• reality shows
  • reality TV reviews
  • about
  • contact
  • reality TV schedule
  • best reality TV
  • send tips or feedback
  • support
  • subscribe
The Real Housewives

A Real Housewives spin-off is coming to Peacock. But what will it be?

Real Housewives of New York City star Ramona Singer on Watch What Happens Live
Real Housewives of New York City star Ramona Singer on Watch What Happens Live on July 17, 2019. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Bravo)

by Andy Dehnart 18 Sep. 2019 | 8:06 pm

NBCUniversal’s forthcoming streaming service, Peacock, announced both its name and some of its upcoming series—including several unscripted shows—yesterday. Its reality TV includes a spin-off of Bravo’s The Real Housewives, for which I have ideas.

Peacock will be entering an increasingly crowded pay streaming space, with services such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and CBS All Access being challenged by Disney+, HBO Max, Apple+ TV, Quibi, and others. (Here’s an insane list of current and upcoming premium streaming services.)

Peacock—which will debut next April and have both advertising and subscription options, though there are no details yet—will take advantage of NBCU’s back catalog of scripted and unscripted series, offering past seasons of existing and past shows to stream. That includes Top Chef, The Real Housewives, Chrisley Knows Best, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

The original scripted series include a new Battlestar Galactica from Mr. Robot creator and director Sam Esmail, and reboots of Saved By the Bell and Punky Brewster; past shows include NBC’s Parks and Recreation and The Office, plus PBS’ Downton Abbey.

The new service will also have original unscripted and reality TV offerings, though they’re minimal right now, and nowhere near as exciting as all the reality shows Disney+ has coming this November.

Peacock’s original unscripted and reality shows

Peacock logo

NBCU said that “Peacock will feature a broad array of the most-talked-about unscripted programming,” and announced these new unscripted shows:

  • Who Wrote That, from SNL creator Lorne Michaels, which will be “exploring the famous personalities in front of and behind the camera” on Saturday Night Live
  • A Jimmy Fallon-produced “original talk show series”
  • A Seth Myers-produced “weekly late night show starring Amber Ruffin,” a comedian and writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers
  • “a spinoff of Bravo’s successful The Real Housewives franchise”

That last one is by far the most interesting to me—and the most vague. It’s impossible to have a spin-off of an entire franchise, so does this mean some kind of show that involves multiple cities’ cast members?

Or will it be just another spin-off like the more than a dozen spin-offs that have aired previously on Bravo, which follow one or more stars of one of the individual shows? For a few examples: Kim Zolciak’s Don’t Be Tardy, Bethenny Frankel’s Bethenny & Fredrik, or Caroline Manzo’s Manzo’d with Children?

Considering that we’ve yet to get any kind of all-star Housewives show, which Bravo may think of as too risky since people get invested in individual casts’ internal drama and relationships, I’m hoping that this spin-off will be more experimental and less like the previous spin-offs.

My idea: a Road Rules-style spin-off, where stars of each of the franchises drive cross-country in an RV and stop places along the way. Maybe there can be challenges and prizes, or maybe it’s functional, like a way to get them all to an event (e.g. BravoCon).

I would watch Ramona and Sonja try to drive across a parking lot, an event I’m sure that could be stretched into at least two episodes with a three-part reunion, so imagine multiple Housewives stars in a single RV.

What if they were paired together and drove cross-country, like one of my favorite early reality series, The Real Cannonball Run?

Or, what about an all-star trip? Invite all the people who cause the most drama on vacations on a vacation of their own.

