Entertainment
Podcasts from stars ofVanderpump RulesandReal Housewivesare gaining listeners and the power to shape the drama on screen.
On their podcasts, of course.
When we first started the podcast, we were both two fired Housewives.
We had no ties to anything and there were no rules for us to follow, Mellencamp says.
People kind of wanted to hate it, but then they were like, Dang, they’re good!
They’re funny, they’re messy.
Most of these Bravo-adjacent podcasts discuss pop culture or lifestyle topics, like motherhood and wellness.
Social media soon made these blogs feel prehistoric.
(Glanville has denied any wrongdoing.)
So she deserves that credit.
No matter how much I can’t stand her, kudos to her.
Women who have been on the show know how the game works, Moylan says.
They know the producers, they know the behind-the-scenes people.
Heathers coming in as a punching bag, costar Leah McSweeney said on the show.
She doesnt even know what shes about to walk into.
(If anything, we put food ontheirtable, Giudice recently fired back toAccess Hollywood.)
Meanwhile, the current season ofVanderpump Ruleshas taken podcast drama to a whole other level.
It’s a whole seasons worth of conflict and intrigue and all it took was a podcast.
It was only a matter of timebefore tensions emerged between Bravos primetime programming and its stars podcast side-hustles.
Except Dixon didnt reveal this on the show.
Instead, afterPotomachad wrapped filming, Dixon shared the details on an episode ofReasonably Shadypaywalled through Patreon.
Reunion host and executive producer Andy Cohen seemed visibly unhappy about it when heinterviewed Dixon onWatch What Happens Live.
Narrative isreallyimportant to these women, he says.
Instead, I can go on my podcast and tell the story the way I want to.
Dixon isnt the only one taking advantage of a paywall.
Bravo gives the impression of setting terms, where they can, forHousewiveswho podcast.
There’s too much money to be made and too much potential for talent to go rogue.
Bravo is always the last one to figure this stuff out, Moylan says.
I do think what happened with Robyn Dixon will translate to contract changes, she says.
(A spokesperson says Bravo doesn’t comment on contracts.)
My podcast episodes are all behind a paywall and my Patreon doesverywell, Wilkey says.
There’s a lot of different approaches and niches and theres room for everyone.
But I do think you have to deliver great content to survive.
Bravo fame has always brought new opportunities: book deals, spon con, other television work.
When I first started reality TV, it was looked down upon, Dubrow says.
Now that has completely shifted.
The possibilities these days are endless.
Mellencamp compares her career as a reality-TV podcaster to being a sports broadcaster.
Most of the time, the best ones played sports, right?"
Its like Andy Cohen always says: Once a Housewife, always a Housewife.
You have a certain something that you share with these other women that nobody else can understand.
