E922 - The Valley w/ Alex Baskin, Mormon Wives Preview, Golden Bach Reveal, Paradise & Making Reality TV

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Ever feel like the news is just arguments or nonstop tragedy? Plus, who has the time to keep up with it all? Well, I have a solution for you. Welcome, welcome to The Newsworthy.
In just 10 minutes a day, The Newsworthy keeps you in the know about everything from politics to tech to entertainment using its signature fast, fair, fun style. No wonder Harper's Bazaar, Fast Company, People

Magazine, and more have called The Newsworthy one of the best podcasts to stay news savvy.

Listen now by searching The Newsworthy in your podcast app or go to thenewsworthy.com. you're crazy what's going on everybody welcome back to another episode of the vile files reality recap edition i am your host nick and boy do we have an exciting episode for you today.
We went yesterday to Hulu's big showcase. I think it was called Get Real.
It was like Get Real, play on... Was it all reality television shows? Yeah, it was Hulu announcing the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives trailer just dropped yesterday.
Khloe Kardashian has a new show that they are producing. Robert Irwin is like the first contestant of the new Dancing with the Stars.
There's a lot of like announcements in the Hulu world. The Golden Bachelor.
The new Golden Bachelor was announced. He's a newbie.
He's a normie. Did they give you any info? Any background on this man? Yes.
He is a former Los Angeles Rams football player. Oh! He still resides in

LA, so any women who

might live in Fort Lauderdale

or something might want to

bounce on over to LA. It's a fun place

to go. Okay, drag Fort Lauderdale.

The inside T for the

Golden Bachelor is like, yeah, there

is an extra effort, and I think part of the

consideration of picking this new

Golden Bachelor, what's his name? Mel. Mel? What's his last name? Owens.
Robbins. Mel, Mel Owens.
Mel, Mel Owens. Let them.
Is that him residing in like a major city was a plus for them. It's just like, they're always hoping that they can introduce someone to someone and love happens.
And like, it's just maybe more likely that someone might relocate to a city like Los Angeles than like the middle of Indiana. No offense to Indiana.
Beautiful state. Beautiful state.
I'm from Wisconsin. You know, like maybe they don't want to move to Fond du Lac for love.
You know, you don't even know where that is. But it's like Joan and Chalk got like their apartment in New York City, you know? So it's like, yeah, I think having a golden bachelor who resides in LA will definitely be a lot easier to have a connection that lasts.
We showed up a little late to the event. We brought River.
You brought River? We did. How was River's first event? What was it our first event? Oh, excuse me.
We kind of like, did you feel like, are we bad parents? I felt like the Coachella mom. I kind of felt like the Coachella mom.
Was we the only one under? Oh, she's definitely the only baby. But to me it was like, we're showing everyone that you can like have a life and like bring your children.
Like children don't stop you from living your life. Like they join your life.
And that's what she did. They were passing out french fries and she was holding her little french fries eating her french fries.
She was walking

around like kind of going up to people. She was

living her best life. We were not bad at that.

We had to walk through some loud rooms but other than that

like she's just like the only baby there

I was like I was worried that people were

judging us. And then Jimmy Kimmel showed up.

Oh. Hello Jimmy.
He is the

host of Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel

on ABC which is

like part of the Hulu Disney family. said hi to Jimmy.
He recognized me, which was, you know. You're like, hey, old bud.
Hey, old bud. Got to meet Natalie.
He met River. River stuck her finger in his nose.
Oh. She said, this is for all those kids you stole that candy from.
He's great with the. You know, Jimmy, I think I've said this before, but like Jimmy Kimmel, when I was the bachelor, you know, you get obviously very cool opportunities.
You get to do all these interviews, Ellen, watch what happens live, Jimmy Kimmel, things like that. I got to do some other daytime shows.
And Evan was very nice, even Ellen to me. But Jimmy Kimmel, I got to meet a few times.
And like when I got to him, he was the only host that really took the time to try to give me advice.

So I had to do these promos.

I came in and me and Jimmy are filming these promos they would do with various bachelors.

And when we got done, he's like, all right, Nick, come here.

And he took my mic off.

He took his mic off.

He brought me into this closet, this little tiny room.

I was going to say this. This is going on in your role and i don't know who's telling you what but like you don't have to get married you know and thank god for that and it was just coming from a very sincere place of like hey i just want to make sure that sure that you're not caught up in this whole Hollywood thing or producers are like insisting you need to follow through with this.
At that point, I at that point, I kind of knew where our relationship wasn't going and was going. But it just felt like he was giving me real human advice and he cared about me as a person.
And like he's the only person who at his level who has ever done that. And I hope I get a chance to have him on the show and tell him that story.
It meant a lot. He gave me his email once when I came on the show.
A few times I emailed him, he always responded. He also loves, or loved, because it's no longer, Rations, the place my sister and her fiance, the restaurant, he went there all the time and loved it.
It was always just a very personable human on a human level and just very generous with his time. I always appreciated that about Jimmy Kimmel.
I love hearing stories like that. I box dyed my hair.
Did you? Love that. She did.
I box dyed it. I walked into the bathroom and Victoria Fuller and Natalie are in there and dye and like dyeing her hair.
And I was like, are you, what? And it's not purple. No.
It looks great. It's not.
I'm jealous. Actually, I'm like, I haven't box dyed my hair since I was maybe way too young to be getting a hold of a box dye.
Right. And I like kind of am obsessed.
Oh, box dyeing rocks. Like I haven't had the time to go to the salon.
We've been so busy. And my hair gets this reddish

tint to it. So I was like, I'm just

going to go find... I don't know what I'm doing,

but we'll see. I love a frugal wife.

I literally know.

I'm frugal. I love this story.
I'm frugal.

No, it's such a turn on.

And I box dyed it.

It's like, you turned

your hair green for me?

Literally.

It's not green, by the way.

It looks fantastic. It does.
It looks really great But honestly I didn't even care I was like honestly however it looks I love you Are we talking a CVS box dye Or a Sally's Beauty box dye No I did like the I ordered off Amazon I did like the Garnier something I don't know But period it worked And it like honestly, I feel like my hair is shinier and kind of fuller. It looks great.
Okay, box dye. It looks way better than George Clooney's.
Yeah. Have you guys seen George Clooney's new hair dye? Now, in his defense, he's doing it for a movie.
I feel like it just ruins George. That's not George.
No, it's not George. He could have worn a win.
He really made gray look beautiful. Well, the thing is, I think it's like for a movie, you can pull off.
It is for a movie, yeah. I think it's for like Broadway show.
So it's like he's doing it every night. And I think that's why he dyed it.
Okay. Yeah.
He's doing this for Broadway? Yeah. He must really love acting.
I mean, he's George Clooney. Yeah, I guess.
No, good for him, man. You know? Yeah.
He's not fighting with his wife, so he needs something to get people talking. Like not even one little just like, oh, you're annoying me.
You know, like not one. Do they even love each other? I feel like you can't.
Their whole thing is they're so in love. They're clearly lying.
They still have never had one argument. It just depends on.
Oh, for how many years? Your face annoys me today just because you've been here the whole day you know like sometimes married you know it's like i'm not even married and i've gotten mad for less like you're breathing in my space no literally almost 11 years what's the dumbest thing what what is the dumbest thing you've gotten mad at me for i love this the dumbest thing that i've gotten mad at you for i'm i like none of them are dumb. So it's hard for me to think about what's dumb because I felt validated in all of them.
Okay. For sure.
What's the dumbest thing you've gotten mad at me for? Well, let me see. Yes, it works.
Like you, I definitely feel justified and valid for my frustrations. Okay.
Yeah. But? Natalie thinks cooking is turning everything on high.
Oh. Efficient.
Yeah. Danny does this.
Get done much quicker. And then deciding what ingredients she needs.
Oh. You know? So you go burner on first and then you're like, okay're like Okay let me gather Maybe You're preheating the pan I don't recall She's just kind of Very demure She's very much winging it That's part cooking You know what the secret to cooking is? What? Winging it Knowing what Getting your ingredients out first Time, temperature, and preparation Like how much you cooking something for At what temperature does it need to be on And like do you have your ingredients ready before you start cooking this shit is this a known thing the ttp preparation is true though i imagine it is gotta brand it you know you just coin a new term i don't think so i'm pretty sure i haven't i mean i don't watch all a lot of cooking shows and i'm not like deep into like the cooking community but i imagine i'm not making this up natalie loves a little hibachi style that's all i try to grow up and throw it on after i do no she loves hibachi she likes take home honestly that's it it irritates me some of the things that she enjoys in terms of food honestly going out to eat with either of you is an absolutely difficult yeah usually could be like, you're like, Mexican? Do you want sushi? Do you want Italian? I'm supposed to go to dinner with Natalie.
How many times have you been out to dinner with us? Even New York. New York, I was sitting there and I was like, we went to a French restaurant and y'all got burgers and club sandwiches.
What do you mean we went to a French restaurant? We went to Petit Trois. The restaurant that we went to was a French restaurant.
It's an... No, hardly.
What do you mean hardly? There's escargot on the menu. Oh, I'm sorry.
I need to get escargot just because there's... There's like...
I got muscles. Muscles.
Fries. But it was just like...
Okay. It's a very American style menu.
100... Well, that's what I'm saying.
I'm like, if I go somewhere with you, I'm like, okay, don't say Italian. They have burgers.
They have like. They have French fries at a French restaurant.
Yeah, there you go. Steak frites.
I have a question. No.
Natalie, does it bother you when Nick like gets sick? He doesn't really get sick. And honestly, Nick does not complain when he's sick, which is really frustrating because I complain a lot.
And I would love for him to also complain so I could be like, well, you were complaining. But he does not.
The man has never complained once in his life, which is really shocking. I don't complain.
When he's sick, he's just like, oh, I'm just feeling a little achy. And I'm like, oh, I'm sorry.
Can I get you anything? He's like, no. I'm like, okay.
And then it'll get me sick and I'm like, ah! I'm dead! I'm like, are you okay? No! I think I'm dying! In fact, I don't think I've ever asked Natalie if she's okay and her go, yeah, I'm okay. Just a little under the weather.
Don't ask if you don't want to do it. Her immediate response is always, no! I need something.
It is. Are you okay? I'm like, no, I'm so thirsty.
Are you okay? No, my back is killing me. Surely.
I'd never heard her go, yeah, I'm pretty good right now. You're not like, why lie? He's asking.
Really? Do you want the truth or not? Yeah Sorry if you can't handle that