Whatever it is, I’m excited for the possibilities. I also hope Peacock does more reality TV, perhaps going back into the catalog to bring back back-great but short lived NBC or cable reality series such as The Sing-Off, Shear Genius, and Work of Art.

discuss this story

more great reality blurred stories

  • The 20 Survivor winners who will compete on Survivor season 40
  • How Antiques Roadshow works
  • Scare Tactics: The surprising way the show was cast
  • Behind the scenes of the Guy’s Grocery Games grocery store
  • The Survivor rule book and Survivor cast contract
  • How Big Brother’s house is designed

Reality TV in your inbox

Hand-crafted reality TV news and recommendations sent most Fridays. Unsubscribe any time!

most-popular stories on reality blurred

Dan Spilo on Survivor Island of the Idols episode 6

Dan Spilo, asked about what happened on Survivor, says he's "not allowed to comment"

Dan Spilo was asked about what happened on Survivor: Island of the Idols in a brief, filmed encounter on the street.

Dan Spilo during Survivor: Island of the Idols episode 7

Survivor removed Dan after an off-camera 'incident': more evidence of its abject failure

Jeff Probst continues to not provide details about what happened or what will change. Meanwhile, Survivor won't have a live finale and reunion; it'll be pre-taped instead.

Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine on Survivor: Island of the Idols

Survivor 40's cast of 20 Survivor winners

Survivor season 40's all-winner cast has been revealed. Original winner Richard Hatch is not competing, but nearly every winner from seasons 22 to 37 is returning.

Jeff Probst on the premiere of Survivor Island of the Idols, standing next to a sign that reminds everyone what Survivor used to focus on.

Survivor season 40 will start earlier than usual

Survivor: Winners at War will premiere in February, and have a two-hour premiere.

The central cast of MTV's Ex On the Beach: Peak of Love

Ex on the Beach: Peak of Love cast includes Adore Delano and Temptation Island singles

MTV announced the cast and air date for Ex On the Beach season 4, which has relocated to the mountains of New Zealand and now has the nonsensical name of Ex On the Beach: Peak of Love.

Survivor

Survivor rules: the contract that details pay, tie-breakers, prohibited behavior, and more

The Survivor rule book: the games rules, part of the cast contract, details consolation prizes, how ties are broken, prohibited behavior, and more.

Ian Ziering, host of the new Food Network Challenge

Food Network Challenge is being revived

An early Food Network competition is returning, with its original host as a judge, and a Sharknado star as its new host.

Whale Wars

Whale Wars: Watson's Last Stand is not new. It's from 2012.

Animal Planet has bizarrely repackaged old episodes as a new "season" of Whale Wars. But there is a new Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd-focused documentary coming soon.

Survivor: Island of the Idols logo

Jeff Probst's insufficient apology and response, and more on Survivor's failures from Kellee, Jamal, and Josh Wigler

In this story, two Jeff Probst responses, exit interviews with Kellee and Jamal, Josh Wigler's exit from Survivor, but no recap. I'm done covering this season as entertainment, but will continue reporting on it.

A Man vs. Bear contestant, Brad, is pulled off a platform by Bart, a bear

Man vs. Bear: a review, plus interviews with the producers of this insane competition

A new competition has people facing off against bears in five challenges. I talked to producers about how exactly it came together.

behind the scenes of reality TV

The Glass House, ABC

Behind the scenes of The Glass House

Go inside and behind the scenes of The Glass House, ABC’s Big Brother-like competition series.

Antiques Roadshow season 23, Meadowbrook Hall, Gary Piattoni, Temptations trunk

How Antiques Roadshow works behind the scenes, and what’s changing

Antiques Roadshow executive producer Marsha Bemko on how much appraisers are paid, how the show is filmed, and why it made a major change this season.

Mythbusters, Jon Lung, Brian Louden

Behind the scenes with the new Mythbusters

I went behind the scenes with new Mythbusters Jon Lung and Brian Louden during filming of part of their “Rock ‘n’ Roll Road Rage” episode.

older

Bravo, please don’t cut Barbara from RHONY

newer >

All of BravoCon’s big news: a new Housewives, Top Chef’s return, Vanderpump spin-off…

more stories about The Real Housewives

discuss this story

about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

  • reality TV schedule
  • best reality TV
  • send tips or feedback
  • support
  • subscribe
Copyright © 2000 to 2019 Andy Dehnart and individual contributors.