In the world of Real Housewives, a 100th anniversary can only be celebrated in one way: through an utterly devastating season of absurd, yet amazing, drama.
The Real Housewives of Orange County just wrapped its 18th season—the 100th Housewives season under the Bravo fold—in spectacular fashion, proving the original city still stands tall all these years later. With a former Housewife returning on the arms of a Housewife’s ex, a DUI scandal, and a shocking FBI inquiry, Orange County has known nothing but chaos since July, when the season premiered.
“Authenticity is what sells, right?” Heather Dubrow, a Housewife from Seasons 7 through 11, and since Season 16, told The Daily Beast’s Obsessed.
Each Housewives show has perfected its own archetype. Orange County takes viewers “behind the gates” of suburban communities, letting them see a real-life Desperate Housewives, with “creepy clown music” (as Dubrow puts it) welcoming audiences into the fold each episode.
It’s not the most glamorous Housewives show; it’s the bread and butter of a tried-and-true franchise, with an ever-shifting ensemble of raw, real Housewives.
“Orange County is for many people like an idea and a dream. It’s sort of the ultimate bedroom community,” said Ryan Flynn, senior VP of current production at Bravo. “It’s relatable, but it also allows us to judge.”
“It doesn’t mean that we’re always going to agree with them, but at least we know why they’re doing what they’re doing and what they’re saying,” he added.
Tamra Judge has been a Real Housewife since Season 3 aired back in 2007, taking a two-year sabbatical before returning in all her villainous glory for Season 17. Often credited as the Housewife who created the interpersonal drama fans think of with the franchise, Judge knows better than anyone what makes good TV—and what doesn’t.
“There’s a truth teller—a villain if you want to call it. There’s a wealthy one. There’s one that plays the victim. There’s a girl in denial, one in distress. There’s an ice queen. There’s a rags-to-riches attorney,” she added. “I think that’s what makes it a great show, that we have so many different dynamics.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County is experiencing a renaissance, one that seemed impossible just two years ago. On the heels of the ousting of Judge and original Housewife Vicki Gunvalson, Orange County suffered from a disjointed season made worse by COVID woes, followed by a shaky rebound attempt in Season 16.
With Dubrow and Judge back in the roster, alongside fan favorite newbies like Jenn Pedranti, Orange County has finally gotten its groove back. Not since Season 10’s widely renowned cancer scam have the stakes been this high, as Shannon Beador faced the fallout of a DUI and new enemy Alexis Bellino, who served as a “mouthpiece” to Beador’s ex and Bellino’s now-fiancé John Jannsen.
Meanwhile, Pedranti faced demons of her own, her engagement undercut by an FBI inquiry into her now-fiancé Ryan Bojayian, caught in the middle of the Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal.
“I think that’s what’s so exciting, when you when you end the shoot of a season in a place you never expected to be when you started,” Flynn said. “It’s a roll of the dice a lot of the time. But when you find interesting women leading interesting lives, things are going to happen no matter what.”
“I always find it to be one of the best sitcoms on TV. And I mean that in a really loving way,” he added. “Because I think so often we are laughing when no one is trying to make us laugh, but it is just the absurdity of life. These women have always sort of run with the mandate of ‘Think out loud and don’t be afraid to share your thoughts.’”
That’s often true of Orange County, where the drama is much less manicured than its California sister, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In the OC, authenticity is key to all the drama. The intertwined, twisted world of Newport Beach works to the show’s benefit. The editing has grown sharper and the audience is far smarter, but it’s Housewives like Beador who keep viewers coming back for more.
After all, Beador has caught herself in the middle of the drama each and every season of her run, maybe with the exception of Season 14 (if you squint). Most Housewives would cut and run filming the one-two punch that was the DUI and return of Bellino. For Beador, it was just another year around the sun.
“It was a lot of hurt on my part. Yeah, it wasn’t fun,” Beador said. “But I’m hopeful that someday I can say … that I’m grateful for it. I will say that today, I feel stronger and happier than I ever have been in my life.”
A fan favorite since she joined in Season 9, Beador’s neurotic charm has lived on through her nine lemons in a bowl and inability to live anything but honestly. Ten years later, she’s as open as ever.
“I remember we had a cast member one year, I think it was my third or fourth season, that called me and said, ‘I’m going to try and get pregnant this season. What’s going to be your story?’” she said. “And my answer was, ‘You know what? I’m just going to be Shannon Beador.’ And when people get tired of that? Then I’ll just check off that box, and you won’t hear from me again.”
The true strength of The Real Housewives of Orange County comes in its jam-packed ensemble. That’s something the show often struggled perfecting in past years, from a revolving door of one-hit wonders to a real-life racism controversy canning one of the show’s rising stars.
Orange County has more one-and-done Housewives than any other city in the franchise, and it’s one of the few to no longer have an original Housewife on its roster (although we thank Gunvalson for her multi-episode guest arcs each season. Get her on my show!).
After many trials and tribulations, the show has finally settled on a cast fans love, one that harkens back to the golden era’s undeniable chemistry. At 18 seasons, the show has more life in it now than it has in a decade. They’re the OGs of the OC, after all. Everyone else is just a copy.
“It’s absolutely crazy to me, because even way back then, I thought this is going to last for a year, this is going to last for two years. And every year, I would be like, Okay, this has got to be the end,” Judge said. “And you know, it’s so surreal now as I was watching Season 3 just yesterday, and I’m like, damn, things have changed.”
As the franchise has grown over 100 seasons—wardrobes have evolved beyond sky tops, social media has grown especially vicious—the ethos of the franchise has remained the same. It’s a “peek through the curtains of your neighbor’s home,” Dubrow said.
“It’s the OG. [When it premiered], there was nothing like it,” she added. “I think it’s stood the test of time because most of the cast throughout the years—yes, there have been some hiccups—but most of the cast throughout the years have shown up in such a beautiful, authentic way, ready to tell their stories, for better or for worse.”
That’s why women like Pedranti are so exciting to come across. An old-school Housewife in the vein of cuff queen Lynne Curtin, Pedranti bares it all on screen. She’s not shilling some bath bombs no one’s going to buy. She’s living her humble life, evictions and all.
Back in the early days of Orange County, Pedranti watched the show while folding laundry. Now, strangers walk up to her at the gym and tell her they’re rooting for her relationship.
“Someone told me, ‘We as a viewer want to feel like we’re sitting in your living room watching you, and we really shouldn’t be watching. We’re not watching Instagram or the Christmas card. We’re watching what goes on behind your actual closed door,’” Pedranti said.
“Maybe it truly makes people feel like it’s not so bad for them. Maybe they’re like, ‘I thought I had problems, but I watched Jenn last night. God bless that girl. We’re doing alright,’” she continued.
That inside look into the world of women, whether through aspirational trips or cautionary tales, has carried the franchise through 100 seasons. Through it all, as The Real Housewives of New York City rebooted with an entire cast, Dubai, Dallas, and D.C. were canceled (or paused, as coined by former New York Housewife Dorinda Medley), and Miami died and was reborn, Orange County has lived through it all. It’s like a cockroach, except people actually like it.
Already, the franchise has blown past 100 with no sign of slowing down. From another perfect season of Salt Lake City to a return-to-form in Potomac, the Housewives experiment is going strong as ever.
“It feels like there’s never an end to this, because these shows live on the fact that we see people grow, we see people change, and we see people come and go,” Flynn said. “I think the beauty of Real Housewives is always that natural refresher of story, of life.”