Sorry if you can't handle the truth

I know this story's been out for a minute

But Dylan Efron recently saved two women

From drowning in Miami

Which is so like

Dylan Efron

Right

He was probably going like cliff jumping

And people were just like

Swimming and drowning

And he was like

You know what

I am a lifeguard

But what

What people aren't talking about Is he was with his friends Brennan Who's Brennan? It's just like,

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just like, just like, just like, just like, just like, just like, you know what? I am a lifeguard. But what people aren't talking about is he was with his friends, Brennan.

Who's Brennan?

Just like hometown friend.

Just Brennan?

Yeah, just Brennan.

Normie.

And Sam Asghari.

And I'm just curious as to like, what were they doing?

I think one helped.

There were several people.

There was like a group of girls like in the ocean, like not being able to swim.

And Dylan went and got one, came back, went and got another brennan went with it was just sam piscari who was not a part of the oh sam did not help no it said so i just looked around there's no lifeguards around me and brennan just look at each other and we just sprinted out there so i swam in swam back for another girl like sam was doing push-ups maybe he was helping on the shore he was He's like, this is definitely going to be good for Instagram later. Well, the new trailer for season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is out.
It looks very juicy. Oh, it is juicy.
I can confirm. It's juicy.
I can't wait. I'm sorry.
These women give me life.

I've seen the whole thing.

Have you? I have.

Did you guys see any Mormon wives last night?

Well, we didn't see Jen.

I did not see Jen. I did not see Demi, but I saw the rest of them.
I saw Demi. You're looking great.

Looking great. Guys, this season

the poster is an

absolute banger.

First of all, let's just play the trailer. Can we play the trailer?

I think MomTalk's been a positive impact for the Mormon community. Okay.
Life has been a blur. MomTalk has become a nationwide trend.
I never imagined everything to blow up like this. But it's a double-edged sword.
You're opening up yourself and your family to all kinds of drama. Can I have a hug? You can have a handshake.
Where is everyone at? Whitney wants back in MomTalk. Everything feels kind of fake about it.
I'm trying to protect MomTalk. I don't feel like inviting the devil back in.
I think everybody just needs to get the freaking stick out of their ass. Anyone that comes in at this point is clout chasing.
What the hell? He's got Miranda. Oh, my God.
Miranda is Taylor's ex-best friend. I'm going to set the record straight on the swinging scandal.
Oopsies. It's going to get messy, for sure.
How is everything going with Dakota? Things are just getting worse. I do worry about Dakota's sobriety.
All I wanted is a family.

Things for Zach and I have been pretty rocky.

This is our marriage. This isn't a game.

I think this is going to be a little intense.

You announced we were

swingers to the whole universe. What'd you do?

No one had sex ever,

period. What the...

Who's lying to us? Hey! Don't touch my wife.

Oh, this is crazy. He's a psychopath.
The police are here. Mom talk is turning on each other left and right.
Things went down in Italy at Vanderpump Villa. She has a cease and desist to keep her from talking about it.
If she comes at me, I will absolutely dominate her. Oh, me too.
You're manipulative and you know it. I really think she needs to get over herself.
Let's go. It's to destroy the group as a whole.
Will you please cut the camera? I can't do this. The show must go on.
May 15th, everybody. Literally.
Wow. Thank God.
Can we just talk about this theme song remix? Yeah. It's great.
I need this blasting in my car. I'm into it.
Will mom talk survive is real the question.

I know that was like kind of a running joke last season, but like I think it's a legitimate question going into this season.

I mean, it's heightened.

The ending of season two.

Yeah.

No words.

No words.

Literally no words.

Sometimes I wonder how people like get over these kinds of fights.

Like in reality TV across the board

in general, like how people get through it. And it's like, yeah, we're good now.
It's like, how? That's what I, that's what's make these women so special and great TV. And I said as much, I saw Macy yesterday.
We saw most of them. And I was like, your lady's ability to just be completely honest about your feelings and spare you know no punches and then like be able to like come back the next day and just be like hey do you want to go get a soda is amazing but i was talking i think to one of one of the producers of the show but like what they kind of speculated is this like i think it comes from a place of like these women obviously are very most very, most of them religious and devout.
And there's a lot, you know, you gotta be honest, you know? And like, we are the beneficiaries of their honesty because like, you know, lying is not good. You know, which we all know that, but like- It's so toxic.
There's an extra layer of like, you know, pressure from their community just to keep it real i guess i don't know but it's it's it's it's a wild season the women are already seem to be fighting i was gonna say i saw some discourse happening on all of my uh even my bravo blogs crazy apparently jesse's like blocked demi i saw demi post that she said that her and taylor aren't in a good place i mean mean, it's crazy because I feel like Jesse and Demi were like the bestest of friends. Yeah.
Like genuine friends. And now they're blocked.
I mean, it's. And we have Miranda, who was an OG mom of mom talk, wasn't on season one, was a part of the swinging scandal with Taylor, is joining the cast.
I feel like with Miranda miranda we're we're getting the promise of the premise because i feel like like season one was great but i feel like i was expecting more swinging drama within and like and it was fine you really got to develop like all the girls and stuff but they weren't a part of it and now we're like oh, oh, there's some backstory here. I don't know what happened, but something happened.

And we get to see it.

Who's y'all's favorite?

I appreciate them all.

Ooh.

Yeah.

I appreciate them all.

They're all necessary.

They're all necessary.

They're all necessary.

How do you pick a favorite saint?

Truly.

Yeah.

How do you pick a favorite saint?

Exactly.

I do tend to side with the sinners.

Who do you think is the most underrated? Mikayla. Mikayla.
Mikayla, for sure. I think she's so funny.
Her soundbites? She's fast. She's fast, and she's funny, and she's witty.
Well, she's so demure, and so mindful. She's very demure, but she's ready.
I feel like she's been through so much. She'll also stab a bitch.
She's been through a lot. She's willing to say something.
Season one, we didn't really get to see it all. And then like post season one on TikTok, we're like, oh, OK, you're spicy, you're fiery.
And I feel like this season we're going to see like Michaela. Yeah.
She's the Angie Katsunevas of Morven Wives and that it takes a second. And she's.
I'll never forget when she came and sat at the desk here and she someone said, like, what do you think of Whitney or something? And she was like a bitch. Like real fast.
I didn't hesitate. No, yeah.
I'm going to say Whitney. I think Whitney might be my favorite as well.
Can I ask? I might be the most obsessed with Whitney. Yeah.
In a weird like. Justin just plays that video of her dancing.
Justin watches it all the time. I'm just kind of obsessed with it.
You know? She's shameless and I appreciate it. She's so shameless.
She's just able to keep coming back. She does not care.
The way that I would not be able to handle a whole group of women being mad at me. She's a consummate professional.
And then she just makes a TikTok like... Dancing.
Uh-huh. No, these are special women.
These are special women. Yeah.
Before we move on from Hulu land, can we talk about how Hannah Brown is joining Bachelor in Paradise? Yes.

I don't understand.

I say happy for... No, this is great

for Hannah Brown.

