A Bravo Exec Explains What Makes RHOC and RHOBH So Different From Each Other
Both Real Housewives casts live in California, but the women all lead very different lives.
Bravo Digital’s Megan Segura and Erik J. Mac bring you exclusive interviews from Bravo HQ, featuring Bravolebs plus expert commentary and behind-the-scenes scoop straight from Bravo execs. New episodes are released every Saturday morning, wherever you get your podcasts.
Anyone who watches more than one Real Housewives franchise knows each series has a few major things in common (like dramatic group dynamics, epic taglines, and lots of juicy interviews), but generally, there’s a world of difference between the locations. Yes, even when they’re just set a drive apart, like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Real Housewives of Orange County. On the October 12 episode of The Daily Dish podcast, which you can listen to below, Bravo’s Vice President of Current Production Erica Forstadt explained why RHOBH and RHOC feel so different, despite both being California-based.
“I mean, it’s like if we had The Real Housewives of New York City and it’s Manhattan and then you had The Real Housewives of Queens or Staten Island. It’s just that they’re far apart, you know? There’s a different vibe of Staten Island or Queens or Manhattan or Brooklyn,” Forstadt explained. “It’s in the same relation of Orange County, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and then even like, Manhattan Beach is different. You know, every area in California, which is a huge state, is different. Orange County is about a two-hour drive from Beverly Hills, at least.”
“I think that’s what makes these shows so interesting is seeing a different perspective on life and on how they move through it,” she added.
Forstadt also dished on what we can expect to see on the newest season of RHOC, which follows the women through the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We had to stop filming Orange County midway through,” she said. “And what’s really interesting is we put down our cameras, but the women picked up their own cameras and started self filming, so we don’t miss a beat at all. We are following it through the entirety of pre-COVID, COVID and where we are now.”
For more from Erica Forstadt, check out the Bravo Insider video, below. Once you've signed up to be a Bravo Insider, you'll gain access to exclusive content featuring your favorite Bravolebs.
