Prison, revenge porn and blush-pink villas: your ultimate guide to the Real Housewives franchise

The Guardian

2 days ago

Whether you're a devout worshipper at the altar of The Real Housewives (like me), or simply aware of it by osmosis, there's no denying it's one of reality TV's most wildly successful franchises. Since it debuted in 2006 with a peek into Orange county's elite, the franchise now spans more than a dozen US cities and has extended internationally from Sydney to Dubai. Now, nearly 20 years later, London is calling.
Despite its title, the show isn't really about marriage (most of the women aren't married, and those who are usually at some point during their tenure experience a messy divorce). What the franchise captures is something far more compelling: a specific sort of midlife reinvention. We watch as women (mostly over the age of 40) navigate divorce, grief, success, self-discovery and the pursuit of fame. As the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville put it: 'Andy Cohen [the show's executive producer] is the only man in Hollywood who hires women over 40.'
One of the most enduring qualities of the Real Housewives is that it doesn't produce throwaway reality stars – it creates cultural icons. Unlike much of reality television, which sees contestants flare up and burn out within a season (or even a few episodes), the Housewives universe invites long-term investment. We follow these women for years (and in the case of Beverly Hills, Atlanta or the OC, for well over a decade) as friendships fracture (always with a healthy amount of drama), marriages begin and end and children grow up (and we can now watch the housewives' offspring on the spin-off Next Gen NYC). In a genre built on instant gratification and rapid turnover, Housewives rewards patience. It feels less like disposable content and more like weekly event television – something to savour and return to, season after season (and rewatch obsessively).
This is how Real Housewives cultivates community. I've lost count of how many times I've been at a work event or awkward dinner where the mere mention of the women lights people up – suddenly, you're not strangers, you're part of a devoted tribe, debating whether the new New York cast are any good (spoiler: they will never be the same), or reeling from the news that the self-appointed grand dame of Potomac herself, Karen Huger, has been sentenced to prison. Once you're in, you're in. And once you've found your franchise, there's no going back.
That being said, the Real Housewives ecosystem holds a mammoth vault of episodes and choosing where to start can feel as daunting as it is exciting. The good news is that you can quite literally start anywhere. Each city offers something different, depending on what mood you're in. Beverly Hills serves bitchy opulence (think Lisa Vanderpump's blush-pink Villa Rosa). The original New York cast was truly wild – Ramona Singer's wide-eyed expressions are permanently etched in my memory, and Countess Luann's song Money Can't Buy You Class remains a certified banger. Atlanta will have you howling with laughter, delivering some of the best lines in the entire franchise.
Then there is The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, which has already cemented its place as one of the franchise's greatest hits, despite being a newer addition. Largely because the show is based in Utah (the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), it landed a scandal right out of the gate, complete with federal indictments. One of the housewives, Jen Shah, became the centre of national attention following her 2021 arrest and subsequent guilty plea for wire fraud. Forever surrounded by numerous assistants (doing God knows what), Shah projected a lifestyle many suspected was funded by more than just her show salary. The drama drew high-profile fans such as Rihanna. There was also the infamous 'How did Heather get a black eye?' mystery. Heather Gay, one of the RHOSLC wives and author of the New York Times bestseller Bad Mormon, later revealed it was allegedly caused by Shah, who is now serving time alongside Elizabeth Holmes (of Theranos fame), and paparazzi have even captured shots of them together in prison.
Most recently, the show has offered some moments that will tug on even the coldest of heartstrings – particularly involving Mary Cosby (who, yes, famously married her step-grandfather). This season, Cosby's usually reserved demeanour gave way to vulnerability as her son's visible struggle with drug addiction unfolded on screen in a way that substance issues had never before been spoken about within the network.