Great for Hannah.

For sure.

She's kind of

been quiet for a while.

Well, she left.

She got engaged.

She left LA

and then she bought a home

with her fiance

and then he moved out

because they shouldn't

live together

until they're married.

Oh, he did?

She's written a book

and then she's now

written a fictional book and And I mean, she, yeah. So for her to come back to paradise and kind of, it seems like she's hosting a champagne room.
She's the bartender of a champagne room. Like if you're, Wells is a friend.
You're very close with Wells and Sarah. Is this kind of a bit of a demotion? I don't think so.
I'm sure it's like share the wealth, but I just kind of feel like maybe Wells is going to be the daytime, everyday bartender. And then I feel like for maybe rose ceremonies or maybe one on the date situations, maybe she'll be hosting her own segment.
But do we need three hosts?

That's the question.

You know, like there's only so much airtime.

I mean, I personally wanted Wells to have Jesse's job.

So that's where I'm like, I don't know bringing in a third, how we're balancing the time.

Well, I guess it takes a lot of communication.

There is a lot of people.

We're also like bringing in the goldens.

So maybe they're like, we need some extra hands on deck for all these people i forgot about that dynamic yeah yeah maybe there are two bars which it's kind of interesting that they brought back hannah brown i love her but not like someone from golden to kind of give right like have an older person to help the older people and then like wells to help the younger younger. What's their big advice? Like to not marry someone from the franchise? Oh, they both.
Yeah. Three.
All three of them. Jesse.
Well, Jesse's never been a contestant on the show. What do you mean? He was the bachelor.
I'm sorry. He was the bachelor.
That was like a whole different like era of the bachelor. Yeah, he was like the third Still None of their hosts have success On the show This is fucking crazy Don't end up with any of these people That is kind of interesting They love a success story I feel like they could have gone Ashley and Jared You know They found And like had, like they found love on Paradise.
Yeah, Jade and Tanner. Like someone who.
Dean and, Dean and Kaylin. Well, I'm excited to see Hannah on the beach regardless.
And they're in Costa Rica. So like a new era, new location, new beach.
It'll be fun. Costa Rica.
I've heard good things. It's a very beautiful location.
I'm a little sad they're not going to that. That place was perfect for that show.
Right. The old beach.
Sayulita, Mexico. All right.
Well, up next, Alex Baskin, executive producer of The Valley and many other Bravo shows, is with us next to break down The Valley. It was a wild episode last night.
Dark, even. Before we bring Alex on, who are the people you care most about? Kristen.
Yeah, Kristen. Kristen, Michelle, and Jesse.
Michelle and Jesse for me. Give me more of them.
Honestly, I know everybody feels like it's so dark and toxic. Dark, yeah.
I was like, but I'm even Jackson and Brittany. You're protective over Jesse and Michelle? No, we want to get them onto you.
No, I was like, wait. Oh, I have misunderstood.
No, no, to see, like, when a scene comes on and they're in it, I'm hooked.

And when it ends, I'm like, go back to them.

That's too toxic for me, the Justin and Michelle.

I really enjoy Zach.

Zach, you know.

It doesn't scratch my itch, but.

I heard about the Canadian boyfriend that's moving in and them joking about you hauling and I was like, gotta see how this goes. He's great with one-liner.
Well, let's ask Alec. I kind of feel like Jax and Brittany, it feels a bit performative.
You think? I don't think so. No, I feel like they're both professionals.
I feel like Jax and Brittany do know how to curate a scene i don't think they're making up these scenes i do think these like are actual things that are happening in their lives but i do think they're good at like like jacks being like oh no fuck this i'm done i'm done filming i'm take the cameras away you know it's like that's performative that's embarrassing when you walk out and you come back in yeah i did wonder too if the reality of it all is that he wasn't expecting Britney to say certain things out loud while they were filming that scene. So that's where I'm like for him to react that way or be like, fuck this, I'm not filming.
That's why I was like, I feel like this is pretty raw for me. because I'm like, it reminded me of like Shay and all that stuff where it's just like getting your dirty laundry exposed and knowing that like 95% they are going to use this yeah but also like the phone call with the like person at the at the mental facility like that was weird okay hey brother how are you it's like is this your friend like who's calling you it was a weird this is not like a receptionist or a mental facility.
He's like, yeah, so that'd be like $30,000 for 30 days. Just do the 30 days, dude.
I think that's better than two 15 days. It was like are you selling him a Happy Meal? It was so weird.
It was kind of bizarre. When he kicked out Jason and Danny to have the phone call.
He's like, oh, phone call. Alright, you gotta gotta go.
Gotta go. Bye, guys.
See you later. Thanks for coming.
That'll be $30,000 for your mental health. That was weird.
It was weird. And then, yeah, the Jesse called to Sheena about his girlfriend, and in his phone it says Sheena Shea, and he's like, hey, Sheena, this is Jesse, Lolly, and Michelle.
We're sitting here together. It's like, are y'all friends or not? Like, why do you have to say that? Having them call Sheena made it feel a little staged.
Right. And Sheena's like, verbatim, yes, that is exactly what she said.
She even told me who, the guy from Baywatch. It was like, oh my God.
Well, no, she's like, do you want me to tell you? He's like, no. She's like, well, it was the guy from Baywatch.
She's like, you know, I know. So here's everything.
But what does it say about Jesse, who immediately, I don't, Allegedly. She's an assist, who knows.
Before you even meet this girl on TV he's immediately throwing her under the bus by calling Sheena his friend and having Sheena just platform a rumor about a person we've never met. Who is Sue Happy? Who is Sue Happy? But also he wants to move his daughter out to be with this person.
And she's got all of this stuff that you're just now finding out about her. This is the same woman who texted Michelle being like, I will sue you if you talk about me on this show.
Oh, you said Sue Happy. I was like, is that her name? Sue Happy? Who's Sue Happy? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage.
Sue Happy. Well, let's bring in Alex and we can get some of our burning questions answered.
Very excited to talk with him. And he is up next.
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slash V-I-A-L-L or enter code V-I-A-L-L. Beekeepers Naturals products are also available at target whole foods amazon cvs and walgreens alex welcome to the show thank you for having me very excited to have you i feel like this has been a long time coming it has been yeah it has been i'm excited uh i'm you know ready for the torture chamber all of it torture chamber no no no i feel like you're the secret keeper of bravo i mean course.
Exactly. Thank you.
Well, I just want to start by saying thank you for all the great TV you've made over the years. Oh, I appreciate it.
Yeah. No, thank you for your support of the shows.
Well, you know, it's mutually hopefully beneficial, but we've really enjoyed watching you make great TV. Can you just let our audience know, for those who don't know you, what is your role and what has been in your involvement with some of the shows that Bravo has put out over the years? Sure.
So currently, I run a production company and we make a bunch of shows, including The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Vanderpump Rules, The Valley, Kristen Cavallari's new series, Denise Richards' series, and then a few others that I can discuss soon. You are booked and busy.
Yeah, I'm trying. Some of our faves, to be honest, on Bravo.
Obviously, we want to get into The Valley with you. You know, we just watched the new episode last night.
Beverly Hills just ended. There's obviously been a lot of fallout with Garcelle's exit.
And then there's, you know, what's like recently Garcelle. Unfollowed Sutton's brands.
After what? What happened? Sutton put out like a. She's put out a statement essentially saying, and this is paraphrased, but like, you know, giving her her space, but like she still follows my brands.
And then Garcelle immediately unfollowed her brands. Followed the brands.
She's like, okay, well, thank you for. She's like, oh, thank you for reminding me.
For the sake of clarity. Yeah, yeah.
Do you know anything? I mean, I don't know what you can share, even if you do know things, but like one, were you surprised as we were that Garcelle did what she did at the reunion and then decided to leave the show? Or did you kind of see it coming? I wasn't surprised that she left the show after the reunion because I think it was clear that she felt a particular way and we respect that. And I thought she did it with class and grace.
And I thought she had a great five-year run on the show. And clearly to her, as she thought about what coming back would entail, she just didn't want to do it.
Sure. Okay.
Which I to to sort of some of the exits that linger over a couple years where a cast member will come back to the show um but not sort of be into it spiritually so i like the the you know the the clarity of it i liked how definitive she was about it oh that makes sense yeah when the production company and I'm sure there's a collaboration between you guys and Bravo, but when you end a season, what is the process that you guys go through of like deciding, you know, who do we want back? Who's a friend of versus a housewife? And then how do you guys scout for additional talent? We love bows, by the way. Great.
Excellent. Fine.
Just really fantastic. But yeah, how do you guys go through that process? Well, it really isn't scientific.
So we have a series of conversations and obviously we sort of have them through the season as well. But I would say that between kind of doing an assessment of the current group and then seeing what our casting yields, then we come do something of a consensus.
Casting is sort of a process that starts with asking the current group who's close to them, who they know. And by the way, they may actually share that with us.
They may withhold that from us. So it depends.
They have various reasons for that. So we take a look around and then have a bunch of conversations.
And it isn't casting for one thing or another. So it's sort of always say people think that we have archetypes in mind and we're looking for an X type.
We're really not. And people come in the form, you know, that they are.
So, you know, meaning that it might be nice to add someone who is married to the cast, especially, you know, this current group. Right.
But if you find someone who is single or is going through a divorce and they're a compelling person and they have real relationships with the group, then that's the direction you take. Interesting.
Do the ladies of the cast that's already cast, do they get a say in who comes in or can they push back if they're like, I don't get along with that person? Or is that something that would get that new person on quicker? Yeah, I think they end up realizing over time that ultimatums are a very bad idea. So they pretty much never work out well.
I think that we take into account what the obviously what the complexion of the group will be. And so we don't want to bring someone in merely for the sake of revisiting an old feud or something like that.
But they definitely do not get a say because I don't even think that you could assemble a show. If everybody got a say, got a vote, I don't know what you'd be left with.
That's so true. You mentioned Beverly Hills.
The cast was wildly single. And going into the season, I was just as a fan, really was hoping that we could see some of these women date.

