Can The Real Housewives franchise ever overcome its racism and diversity problems?

Los Angeles Times

"Can shows predicated on entitlement and endless pot-stirring evolve into entertainment that is over-the-top and meaningfully inclusive at the same time?" says Meredith Blake, noting how the New York, Beverly Hills, Dallas and Salt Lake City franchises have all had problems around diversity. "This conundrum has plagued other shows at Bravo, including Below Deck, which follows the young, attractive crew aboard a chartered yacht (a white cast member was recently called out for using the N-word), and the Beverly Hills spinoff Vanderpump Rules, which follows the young, attractive staff at a WeHo restaurant (a number of white cast members were fired in 2020 for racist behavior). But the problems are most acute on Real Housewives, both because of the franchise’s durability and the key role it has played in defining Bravo’s brand identity as TV’s foremost destination for aspirational guilty pleasures." Kristen Warner, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama, says Real Housewives attempting to become diverse "feels too little too late. What they’re trying to do is wedge integration into a franchise where it has not been required. It feels dishonest, it feels disingenuous and it feels like it’s set up to fail.”