The Real Housewives of Orange County Talk About New Season

OCRegister.com:

Get ready, Orange County. The Housewives are back.


The season 7 premiere of the county's best known, and perhaps most criticized, reality TV series airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday on Bravo.


When this show started in March 2006 as a documentary experiment "behind the gates" of Coto de Caza, hardly anyone expected that it would last seven seasons on television (an eternity) and inspire spinoffs from New York City to Atlanta to Beverly Hills.


The housewives themselves certainly didn't predict it.


"When we talked about it seven years ago, we were doing home video movies," said Vicki Gunvalson, the veteran and original housewife who's been involved longer than any cast member on any of the "Housewives" shows. "We had no idea it would last more than year or go to other states and cities."


Series creator and executive producer Scott Dunlop said the series occurred "at the right place and the right time, in terms of what Orange County was at that time and still is. Bravo did a good job in sensing that."


"I also believe that the Internet was a huge accelerant in allowing people to engage and converse about this program," he added. "What was kind of social experiment turned into a pop culture phenomenon."


And while many reality TV shows decrease in viewership over the years, "Real Housewives of Orange County" has been doing just the opposite. Season 6 of the series was the highest-rated to date among all key demographics, averaging 2.56 million total viewers per episode, and 1.9 million among adults 18-49.


Returning for season 7 are Gunvalson, Tamra Barney, Gretchen Rossi and Alexis Bellino. Peggy Tanous, the newest housewife from last year, will no longer be a permanent cast member, although we will see her on the first couple of episodes this season.


The brand-new housewife this season is Heather Dubrow of Newport Beach. With her brown hair and classic, East Coast sensibilities, she adds a different dynamic to this group of blond-haired, buxom, West Coast ladies.


So, without further ado, allow us to introduce "The Real Housewives of Orange County," season 7 edition.


HEATHER DUBROW


Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Dubrow grew up in Chappaqua, Westchester County. She attended Horace Greeley High School and Syracuse University, and moved to Southern California in her 20s. A singer and an actress, she performed with the Kent and Miller Orchestra at Disneyland and other Orange County venues. In her acting career, she had TV roles in "That's Life," "Stark Raving Mad," "Jenny" and "Life with Roger."


Dubrow, 43, has four children: twins Nicholas and Maximillia, 8; Katarina, 5; and Collete, 13 months old. She is married to successful Newport Beach plastic surgeon Terry Dubrow, 53, who's also been on TV before.


"With four kids, it's nutty," she said. "I love being with them. But it's a lot of work. They have lots of needs, and they're not always rational."


Dubrow was chosen to be the newest housewife while she was in the process of pitching another show – a reality program about trying to open a new restaurant in Orange County with her friends.


"I met with Evolution (the media company that produces "Real Housewives of Orange County"), and they said, 'Hey, we like your restaurant show; why don't you introduce it on this show, and see what happens with it?' "


While she had her reservations, she ultimately decided to go for it. "Life is about experiences, and if you don't try things, maybe you're going to miss something."