And that really didn't seem to pan out this season. As a producer, do you have those kind of same wish lists and things like that, but ultimately you can't make these women date if they don't want to date? Are those conversations you tried to have with any of these women? and is it still possible that if most of the cast is this core group of women, like Dorit and Kyle and Sutton, you know, who remain single, like, are we going to see them get out there and try to live their lives? Because, yeah, like, I think sometimes when it's just the group of friends kind of talking and just living their lives without trying to, like, grow their lives, it gets, you're...
Well, we did see Sutton date last season. Briefly.
She kind of had some blind dates. Which was great.
I mean, it was nice to see her. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, I think you want to see a progression of story in their lives.
And I definitely think that you want to... You hope that they, in real life, move on from sort of the sadness of the on to what's next.
They weren't all there this past season. So they were, you know, in various stages of limbo.
And the one thing we would never want to do is fake as though they're dating. So we just don't do that.
We don't, you know, look for suitors for them. It's a, you know, not what we're there to do.
But I agree. I mean, I think you want to open up their lives as much as possible.
You don't want the show to become insularly about what's going on in the show itself. So it can't just be all about, you know, memes between Kyle and PK.
Right. So so definitely the hope is that that you see, you know, sort of everything that's going on in their lives.
And I do think, you know, the next frontier for them might be, all right, what do we do after the marriage is over? Do you have a favorite cast? Like over the years, has there been one that's been like, that was just hard to beat? Definitely. I mean, I think that when it's a really cohesive group and when they put it all out there and when they hold each other accountable and when they know even more than we do as production and they call each other out, but they do it because they're all in it together.
That is my favorite. Yeah.
You know, I mean, I'm often asked to, if I have a favorite cast member and I would say, you know, that varies daily. Yeah.
Depends on who is doing their job. Is there a Bravo show that you're not a part of that you maybe it's another Housewife franchise that you are a fan of or sometimes wish you got some of the energy that some of the other groups have? Yeah, I mean, I think there's two kinds of shows that I'm a fan of.
I think some are shows are just Marvel and how well made they are. And there's so many of those shows.
And so I've always thought Top Chef is really well-made and I can appreciate that as a viewer. I look at other shows that are in the docu-series genre and you'll see when Summer House has a great season and they're fully dialed in, then there are times where you watch a show like that.
He's like, why can't, why can't our cast just do that right now? And so it's, it's definitely the case. That's great.
And Denise in the wild things, fun, lots of fun, great comedy. Do you anticipate a season two? We hope so.
We're kind of figuring that out. Really enjoyed making it.
It's fun to make a half hour comedy. And the thing that I liked about it is it wasn't overly broad.
So it wasn't one of those set up family shows, which can be fun, but are stagey. I like the fact that, you know, they're very distinct people and they've obviously had a unique life.
I think, you know, seeing them sort of grow up over the years and not really knowing them, but seeing them sort of in the shadows, it's fun to see them now as young adults. And Denise is great.
Denise is just, you know, who she is. It was fun for me.
I went to the meal with Charlie Jean. So it helped kind of, you know, arrange for that to happen.
And I went to that. It's just, it's fascinating for me to watch as a viewer, which means, you know, I think the audience will feel that way too.

Sammy brought that back to my attention that that video, that audio, that interview of him, where he's like, if there are drugs, I will find them. It's Charlie Sheen.
And I'm like,

that is crazy that that is that same man sitting at the stable. She's like, if you want to know

why I am the way that I am, like, this is my father. It's crazy.

I explained to Natalie just like, at the stable she's like if you want to know why i am the way that i am like this is my father it's oh i had to explain to natalie just like you know the lore the yeah the lore you know just like the winning you know yeah no it's um he's lived many lives truly and now he has a great neck he does have a great neck well it's really funny and denise looking to camera then yeah was really funny see i'm also i it's funny um on on sort of looking to camera and breaking the fourth wall i have mixed feelings about it so i like it when it makes the show more real or there that's her expressing herself i do not like it on the shows i think when the cast is very self-conscious and when they're playing to the audience but i thought that moment was was really fun. It was very Denise.
And when her and Sammy are taking the Pilates class. Yes.
And they both kind of look at the camera and be like, well, we are filming or whatever they said. It was, yeah, that was endearing too.
Obviously, Vanderpump is iconic in everything that it was. Are you a part of the revamp? How are you feeling about it? Yeah, I mean, I'm excited about it.
The big thing that I keep emphasizing is we are not trying to do the thing that we did before. We're not trying to make the show that we did before.
You can't do that. It's very big shoes to fill.
And so we recognize when we announced it in the first place that we would be met with some skepticism because the audience hasn't yet had a chance to fall in love with the new group and the new show. But I think we're going to win people over.
So I think it's, you know, getting back to core principles. It's a very tight knit group, works together, lives together, does everything together.
And I think it's really fun. I think that, you know, it'll be all of the things that the audience loved about that show in the first place.
It'll be, you know, messy and just a fun ride. question i i have for you it's kind of like a meta question and as we kind of segue into the valley and kind of talk you know because like this episode was a little darker yeah heavy for sure we recently interviewed ali luber uh to talk about her experience with with with james i'd love to know if you just have any general thoughts on that whole situation.
But separately, it's interesting because we watch these shows, we cover it, break it down, dissect it, talk about these people with the acknowledgement. A lot of these people we haven't met yet.
It is a TV show. There are edits.
It's heightened stakes and things like that. But sometimes you are covering very heavy topics.
With the Valley, kids are involved and things like that. You know, we were recently talking about the secret lives of Mormon wives.
And the more we cover it, you know, it's like I have to recognize while we still are critical and critical of these people. But like, as fans fans it's a bit hypocritical for us to judge all these people while enjoying the very shows that we it's like we want the drama but then we have the nerve almost to like judge people for for really opening up and and sharing their lives with us and i guess my question to you is like, as a producer of these shows, how do you like when you're watching a scene, for example, like Jesse and Michelle, you know, like, is do you have like opinions as like a father or human being? And how do you separate that between like, well, hey, it's my job to let these things play out versus like, you know, because a lot of fans will make comments like this seems wrong or how do you let that happen? And we'll blame production for certain things.
Does that make sense? Like, how do you kind of work through that as a human being, as your job, as a father, and then at the same time, letting this play out and letting these people be who they want to be on camera? Yeah, it's hard. And I think that it's changed a little bit through the years because I just think as a society, I think that years ago, I think the idea was, well, we're just documenting what's happening.
And the idea was sort of to be more hands off that we look at it differently. Now, it can't be incumbent on us at all times just to run in if we, you know, suspect that someone might be better off if we, but I think there is a responsibility in certain situations, certainly not to heighten what is happening if there is a dangerous situation.
So we definitely intervene, you know, there. And obviously we do have personal feelings because I never want to be that anesthetized to this, that I watching a show that I'm making and feeling nothing or looking at it as though this is a scripted series.
It's people's real lives. So I think that on the one hand, it's a lot to reconcile, but I also think it isn't that hard to balance in the sense that whenever we think someone is in jeopardy or sort of needs our help, then we really are much more responsible than people might want to believe.

It is tough with the fandom.

I would say the fans do want it both ways.

And so if a show is light and fluffy, then the idea is, oh, well, there's more going

on.

It isn't really covered and they want blood.

