Are you ready for the Real Housewives of Potomac this Sunday? We here at RT are! When Bravo announced their intentions to release two new cities in the Real Housewives franchise, perhaps no one’s first thought was, “I wonder if Potomac, MD, will be on the list?” But the cast of Potomac, along with Dallas, indeed made the cut! And, according to show execs, the Potomac ladies bring the drama – but in a different package than we’ve seen before.
Noting they looked at Houston, Baltimore, and Philly before finally settling on Potomac, True Entertainment co-founder Steven Weinstock says, “So Bravo came to me and said, ‘Is there another African American cast out there that isn’t derivative, that doesn’t have the same feel?’ And we were able to find this incredible group of women in Potomac, Maryland, of all places. I would liken it to the feeling of ‘Falcon Crest.’ They’re very upwardly mobile, they’re the daughters of very old-monied families. The social grace, etiquette, class, these sorts of things are important in the context of their everyday interactions. It has a very different feel than ‘Atlanta,’ and at the same time it’s dripping with great drama and really exciting and interesting characters.”
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Weinstock continues that “In Potomac, we came upon a world that we were not fully aware of, but was nevertheless distinct in its feeling, flavor and tone.”
The eighth installment of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise will feature six women: Ashley Darby, Charrisse Jackson-Jordan, Gizelle Bryant, Karen Huger, Katie Rost, and Robyn Dixon. Potomac’s predominately African-American cast inevitably brings comparisons to Bravo’s flagship city, Atlanta, which continues to garner top ratings.
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Weinstock explains, “‘Atlanta’ is the biggest ratings success for Bravo right now. This past Sunday’s episode did 3.9 million viewers in L3. So it’s a huge franchise, and I think part of its success is the fact of what I would call the ‘Oprah Halo.’ The African American audience watches it, but other audiences watch as well.”
Although Potomac is a relatively small city (45,000 people), its supposed wealth and status more than make up for its size. Weinstock says Potomac’s potential “really excited everyone” with its “different sensibilities, different concerns, different origins.”
I, for one, am so ready for a new flavor of crazy! Let’s Baskin Robins this franchise out and eat up all 31 flavors, one juicy cat fight at a time! (But please, Bravo, we beg you: No more Lyme. No more Fake Cancer. Haven’t we, the viewers, suffered enough?)
‘Falcon Crest,’ though…? Yes, PLEASE!
RHOP premieres Sunday, Jan 17, at 9/8c on Bravo.
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Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia/Bravo