My personal greatest love has to be The Real Housewives of Atlanta. It is a masterclass in shade and comedic brilliance. Just look at Phaedra Parks, who serves the coldest reads with the unflappable poise of a lawyer and embalmer (yes, she's both). Kim Zolciak, the only white woman in the original cast, insisted on wearing weaves. Then there's Kenya Moore, who was the perfect villain – eventually getting booted due to season 16's revenge porn debacle – in which she used her haircare launch to allegedly project explicit footage purporting to be of another cast member. Atlanta also introduced the world to NeNe Leakes – one of the rare Housewives to cross over into mainstream entertainment, landing a recurring role on Glee, a stint on The New Normal and Broadway roles in Cinderella and Chicago. She had, and has, actual star power.
And what to expect from The Real Housewives of London? Six women from the city's wealthiest circles (with genuinely pre-existing relationships). Making a return to reality TV is the Ladies of London alum Juliet Angus, the fashion-savvy American who's already generating excitement among longtime fans. She's joined by the skincare CEO Amanda Cronin, who may be stepping into the villain role – if the teaser is anything to go by. In one scene, she's seen yelling: 'Go back to Paddington!' and edging close to one of the other wives, though she has described herself as 'the light in every room'.
There's the party planner and former pageant queen Juliet Mayhew, and Karen Loderick-Pierce, whose early love of fashion came from her grandfather (part of the Windrush generation), who used to send her clothes from London to Jamaica. Early teasers hint she may emerge as the show's confessional queen.
Rounding out the group is Panthea Parker, who describes the show as 'stiff upper lip meets crazy Housewives'. She can apparently drop £140,000 on a single shopping spree without batting a false eyelash. And finally, there's Nessie Welschinger, a financier turned baker and self-professed tiger mum. The trailer teases high society and even higher drama.
The same is true of the extensions to the franchise: the (three-part!) reunions and spin-off shows.
One of the longest-standing cast members of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kandi Burruss – formerly of the R&B group Xscape (she also co-wrote Bills Bills Bills for Destiny's Child) – has Kandi & the Gang (featuring her family and restaurant). Meanwhile Zolciak, another original Atlanta housewife, headlined her own spin-off, Don't Be Tardy, which chronicled her home life with her husband, Kroy Biermann, and their blended family in a more domestic, sitcom-style format.
It would be remiss not to mention 'Scandoval' from Vanderpump Rules, one of Lisa Vanderpump's spin-offs, which was quite possibly Bravo's most viral betrayal to date. Tom Sandoval, a longtime cast member, was caught cheating on his long-term partner, Ariana Madix, with their co-star Raquel Leviss. The drama played out across social media platforms like Instagram, (then) Twitter and dedicated Vanderpump Rules subreddits, on which fans recalled exactly where they were the moment 'Scandoval broke', often noting the precise day and time it dropped. Viewers also debated timelines and theories about how long Sandoval and Leviss had been seeing each other before the reveal, fuelling endless speculation and discussion online. The controversy elevated Madix to almost 'god-like' status with brand deals aplenty. It was reality TV at its operatic best.
In addition to the spin-offs, the last couple of years have seen frankly drastic makeovers across the franchise. New York ushered in its influencer era – a complete recast featuring younger women with strong social media presences – and has been renewed, cancelled and reportedly renewed (and cancelled) again. Atlanta has welcomed a completely new cast – bringing back OG Porsha Williams and finally elevating her bestie (at least until they appeared on the show together) and longtime 'friend of the show' Shamea Morton to full-time cast member with her own intro and storyline. Orange County has blended returning originals such as Shannon Beador and Tamra Judge with newer voices – with some hitting and failing to land.
The Real Housewives of London offers those still hungry for yet another universe to lose themselves in – this time, with a completely clean slate. Whether it becomes an instant fan favourite remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: even for those who've never sat through a full episode, these women are firmly embedded in the cultural mainstream and thankfully, they're not going anywhere. The joy of Housewives is that no matter where you begin, it's never long before you're all in.
The Real Housewives of London is on Hayu in the UK on 18 August