And then when they see something that is very hard hitting, then on the other hand, either

they'll think it's too heavy or then it's somehow incumbent on us to make everything right in the world, which we just can't do. And it's not our job.
So it can be tough. It seems obvious that not just Bravo, but I think reality in general has recognized that they might need to be more involved in certain situations and make sure obviously everyone's safe.
But to me, it like again back to like the jesse and michelle scene last night i mean everyone's safe it's just two people who seem to hate each other uh and they're talking about their child in a way that makes you go you want to judge what they're doing and it's like then it's become like i'm i'm supporting us as a fan because i'm like oh my god give me more of this like when you guys cut away from Jesse and Michelle I'm like pissed I'm like no go back you know but I'm also like just feeling like disgusted at the same time in a weird like way then it's it's just kind of fascinating well sometimes like I will take flack if I say something like I think that the cast is brave for putting it all out there and people say well what do you mean brave they're being paid for it they're not a television show whatever I'm like no but I mean like that is a that's a lot to open up and a lot to share and you're opening yourself up to you know a lot of criticism so I do think that it can make for good entertainment to a point I also think that it's a balancing act for us and I think if an entire show is that heavy I think then you would want would want to look away at a certain point. Is there ever moments where you feel like you want to interfere, but you can't? For example, I know that you did the Britney and Jax spinoff.
So it's like you've watched Britney go through so much with Jax and then to fast forward 10 years or eight years and we're on the valley doing the same thing. Were there ever moments you like want to go in and be like, Brittany, what are you doing? But then you're like, also, this is my job.
Sometimes you do, but I also have learned that, um, you know, you really can't change the trajectory of someone's life. And so sometimes as we see in these shows, right? Like if you'll sense in certain instances that a marriage maybe isn't so strong, people in it might be fighting for it and they might think that they're better off and down the line they will learn, they will see and that's kind of just sort of what we're observing.
Right. Also, I mean, in the case of Brittany, I mean, she's been warned.
You know? Yeah, definitely. I feel like it just would be hard being like years in being like, still singing.
Can I help you? Yeah, like be a lifeline or something you know, but then it's also you can't really interfere with the story well not only that but again with britney it's like okay i'm gonna be the 15th person who's said are you sure you want to be with jacks or it's just like yeah she's made she's made her decision of where you know her life i kind of feel like yeah i mean i i don't i don't disagree so i don't think um you know sort of any of this is all that surprising. I mean, you know, it's funny.
Some of the responses when Jax did my podcast and people were like, oh, well, he's revealing this now. And I'm like, well, everyone might have thought that they knew that he had issues with drugs, but he wasn't at a point to talk about it.
And so there you go. Right.
And so so that's what I would say is that it all sort of happens in time. And I agree to your point.
Oftentimes a lot of people will have approached the person. Brittany had heard about that from a lot of people and she had to just go through this.
Yeah. She feels it herself.
That's so true. Back to the, the, the, the James, Ellie Luber, do you have any just general thoughts on like that, that story came out after you're done with Vanderpump, seemingly done with this cast? You obviously know these people intimately.
There are relationships. What was that story like for you? And do you, you know, did you connect with any of them? You know, obviously Lisa Vanderpump was involved, who you work closely with.
Like, what was your take on that situation? Look, I thought it was horrible on the whole for everybody involved. And so I'm glad at this point that Allie seems like she's in a really good place.
And hopefully James is taking care of himself. I don't know.
I was glad on the other hand that we weren't doing the series at that point because that would have been a really tough one to cover. So I think contrary to what people might think, you know, wasn't sort of thinking, oh, well, we should have cameras up.
You know, I thought it was a very dark, tough situation and mostly just wanted to make sure that everyone and obviously Ali in particular was safe. when Scandaval all happened and we picked back up cameras

when you got the call of like

this is what's happening. What was your reaction? I couldn't believe it.
So I was definitely was staggered by it. And I was, you know, one of the few who didn't believe.
I thought, you know, in spite of all the evidence that we had to the contrary, I didn't actually think that there was something going on between those two, between Tom and Rachel. And so I was, you know, floored by the fact that it happened and the way that it transpired.
And also the other thing is, at that point, Ariana had such a great resolve to tell the story. And I think we all were really worried about her because we thought her world could come crumbling down.
And it was just the opposite. So right away, you could see that she was drawing strength from this.
And so remarkable to be in the middle of it. And our instinct right away was we need to cover this in real time.
There was a little bit of pushback to that because the idea was, well, you're shooting the reunion again in three weeks. So, you know, why would you do that? There was, but, but what ultimately prevailed is we had a series of conversations.
We realized we can do this right now, you know? Yeah. That was a wild ride.
Those few weeks after that were extraordinary. Great.
So did, whenever that happened, we hadn't seen the season yet, but obviously we all knew how everything ended. Did you change kind of how the show was edited to kind of show us more of Tom and Rachel's interactions? Because it definitely like made people pay more attention to that, knowing how it all ended that.
Well, we didn't. So much of the show was locked.
So I want to say the first, I don't remember this, but it was like seven episodes, I want to say, were already locked. And so we definitely, look, we couldn't ignore what we knew was coming with future episodes, but it wasn't as radical as people might think.
And we also, the other thing is, we had already keyed in on this as story. We just didn't know what the outcome was.
It wasn't like we went back and radically changed what we were doing. But clearly, if you're picking interview bites going forward, right? And someone says, and you know where you're going to end, then you're more likely to use a bite from someone saying, you know, I am very suspicious of this, right? As opposed to someone saying there's no way there's something happening.
I mean, right, right. That makes sense.
Well, let's just get into the valley. Obviously, last night's episode was very much heavily centered around Jax and Brittany and him going to get this treatment.
My big question, and I've kind of teased in the past

with Bravo in general, I call it like TV therapy. How does that work? How do you guys balance and make TV around topics like this? And you bring in treatment centers and these phone calls and things like that.
How are you guys able to do that in an authentic way? Yeah, I mean, so this unfolded the first week of production.

I mean, we were just getting started. It was like, you know, God, couldn't we just ease into this? But the world doesn't comply.
And really, the first order of business was Jax was going to go and do this. And so we were planning on covering it,

you know, however we needed to, it was all sort of happening in real time. And so it was honestly on him and on the people around him much more than us because they were arranging for him to do this.
They figured out, you know, sort of which facility he would go into. And then we were kind of picking it up from there.
I've been very critical of Jax over the years of watching the show, because it's just like as someone who mostly knows him through TV, he seems like a low character person. I mean, he just does.
You know him way more intimately, you know, just the way he's able to talk to Britney. His line of when Kristen was like, you've've called her fat and he was like i've never called her fat i like women that look like her it was like what the fuck yeah it's like it's just it's yeah it's there's just like this i mean decades of of of content centered around this guy being terrible to his women partners gaslighting his friends.
Again, what is your relationship with him? And is it just more like, yeah, I mean, he is who he is and you try not to have judgment for someone who, whatever I think of him as a person, he's still very much a star of the show. What is that relationship you have with Jax Taylor? Well, I think in that case, look, he's so integrated into the group.
And so also you're telling Britney's story and Britney's, it's part of Britney's story. So it isn't like the show is sort of, you know, forcing this to happen.
We're just picking up what's really going on. Yeah, I mean, definitely, you know, to your question, do we as producers have certain judgments or have certain thoughts? I think we do and we should.
I think it's up to us to be fair. So even if we feel a certain way about something, we want to equally wait, you know, both sides.
And then the audience can sort of watch and pick it up. It doesn't mean we're, you know, giving equal validity to it.
But I think that Jax expresses himself in this. I think people are free to, you know, sort of make whatever judgment they want.
And so, you know, with the Valley, not only is Jax Brittany's husband, but also, as you can see, the rest of the group is very much involved in what goes on between them. And so we're just, we're really covering it.
It's a hard, heavy thing to cover, but we'd be remiss if we weren't telling really the central story, not just to his life, but to hers. Outside of Jackson Brittany's storyline, is there a particular storyline that you are excited for the audience to learn more about as this season kind of unpacks? Yeah, I think there's a few of them.
I think that what works out really well with the valley is that it's a big cast and i think the story is constantly developing and so i don't think you end up on the hamster wheel too much there is heavy story it's all right there in front of us um and the other thing i would say is that um in that show the story develops on camera So it's not we're not picking things up after the fact. So you see Jax go to rehab.
We don't hear about it. It's not a conversation after.
So I think that's compelling. But really, to me, it's that there's a lot of story that is constantly developing.
And I sort of think in that show, everyone pulls their weight.

