Kyle Richards:  "I AM Beverly Hills"

 

 

 

It's hard to believe that we are already halfway through season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  For me, this season has been like beige paint; just sort of 'there'.  Other than Dorit Kemsley's alleged life threatening home invasion which kicked off the season, there's not a lot going on.  Ratings are down slightly from last season, but with well over a million loyal viewers each week, RHOBH remains Bravo's highest rated show.  So let's reflect on what's currently happening on RHOBH, and what the future may hold.

 

As mentioned, season 12 kicked off with the alleged Kemsley break in.  Yes, I'm still saying "alleged" because I'm still not entirely convinced that the entire ordeal is not a hoax.   The problem with story lines like this is that by the time it airs, it's already old news.  Without rehashing it again, I'm having a problem with the timing of the incident (which literally occurred just a few days before filming) as well as wide speculation that Dorit was demoted and/or fired.  Not that she ever would or should, but Dorit could put an end to all this skepticism by providing for us, the date on her renewal contract.  I would bet the farm that prior to the incident, Dorit was being demoted, if not fired. I also find it interesting that the intruders have never been caught, despite very clear video surveillance, and the fact that Dorit can identify them.  Police take these kind of crimes very seriously, even in L.A. 

 

Season 12 introduced us to Diana Jenkins, but in a classic case of "too much too soon", she has not been received particularly well.  Coming for a fan favorite (Sutton Stracke) right out of the gate is never a good idea; just ask one-season-wonder, RHOC's Noella Bergener.  Also, the viewers have grown tired of her constant label bragging, not to mention lip licking.

 

Erika Jayne may be earning her rumored hefty raise this season, but at what price, because at this point, the haters are far outnumbering her fandom.  Propositioning and/or cursing out Garcelle's sons is definitely not earning her any new fans.  However, the heat is off Erika, at least for now thanks to Kyle, Dorit, and their husbands not only laughing about Jayne’s behavior, but condoning it.  Between that and questioning her supposed friend, Sutton's, story about her past miscarriages, Kyle is not having the best season, and SM is becoming increasingly vicious towards her and her entire family. 

 

Then we have a mostly absent Lisa Rinna, who was recently hit with some serious SM backlash of her own after making a derogatory reference to The Real (fake as hell) Housewives of Dubai, which many felt reeked of racism.  However, that beef was squelched immediately, after Bravo most likely intervened, at least according to Tamra Judge who spoke about it on her Two T's in a Pod(cast) with John Mellencamp daughter. 

 

So all in all, some fans are wondering if a major cast shakeup is in order.  Last week, Bravo successfully played the hate-inducing game by releasing previews that went viral before the episode aired, and fans reacted accordingly, but also noted that they were onto Bravo's ploy to generate ratings.  But this is the thing; viewers loving or hating the series makes no difference to Bravo, because clearly, ratings are all that matters.  I can only think of one or two times in real housewife history when Andy (or Bravo or whoever) actually considered what the viewers were telling them, and that was when they fired Brandi Glanville and Kelly Dodd. 

 

But that was then, when Lisa Vanderpump and Heather Dubrow (respectively) yielded a lot of power, and I don't think that is ever going to happen again.  I think Andy Cohen largely feels like the cast is interchangeable, and "business is business", but that's not to say he can't be guilty of good old fashioned nepotism.  Having said that, I feel like certain cast members within the series will have jobs with Bravo for as long as they decide, and that includes Kyle, Lisa Rinna, Teresa, Melissa, Ramona, Lu, and Sonja.  Of course that doesn't necessarily mean their present "jobs" in their present capacities, but hey, a paycheck is a paycheck,a nd exposure is exposure.