Potomac, and Beverly Hills have stellar seasons this year, RHONY’s failures are even more glaring. Fans are complaining because they’re bored and the show isn’t great! If any other Housewives franchise had a season this messy, Bravo execs would listen to them (that’s why Potomac got a shake-up after last season). But Bravo is stuck between listening to fans and admitting that the reboot was ill-conceived or attempting to make fetch happen. I’ve already outlined what I think works about RHONY and what doesn’t.
This week’s episode of RHONY1 highlighted another problem with the series. Allowing its cast to create their narrative without any pushback. Erin Lichy used this week to share her story about an abortion she had when she was 18, in light of the attacks on Roe v. Wade. It’s a powerful moment when she shares her story with Jenna Lyons, who then shares her own abortion story. Both women were young and unable to raise a child at that time. Erin also speaks with Glamour magazine and then her father, who learns about Erin’s abortion for the first time on camera. It’s also, sadly, a conversation that occurred four months before Erin’s father died. I don’t want to detract from any of the raw honesty Erin shared on camera during this episode. But I also left it feeling like Bravo let her use this episode as PR instead of what we’ve come to expect from the franchise.
Erin is, or has been in the recent past, a Trump supporter.