Do you ever notice people self-producing in ways that you find irritating? All the time. What's the most irritating? Oh, it's so annoying.
Well, I think sometimes people fight the idea that we cast them on the show to be themselves. I always say, in someone's first season on a show, you want them to be who they really are.
And the second season and beyond, you want them to be who they used to be because the feedback necessarily changes who they are. So that can be really annoying.
And sometimes, you know, I think that you're making a show with a bunch of Reddit threads that are clashing into each other. And that's really annoying.
So, yeah, it's very annoying. But I understand it's also human nature when you get really strong feedback in different directions you know how can you just um tune that out it's hard have everyone been like cut uh no try again sometimes we do that yeah i mean sometimes we will say um you know it's fine even if we don't like what someone's saying that's okay as long as it's authentically what they you know who they are and what they want to say but there are times when like you can't really believe what you're saying right now this is total bullshit let's be honest i am you know i'm curious to ask your question as a producer and you and i've had this conversation long ago offline bravo obviously housewives the franchise has been around for 15 i don't know how many 20 years 20 years i feel like at this point when bravo really started it the zeitgeist of pop culture tv is different how we consume things are different podcasts didn't even exist when this show started you know the way fans cover these shows 10 15 years ago bravo really was able to kind of control it's like all right we're going to film these group of people for a period of time we'll edit it we'll put on ice for a while.
Then it will play. Then we'll have a reunion.
Then we'll start to pick up cameras again. And now very much like part of reality TV, our shows like The Vile Files and other shows and bloggers and people online talking about it.
You have cast members having their own shows and podcasts talking about what's going on, their opinion. And I know networks, for example, they want to control it.
They want to keep it in-house. It's harder to do.
And I'm just more for, I'm always trying to encourage the networks and production companies to embrace the conversations that are out there and just let this show live outside of itself and just continue to adapt. Because in my experience, the best producers are the ones who are able to adapt.
They really, you know, just let, let this, let this world play out however it plays out. If it wants to play out online, great.
But like, it's, it's just more content rather than trying to pretend like the world outside of filming doesn't exist, which I feel like was easier for you guys to do 10 years ago. How do you kind of see that as a producer of these shows? Yeah, I completely agree.
I think that we have to embrace the ecosystem. I think that we can't control the world and we shouldn't try to do it.
I think we definitely benefit from the constant conversation about the shows. So I think it's super important to the show's popularity.
And look, a show is in trouble if no one is talking about it. Right.
And so I think we have to know that. On the other hand, I think the thing that can be frustrating is I think when the outside world overtakes what the show might be about, I think that's an issue and there's nothing more annoying.
And Housewives, for example, when you have this convoluted storyline that is just about dueling appearances on podcasts or just things that people don't really care about and you're explaining these teeny tiny things that aren't really about their relationship to each other. I think that can be, you know, kind of annoying.
And I think you don't want, you know, the people that you're following on the shows just to turn into creatures who just hop between podcasts and say shady things about each other. So that's really annoying.
I think you want to filter that out. But I completely agree.
We have had to adapt and evolve. And I'm grateful.
I think part of the reason that I have shows that have been on for a long time is we've managed to evolve the shows on their own. So even the definition of what a housewife is, I don't even know exactly what it is in the best possible sense.
And then on the other hand, we benefit from the fact that there is a super passionate community that is constantly talking about the shows. It's really important to us.
Sheena made a quick cameo last night via a phone call. I think there's been speculation that Lala and Schwartz might show up.
How did those conversations happen? And how do you balance leveraging the celebrity that these characters have built through the years of the success of Vanderpump, but at the same time asking, do we need them? Do they help add to the story? Or is it more like, Sheena needs a paycheck, so we're going to bring her on and things like that? Well, we definitely felt heading into the second season that we wanted to bring back the entire group from the first season. We were overstuffed anyway.
And so there were a lot of rumors that we were bringing on some of the Vanderpump cast to be full time. And I shut those down.
It was not happening. But at the same time, they are a part of that friend group.
So it makes sense to see them. And frankly, it would be sort of inauthentic if you didn't see them because you would be leaving them out solely because that would be a creative decision that you were making.
Going forward, who knows? I think a lot of things are possible. Again, I still think it's a really strong cast, and it's voluminous already, but we'll see.
I think it's possible that we open it up a little bit. But I like the fact that between the first and second season, we just ran it back with the same group.
Is there a character in the Valley that we might, over the course of this season, form a different opinion of them prior to the one we had from season one? I actually think it's possible for a few of them. So I think it's very early yet because we're in the second episode out

of 15 and then we have to shoot the reunion. So God help us all.
It'll be a very long day.

But yeah, I think so. I think that just like nobody had on their bingo card that Jesse and

Kristen would become friends. I think the audience may find that they feel differently about a few

of the cast members through the season. And again, I think that's the thing that's fun about it is I think that it's constantly evolving.
Who are you most fascinated with in this particular cast? I think it's a very strong group on the whole. I'm really interested in growth.
And so I think Brittany has a strong season because I think she asserts herself in a way that she never has. So I find that super compelling as someone who has known her personally for all these years and sort of made, you know, the shows with her.
I think same thing with Kristen, you know, and I think she's in a very different place. So it sort of changes for me based on what's happening.
But I love seeing someone turn into a different version of themselves and in an unstudied way. Jumping to Housewives of Orange County.
Are y'all still filming or have you wrapped filming? We're still filming. Wow.
Damn. I feel like that's a long time, no? Or do I just not have my timeline right? It's normal.
It just feels very long to me. Okay, okay.
Anything you can tease or share with us. We had Tamra being like, I'm done, I'm quitting, and then...
I'm back a day later? Yeah, that's how long the season is. It's like, yeah, no.
He was ready to be done. It's strong.
It's strong. I just looked at the first cut of the first episode of 1901.
It's really good. And it's funny because I didn't even very much know what is happening, but I sort of watched it fresh because it's been such a long season.
So I'm excited about it. And I think it'll be a very eventful end of the season as well.
And I have no idea what's going to happen. It's exciting.
Yeah. It's really exciting.
Can you shed any light on the rumors of Debbie Metinopoulos talking about possibly joining the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Yeah, I mean, I will say this.
We have not yet made any decisions on what we're doing. So I sort of, you know, as much as anyone eagerly read those.
And that's, you know, it's like, oh, yeah, I'm like, it's good to know. Can I go home now? You know, so do you ever like I mean, there's always a lot of fan speculation lot of fan speculation blogs rumors ideas do you guys ever like get ideas from from fans where they go oh actually should we look into that person or or should we bring back lisa renna you know stuff like that i mean open to it because i but but typically they're ideas that we would have thought of i mean especially if it comes to bringing someone bringing someone back, it's like, you know, then, you know, obviously we're aware that that might be an option.
But yeah, I mean, every once in a while, someone will have, you know, a great idea. Just like every once in a while, you'll read a tagline and I'm like, but you nailed it.
Do you ever see something online with your cast members outside of filming where you do wish like you were filming? like for example recently kyle and teddy were out walking the streets of beverly hills and and seemed to get in a a dispute with a dog walking lady without any audio that we all saw we all saw it but like we all want to know no one had mics on what happened what went down and like like are you watching it like this like like us being like oh fuck well it was so funny so kyle sent me that video right as it as it happened um and i wrote back to her give that lady a diamond um but um but yeah no that happens all the time but but you kind of accept at this point that um you're just not going to be able to catch everything um we used to feel that way about vanderpump because there was so much turmoil in that group that like the minute that you put down cameras you were missing story but what are you gonna do yeah that had to have been like frustrating for so long and then at some point you're like god i just got to give it up yeah you just you submit yourself to it it's like at that point we're doing 20 episodes do you have i mean do you guys ever have conversation like for example love island is a show that is like essentially almost live. You know, the turnaround is insane.
Insane. The way technology is going, AI, the world's just more fast paced news is old so fast.
Do you ever see a world where, you know, production companies like yours, Bravo in general, it's more like Truman Show in real time, like do-series and getting content out there is that something like you wish the technology was available to you or are you almost like like like we're too much is changing too fast it's a great question um i i think that a sort of faster intake um would be great in certain circumstances obviously the kardashians did it because you know, the previous iteration of their show felt like old news when you were watching it because you had already consumed. So much happens with them.
You already consumed the story. They're just so out there in the public and they're being covered constantly.
Totally. So I think it's a little bit different when the stories aren't already out there, but I do think that sometimes I think we could increase our metabolism.
And look, for me, that would mean fewer notes. So I'm OK with that.
All right. You mentioned Kyle texted you.
There's a narrative out there that Kyle kind of calls the shots on Beverly Hills. Would you say that's accurate or would you say that's just complete? Like she's just been there.
She knows her thing and people are just making that up. It's so funny because I always laugh at that.
It's like the idea that any one person on the shows

could call their shots.

Like I just was having a conversation

with someone recently,

a prospective cast member of Beverly Hills.

And she was saying that someone is like,

you know, someone high profile was like,

well, I get an EP credit on the show.

And I was like, that is such a laugh

because nobody gets a credit.

