Audiobook Review: The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan
The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
From Brian Moylan, the writer of Vulture’s legendary Real Housewives recaps, a table-flipping, finger-pointing, halter-topping VIP journey through reality TV’s greatest saga…
In the spring of 2006, a new kind of show premiered on Bravo: The Real Housewives of Orange County. Its stars were tanned, taut, and bedazzled; their homes were echoey California villas; and their drama was gossip-fueled, wine-drenched, and absolutely exquisite. Fifteen seasons on, RHOC is an institution, along with The Real Housewives of New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, Miami, Potomac, and more. Over the years these ladies have done a lot more than lunch, launching thirty-one books, a cocktail line, two jail sentences, a couple supermodel daughters, Andy Cohen’s talk show career, thirty-six divorces, fourteen albums, a White House party crash, and approximately one million memes.
Brian Moylan has been there through it all, in front of the screen and behind the scenes. The writer of Vulture’s beloved series recaps, he’s here to tell us the full story, from the inside scoop on every classic throwdown to the questions we’ve always wanted to know, like―what are the housewives really like off-camera? (The same.) How much money do they make? (Lots.) He has a lot to say about the legacy and fandom of a franchise that’s near and dear to his heart, and inextricable from pop culture today.
The Housewives is a must-read for any die-hard Real Housewives fan – even if you don’t watch all of the cities. I “only” watch Orange County, Beverly Hills and Salt Lake City. And my summer project is binging RHONY – I just started season six so I have a long way to go. I’m powering through though! Anyway, even though I haven’t watched all of the cities, I still enjoyed this book a lot.
It’s important to know that The Housewives is a behind-the-scenes look at the franchises themselves and to some extent Bravo as a network. There is not much scoop on individual housewives’ personal lives off-camera. However, that didn’t bother me at all. Sure, I love dirt but I’m also fascinated by the inner workings of the shows. Especially since Bravo is notoriously secretive about how Housewives works. This book finally answers everyone’s number one question, “Who pays for the trips??”
Bravo’s extreme concern about keeping everything confidential is one of the reasons this book doesn’t have more scoop on the housewives themselves. The author says that when he told them he was writing this book, instead of helping him like he was hoping, Bravo told all current and past housewives not to talk to him under any circumstances. Luckily, not everyone followed instructions. Also, Brian got plenty of former production staffers to talk to him and they provided some great stories.
I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author. His delivery is a little stilted but once I got used to his style, I was hooked. He is a super-fan and clearly loves the shows, but he is delightfully snarky about them at the same time. I especially loved the chapter about when he went on a retreat that Vickie Gunvalson (of RHOC) put on in Puerto Vallarta. He whooped it up with Vickie!
Towards the end, he discusses some of the academic research that has been done about the Real Housewives phenomenon. Yes, academics are studying the show and writing serious papers about it! It turns out some benefits of watching it have been found. If you feel at all guilty about being a fan, this book will make you feel better about it. Recommended for Real Housewives fans everywhere.
(I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for review.)
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