Reality TV | 5. Behind the gates with the ‘Real’ housewives

It's easy to get distracted by the glamorous trappings of the Real Housewives. The fancy cars, the McMansions, the Botox. But the franchise remains compelling because the women share what they are going through from evictions, postpartum depression and run-ins with the law. They’re real women with real problems -- that they allow the whole world to see. No two iterations are alike, but there’s something for everyone in the 10 Housewives shows from Orange County and Atlanta to New York and Potomac. In this episode, Mariah Smith talks to Housewives Historian Brian Moylan, reality TV scholar Racquel Gates and former RHOC cast member Peggy Tanous.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

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