Nobody has any say whatsoever. And so it isn't true.
Also, I feel like you wouldn't want to as a housewife. Like, then it just makes you look like you're too in it.
You know, it's like if you have a producer credit, it's like. Well, Vicki Gundelson is still very upset that she does not have editing rights.
And she very much thinks she deserves it. Yes, she does that on only if she is a producer on the show because she credits herself for the entire success of it.
Well, I think when she launches Woohoo Productions, I think she can produce her own shows. But yeah, I mean, no, and it would be impossible in a show like that for anyone in it to have that sort of power.
You couldn't make it. And look, there's been plenty of things that Kyle hasn't loved in the show.
True. Yeah.
I'm just asking for a friend. What requirements does it take for somebody to get on a Housewives series, like for them to be considered? Well, I think it's sort of a bunch of different qualities.
Obviously, you're looking for someone who makes sense within that group. And so the more connected they are the better and i think someone who captures your imagination so someone has who has a different point of view someone who is you know unafraid to express that point of view i think someone who um you know i always say sort of um both fits in and stands out you know that kind of thing and so and at this point we're attracted to originals.
So I think if you watch someone in casting and it feels like you've already seen them before in some way, you're less attracted to them. Yeah.
Just taking notes. Is Katie on the next season of Orange County? Did she get brought back? Katie's on the season.
Katie is. Okay.
I felt like she honestly was a good cast. I felt like she was bringing the outside interaction she had with Heather and bringing him to the show and not afraid to bring the rumors.
I felt like she was a pretty good cast. It was a good group.
It was a good season. That show's had a couple strong seasons in a row.
Is Alexis back? Alexis is not on this season. I thought that and I'm curious because she was such a big part of last season and such a big part of the storyline between her and Shannon.
And it makes a lot of sense why she's not back given that relationship and the importance of Shannon, at least right now to the show. But as a producer of a show that relied so heavily on one character and a storyline, yeah, is that something you go into a season a little nervous, uh, about and yeah.
How do you, you know, make those difficult decisions? Yeah. I mean, at that point, to your point, it wouldn't really have made sense because, and I don't know that there was anywhere to go from there and, you know, I mean, what are they going to get together and throw her a bridal shower? I mean, you know, so.

But I think everyone has to step up and fill that void.

And then we were excited to have Gretchen back. And so, you know, that felt like we also were injecting something, you know, that's both new into the group, but then also makes sense and has a history with the group.

So I don't mind that.

I don't think that the formula of a previous season is necessarily the same for the next season. Awesome.
I feel like we could pick your brain all day long. Yeah, literally.
I'm like, so you're saying there's a chance. Anything you want to leave us with before we let you go? I don't think so.
I would say the other project that I'm excited about is the Kristen Cavallari series for E! So is that her podcast tour? Is that what it is? Yeah, exactly. Okay, okay.
I saw her post about that. Yeah, it's a fun blend of the podcast itself and then also the tour.
Okay. I heard her say she kind of, I don't know if she said regretted, but I think about showing her children in the first very Cavallari that she did.
Is her family life a little bit more involved in this show that you're

doing? It is. It was a show that we shot very quickly because the tour obviously was super

compressed. So you see some of her kids as she's getting ready for the tour.
And it's great to say

it's fun to see her as a mom. Yeah.
And it's cool. She's obviously such a pro at this and so open

that it's fun to see her both, you know,

when she's sort of performing and doing the podcast itself and then also just kind of,

you know, hanging out and letting loose.

How fast did that come together?

Really fast because it's great when you need an answer on a project because you're chasing,

you know, a deadline.

And so that was a we were picked up in January and the tour was in March and then it airs in June. Amazing.
Yeah. It's wild.
Well, Alex, this has been a ton of fun. Please come back.
Hopefully we weren't too hard on you. No, not at all.
Thanks for having me. Yeah.
It's again, thanks again for making such great TV and giving us some insight on, on the shows that we love watching and excited to see these new projects and excited to see the Valley continue to unfold. It seems like a really good season.
I'm very locked in and just great to talk with you. I appreciate it.
Thanks, guys. Thank you.
Alex Baskin, everybody. Always fun to talk to the creators of these shows.
Honestly, that's so cool and exciting for me. That's my nerd kink.
I'm like,

oh my god, tell me more.

But also, it's just nice to hear from them

because I think when it comes to these types of shows,

there's always so much interest and speculation

and I always say

specifically a batch

of producers, people talk about producers

as if they're these kind of mythical

people you never really

see and they act like it's three wizardsards in a tower like manipulating you know like puppet masters and it's like these are people with jobs they're like creative jobs and like you just kind of hear them talk it's just like it's you know it's a very unique job like for example like watching the valley back or just watching mormon housewives like we do have to recognize as fans like we enjoy the drama the toxicity like i you know it's like it's how much can you i mean we do judge like you know what i'm saying like when jesse and michelle are having this conversation you know like it's hard not to judge two people who seem to be like inserting their child into their drama.

Jesse saying he wants to prioritize his career, like his professional life, his single dad life and his private life.

It was like, isn't your private life in your single dad life?

Okay.

And why does he talk like he still expects Michelle to like like care about his like loneliness so toxic though because michelle's like you always cry like you want to make me look cold i know that was crazy like this this is a lot of like fighting that like it was like she knows him so well to know that like oh these cameras are up and you're crying because you know that like that's gonna like win people over and i'm gonna look like this cold bitch. And then he calls Sheena to like have someone out that she was hooking up with the Baywatch guy or kissing him and it's like this is tit for tat but is it working for anyone like Jesse never comes across like a good guy.
Well that's what even my boyfriend's back in town so we rewatched the first episode going into the second episode and it's just like even the apology to Kristen. It's like, would that have happened if we're not going through this divorce and trying to win sides? Well, when he, you know, the schedule, he's like, this is the new schedule, and this is what you're, excuse me? And he's like, and then you're gonna drop her off to the nanny, and she's like, what nanny? And he's like, it doesn't matter.
And it's like, it's my child is gonna be picked up by this person. bad dad like i don't care who takes care of my kid when i'm not as long as she's not with you it's also just giving like a toxic divorce because i will say that's very realistic communication the way that they're doing it on camera oh yeah i mean again in which again yeah i like i'm you know it's hard it's hard to sit there and say to judge i you know it's like it's a it fascinating thing.
To your original point, like it's like I feel like I enjoy reality TV so much because I do feel like it's like psychology 101. There's a bunch of situations that are in people's real lives that I may never experience, hopefully will never experience.
But seeing how people handle it and it's like you think to yourself like, oh, I would do this so differently. Or like, I can't believe they're doing this with cameras there.
But it's just like just like no this is their real lives and how they're reacting to things and not everybody has a great on-camera reaction there were two moments where i empathize with jacks and jesse yeah and it was centered around the same topic uh there was a scene where michelle was facetiming her boyfriend to her daughter and she goes i love you yeah i don't know how long long they've been dating. I understand that when you get a divorce and you date and certainly you want people to care for your children.
I never want to think about Nally and I not working out, but it's not like you want your child to be around someone who hates them, but it sure felt a little icky almost to have this strange man man who like may or may not be in michelle's future two years from now they just started dating who knows to like be saying i love you to this if i'm jesse i'm like what are you fucking kidding me like that would be so hurtful and despite like you know me having almost no empathy or understanding for jacks taylor when he was like you're sending pictures of my kid to some guy you're dating would make me uncomfortable. Like, you know, like, and maybe that is a territorial thing.
You know, like I, I feel incredibly blessed and grateful. Like when I watch these shows, it's just like, I'm so grateful of what we have.
And it just makes me be like, just know more and more like determined to like make sure we protect our relationship or you know it's just like I'm so grateful to not be going through what they're going through and I have so much empathy for parents who go through divorce and the children who go through it because like watching the show it just like it's such a sad situation you know it is but I'm like that's what I do appreciate about it where i'm like a lot of people are like oh it's really sad or it's really depressing it's dark to watch but i'm like no this is like real life and this is like the age group in which some relationships aren't working out i could watch honestly i the whole episode could have been jesse and michelle and i i would have watched side note there's a show called couples therapy and it's very very interesting to watch you know and and you know jasmine uh my my former act no you know you really you jasmine uh who was on my season of the bachelor who made an exit by choking me you really knew in that moment she was more meant for bravo than for abc disney but who wouldn't i didn't realize that she was auditioning for the Valley way back when. I will say the Brittany finding the thong with the baby wipe on it looked unhinged.
It looked placed. Oh, for sure.
It looked like Jack's was like, oh, Brittany's coming over. Maybe she left her thong, but the baby like I'm trying to think of like my actions

