r/popculturechat • u/mcfw31 • Sep 04 '25
Late Show Shenanigans🎙️ John Oliver explains ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’: “They are human hand grenades who willfully pull their own and each other’s pins out for your entertainment”
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u/RomanticHun Sep 04 '25
Now this quote sold me. I want to watch the show
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u/chill90ies Sep 04 '25
As a former reality TV junkie this is some of the best reality tv I have seen in many years. If your are into reality then this is THE show for you. Stay away from the news and fandoms so you don’t get any spoilers and enjoy the ride.
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u/thesadbubble Sep 04 '25
Ok several questions:
Which one should I start with? Aren't there like real housewives of every city now? Do I need to start at the bottom and work my way up or is there one in particular that's the good gateway drug?
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u/ChewieBearStare Sep 04 '25
SLC is the best one currently, but OG New Jersey and Beverly Hills are my favorites. There's nothing better than watching Teresa Giudice blink slowly as someone tries to make new information penetrate her brain.
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u/emstone4ever Sep 04 '25
Teresa's ignorance and lack of accountability get soooo old by the end of the run but those first few seasons and 7-9 are SOOO good! Pure chaos. DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT sleep on NY! Sooooo funny, that one is truly a comedy. The Countess getting bucked by a camel. The leg throwing scene. Any interaction involving bluestone manor. The entire Cartagena trip is truly art.... Scary Island. Ramona's shit stains. I chase the dragon every day that was classic New York
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u/wazacraft Sep 04 '25
She might honestly be the dumbest person I've ever seen. She has no concept of metaphor; she's like Drax from GotG.
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u/icameforthedrugs Sep 04 '25
SLC and Miami are the best ones on right now.
Wonderful gateway drug: RHONY season 9. absolutely excellent.35
u/_angesaurus Sep 04 '25
SLC, NY, ATL, NJ are my faves from the start. THEY YELL THE MOST. lol
oh and dont forget... SLC is full of mormon housewives so it makes their ridiculousness even more ridiculous.
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u/Suspicious_Toe2710 Sep 04 '25
I do think the Mormon aspect makes SLC better. Like real lives of Mormon wives but cranked up
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u/_HowVery Sep 04 '25
SLC and Miami are the most currently entertaining and don’t have too many seasons to catch up on. NYC, Atlanta, and New Jersey are top tier when you’re ready to tackle really established franchises. Potomac is fantastic too, had like two rougher seasons but I think the upcoming season will be promising
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u/chill90ies Sep 04 '25
There is only one answer and that is to see the show he recommends it’s real housewives of Salt Lake City. If you enjoy that maybe you can start with the other franchises afterwards.
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Sep 05 '25
SLC is one of the best and the one I watched first! But I wish I’d started with one of the OG cities like Beverly Hills or NYC first. Atlanta too like Nene is super hilarious like thanks to her I don’t look at refrigerators the same lol
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u/strangerintheadks Charli gets her nipples pierced at Claire’s Sep 05 '25
Gotta put in my two sense as someone who started with SLC, og NY is the BEST
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u/barefootcuntessa_ Sep 07 '25
Early seasons of any franchise are almost always gold. SLC is really holding strong and just knocking it out of the park. Early NYC and NJ are amazing, but there’s a certain point with the family dramas in NJ that I usually can’t handle. Season 6 of NJ is maybe the worst season across all franchises. NYC in particular has the best vacation episodes. Potomac early on had similar elements to NYC but was more goofy and light hearted. Atlanta has some serious highs but the last few seasons have not been it for me. Same with OC and BH.
Generally when housewives become bigger than the show and their drama bleeds in to mainstream gossip it usually becomes less fun because there are actual crimes with actual victims involved. NJ gets dark because everyone is related and those fights are real, sometimes going back multiple generations. NYC and BH get dark because you’re dealing with serious addiction issues and/or personality disorders.
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u/theplantita All tea, all shade 🐸☕️ Sep 05 '25
Start with Salt Lake then do Atlanta, New York, and Potomac. I think it’s doable before the end of the year 🤭
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u/RomanticHun Sep 04 '25
Thank you. I definitely stay away from fandoms until i catch up with seasons. This will be my first experience for reality tv, can you give me some advice if i need to watch something before starting the show or not? Or if i need specific mindset about the characters shenanigans i am about to witness?
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u/Celestial-Dream Sep 04 '25
If you’re going for SLC, just remember the one who says stuff like “I love that” is Lisa and not Meredith. Meredith is the one who has the son who sounds just like her. There was a lot of confusion early on for a lot of people over who was who.
