NYTimes.com:
AFTER five incarnations of “The Real Housewives” series, it’s safe to say that Andy Cohen knows his way around women. As senior vice president for original programming and development for Bravo and the host of the cable network’s self-referential “Watch What Happens Live,” he helps to stir the pot, overseeing the catfights, the marital meltdowns and even the fisticuffs that have become de rigueur among the ladies who lunch and feud in Orange County, New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey and Washington.
These days the ladies he’s lusting after are pure Southern California glitz. Beginning on Thursday night at 10 “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” will induct six new women into the franchise: Taylor Armstrong, a businesswoman who relies on facial fillers to keep her marriage to a venture capitalist intact; Camille Grammer, a former dancer — Club MTV, vintage 1988 — perhaps best known as the soon-to-be-ex of the actor Kelsey Grammer; Adrienne Maloof, part of a family dynasty that owns the Sacramento Kings, the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and the Maloof Money Cup, the world’s largest skateboarding competition; Kim and Kyle Richards, quarreling sisters, onetime child stars and aunts of Paris Hilton; and Lisa Vanderpump, a restaurant owner and, according to her husband, sex object. “Every time he wants sex, I object,” Ms. Vanderpump explains in her husky British purr.
“I love the franchise, and I love these women so much,” Mr. Cohen said recently, while driving to his weekend home in Sag Harbor on Long Island. His voice nearly beamed. “They all make me smile.”
In these excerpts from an interview with Kathryn Shattuck, Mr. Cohen talked about choosing the show’s newest locale, casting the right mix of housewives and perfecting the proper balance of tension and camaraderie.
Q. What’s new about “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”?
A. It’s about women who live in the most famous ZIP code in the world. They’re wealthy beyond anything we’ve seen before, and they’re pretty much all moms. Many of them are successful businesswomen, and they’re all friends.
To say that we’re going to do “The Housewives of Beverly Hills” is a daunting task because it almost seems too obvious. It’s such eye candy. It’s dazzling to look in these women’s homes. I wanted Beverly Hills to pass what I call the Jackie Collins test. We wanted the city and the housewives to be aspirational. We wanted other women to look at them and think, “I want that.”
Q. History has shown that the “Housewives” usually go in as friends and come out as something else entirely. Do the women know what they’re signing on for?
A. We cast women with very strong points of view and something to say, so I think it’s natural to go into this wondering how it’s going to go down. We cast women who are going to let us into their lives and let us into what they’re thinking and be unfiltered. We don’t cast women who are going to edit themselves.
It's a shame that an openly gay man is responsible for this trash and it's impact on society. Giving a platform to these women who are terrible examples for others to follow is part of the problem.
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