and I'm not sure

where those would fall

you know

I don't know how the baby wipe

is on top of the panties

you have a point

you're hiding the evidence

you're throwing the baby wipe away

literally

why are you leaving

the baby wipe on the counter

then again

I did see Jax

pour a big gulp into a like Stanley or something and then put the empty Big Gulp plastic cup in the sink. In the sink.
It was like, okay. Yeah.
I guess. It's tit for tat because then Jax invited her over to stay in the house because he found the photos on Brittany's iPad or whatever it was.
So it's like it's couples literally just tit for tatting. Yeah.
I have kind of a hard time with the Valley. And I think it's like, maybe it's my own like emotional immaturity of just, it's a completely different point in my life where like, it's like to watch Vanderpump, like Vanderpump hits me way harder.
Cause I'm like, these are my people. Southern hospitality.
Southern hospitality. Like that works for me.
But like the Southern, like Southern charm still works for me because they are in they are peter pans but i think the valley it's like i'm just it's just kind of mind you know what you're probably watching and i don't know maybe this is like i'm watching in fear i don't know but like when i was your age when you see things like jesse and michelle fighting over a divorce you think that will never happen to me you know there's so many like adult things that when you're younger you just assume that shit's not going to happen to me i'm not going to cheat i'm not going to get cheated on yeah i would never do that with my partner and if we got divorced and like yeah you're and i'm watching it like thinking we're i'm so lucky to not have to be in this position and thank god like and and then it like warns delicate These things can be Well this is no one plans for divorce No one's going into a marriage Being like well this is definitely going to end Especially when it's not something that's prevalent In your life though you just can't relate Because that reminds me when I was younger I would watch the OC and then I would fast forward Through the adult scenes Because I was like I don't give a shit and now when i watch it it's like i relate to them so hard i'm like oh my god no she just tears she just yeah it's like annoying mom let's get to the teens you know that made me think about your comment i was last night and i don't know if this was like a um high thought it probably was can we have more of these sorry but i was in the line at chipotle Great start Literally And it really I had like a moment

I had like a moment i had like um and maybe i don't know but like chipotle it's a what i love about the line not chipotle the line of chipotle you had a thought about the line organization i have a lot of feelings about line organization no i was grateful i was grateful for the line at Chipotle. It is an incredibly diverse line.
And I don't like, diverse in so many ways, but age diverse. You know, and I got there and I'm in line and I saw different people at different stages in their life.
All getting the same. And it reminded me of like when I was in college going to Chipotle.
And I saw two girls who were in a study group.

And then I saw some other...

It's like, this guy, he's here because this is all he can afford.

And this person...

And I was looking at everyone in line trying to figure out the stage of their life of Chipotle

because it really is inclusive.

Meanwhile, I'm at home bathing our daughter.

The way we are the world is playing in the background of my mind as he's telling this story yeah i was just like wow it really it really just like it made me like reflect on like i honestly like the various i mean i've reinvented myself in so many ways and just it really reminded me of just the different stages of my life when i was in line at chipotle and i'm still going in line at chipotle at a different stage of my life being like i remember that stage of life and i remember that stage of life and it was like thank you chipotle for this like reflection that's actually really beautiful thank you yeah thank you marijuana you have to go the next step down perceive yourself standing in the chipotle while someone else is thinking of you as a stage of life. There you go.
Crazy. But anyway, yeah, that's why the valley isn't hitting for me.
Well, it is for me. Can we talk about Meredith real fast? Yeah.
What is going on? Mary's been tracking this. There's a lot of where Meredith quit.
She was fired. She's paused.
She's back. Reports as the Meredith source who's been following the story very closely, basically on Twitter, like last, was it last week? So rumors start circulating on Twitter.
It's unclear where the source is coming from that Meredith has been suspended from Real Hospice of Salt Lake City after getting into a huge fight with Brittany. And this is all very confusing.
I, as a reporter, am trying to track down the source of this information. And it's very unclear.
It's coming from Twitter blogs and stuff like that. So it's unclear whether this is trustworthy or not.
And then a source, which has a very specific cadence to it. Tone.
Reports the US Sun that says, Meredith has not been suspended from the show. She is not pleased about the rumors and nastiness, pun intended.
She wouldn't be surprised if the call was coming from inside the house and Britney was leaking all of this herself to stay relevant. Meredith and Britney get into some pretty nasty altercations and have some blowout fights, but nothing that warrants a suspension.
Then, while all of this is happening, Meredith's Instagram account continuing as normal. She's posting quotes from Albert Camus.
She is hanging out with Luanne de Lesseps in an elevator drunk and singing. She is- Photoshopping the fuck out of her face.
She's Photoshopping the fuck out of her face. As she should.
As she should. As she wants.
And posting what she does her tagline basically to dispel the rumors that what is it? Jealousy is a disease. Something.
Or something like that. Yeah.
And then the last update I have from Meredith is that she sprained her toe and she's upset about it because she can't get a pedicure. So that's what's coming from the Meredith camp.
We need to ban Photoshop for housewives. It's gotten to the point of ridiculous.
There's specific photoshops that I'm not that I think are funny. It's when they take the confessional that we've all seen and then Photoshop on top of it as if we've never seen the original photo.
Which don't they already put like a glam filter on the confessional? When, it's when it's an entirely different person. Well, like Meredith's Photoshop looks a younger version of her daughter.
It's FaceApp and this filter needs to be eliminated from Housewives phones because they're all using the same one. It's Hollywood 2 or whatever.
Yeah, if you put these photos next to each other, they all have the same face. You have Ramona looking like a newborn child.
But why?

They don't look good. It's not even like, oh, fresh face.
You know, it's just like, oh, someone's been moisturizing. It's no, someone changed their face.
It's like, you know what I'm saying? You're not fooling anyone. My favorite is the Ramona, though, like posting the story and then the post.
That's what I'm saying. Like, hide the evidence.
Don't do the photos you've all seen, you know? Yeah. The source from the US Sun, it sounds like Meredith was like, hey, I'm going to tell you this, but change it up.
Don't make it seem like it's me. And then they did it.
It's like when you copy someone's homework, they're like, yeah, sure, you can copy, but change it a little bit. Especially when you're Meredith and you have such a specific way of speaking so you know it came out and Meredith was like

fuck

fuckers

I told him to change

a couple words

I would never

no my Meredith

you guys my Meredith

is kind of gone

oh no

is a callback

to the valley

Zach

Zach

Zach

Zach

he made it seem like

dick pics

are

an early exchange

in the dating process in the gay community I mean he, he also, this is my own interpretation, met him on Grindr, which is an app that's for more than just dating. Because he goes in quotes, a dating app.
Which I'm like, okay. So I mean, it makes sense what he's saying.
Specifically for that context. But it's not as if like, hi, what's your name? Brett, here's my dick.
Because that's what Zach was basically saying. On that app it is.
On that app, okay. Maybe not even a hi, just picture.
I think instead of like profile photos, it's anatomy. Okay.
Yeah. There was also, speaking of Salt Lake City, did you see this, Nick? A video of Michael Jordan getting off of a yacht and like there's a girl in front of him like it's off first that looks almost identical to Whitney Rose.
And like everybody's tagging her being like, is this you? Is this you? Why are you on a yacht with Michael Jordan? And she hasn't confirmed whether it's her or not, but she did say, why is everybody tagging me in this? So I'm assuming that means it's not her. It's definitely her.
But it looks like her, right? I didn't look that deep at it because I just assume it was not. It's definitely not her, but she's wearing like a Whitney Rose fit too.
I mean, it's... With the ginger hair.
So it's like it's... That's 100% her.
That's Whitney Rose. That's what I'm saying.
I'm like, the appearance is identical. No, it's not.
Yes, it is. Send me that photo.
That is her. What are the odds that a girl died of her ginger the same time that she had ginger hair? Okay, well, a lot of people do that.
Listen, I think she's friends with Michael Jordan's like wife or daughter or someone. Should I just text Whitney and ask her? Yeah.
Yeah, you should. This you? It definitely looks like her, but it definitely could not be her.
But also, if it was her, why would she not flex that she was hanging out with Michael Jordan? She reposted the video, so she's making fun of it. So it's not her? Who knows? Because if I'm on a yacht hanging out with Michael Jordan, I'm going to be like...
I'm posting about it. Yeah.
Yeah. I don't have a number saved.
I'll text her later. Nick, you've got to save numbers.
Nick, you've got to get to the bottom of this. He's got to start saving numbers.
I do. You've got to save numbers.
Let the speculation continue. Thank you to our guest, Alice Baskin, for giving us all the insight and all things Bravo, specifically the Valley Be sure to check out Vow Files Plus for all your Weekly updates on all your pop culture topics We didn't get to talk about this week Plus your update specials of all the Ask Nick update callers Our Vanderpump recaps all available on Plus It's free to sign up, try it for seven days Whether you listen to the show On Apple, you can sign up directly from Biofiles Plus there.

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It's a fun time. All right.
Well, that will do it for this week. We'll see you on Monday.
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