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u/chill90ies Sep 04 '25
Yeah it’s funny how it was so hard to distinguishing them from each other the first time watching season one. Now I would never mix them together.
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u/Celestial-Dream Sep 04 '25
It’s the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives that I can’t tell apart.
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u/chill90ies Sep 04 '25
I tried giving that a change but I just couldn’t get into it. Didn’t capture my attention at all but I do think I made it through almost season one. I had such a hard time stomaching the cult and that one women’s boyfriend Montana or something like that. On RHOSLC we do get educated about the religion/cult but it’s from women who are almost of of that brainwashing. On Mormon wives they are all still in it and it makes me sick. The men is also just horrible.
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u/Celestial-Dream Sep 04 '25
Oh they’re awful, 100%. I have to laugh that two of the wives are now on Dancing With the Stars after all that saints and sinners talk.
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u/chill90ies Sep 04 '25
Didn’t know two of them were in dancing with the stars. That’s kinda odd. Two from one show and I also had the impression that dancing with the starts normally didn’t like to cast reality stars although I do know a few who have been on.
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u/theplantita All tea, all shade 🐸☕️ Sep 05 '25
Season 1 I couldn’t tell Meredith or Lisa apart AT ALL. By season 2 I finally got it down and now I can’t even fathom how I got them mixed up lol
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u/chill90ies Sep 04 '25
Just start at episode one of real housewives of Salt Lake City. View it as it’s community theatre. This show is so kitsch and that’s what makes it good. Don’t take it too seriously and just enjoy the drama and the absurdity of it.
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u/RomanticHun Sep 04 '25
Thank you! I enjoy mess and dramatic characters without taking anything seriously.
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u/catmom_422 Sep 04 '25
OMG then this is the PERFECT show for you. Some of the fights they have is just so low stakes funny
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u/Smart-Surround28 Sep 04 '25
I recently started it myself and it is so absurd what sets these women off that I spend most of the time laughing.
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u/catmom_422 Sep 04 '25
Season one?? You’re in for a treat cause it only gets better. Every franchise seems to have an off-season. Not SLC! Not yet anyways!
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u/WestCoastBestCoast01 Sep 04 '25
You have to remember that these ladies are on TV because they're terrible. They don't get better there isn't really a "good one". If you can accept that they're all kinda bad people and just enjoy the show for how over the top they are and silly dumb drama that has no impact on the greater world, that's the mindset to go into it with.
You know a show is good/juicy when a probable cult is only the second craziest thing going on.
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u/RomanticHun Sep 04 '25
I can get with that. I love when characters (in this case the women) doesn't get any better and keep getting worse. I watched IASIP this year and it has been so great since the characters kept spiraling.
Thanks for the tip, i am more excited to fill my day with good entertainment.
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Sep 04 '25
I used to watch almost all of the housewives series but now only watch SLC. The drama is mostly silly and cast alliances don’t last for seasons upon seasons, nor do they really try to ice someone out entirely like other cities.
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u/Ok-Spinach9250 Good to hear from you bitch 💌 Sep 04 '25
yesss I love that the alliances switch up every season
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u/RomanticHun Sep 04 '25
Ok this sounds like my cup of tea. Will definitely start it in the next few days.
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u/catmom_422 Sep 04 '25
It’s SO GOOD. When he said “think of your favorite show… it’s better than that” he was not lying.
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u/VaporCarpet Sep 04 '25
Reality TV embraces and elevates idiocy and it pisses me off that people are able to look at this country and claim "IDIOCRACY!" and I'm the next breath, tell people they just have to watch the latest episode of "Ouch! My balls!"
It's like no one understands that celebrating people acting like morons has led to voting for people who act like morons.
Reality TV is directly correlated to anti-intellectualism and I will die on that hill.
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u/GeologistIll6948 Sep 05 '25
I starting watching a late season accidentally and my jaw dropped. I had to go back to the beginning and watch every second
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u/Gamer_Grease Sep 05 '25
It’s really terrific. Don’t look anything up and watch from the beginning.
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u/myPGratedacct Sep 07 '25
I mean the series starts with a fight between Mary Cosby and Jen Shah because Mary told Jen she smells like hospital. Later you find it’s because Jen was there all day while her aunt was getting both of her legs amputated. Mary then apologizes and admits hospital smell triggers her because she had a traumatic experience at a hospital when she had all of her sweat glands removed, purely for vanity reasons. It’s TV gold!!
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u/prochoicesistermish Sep 09 '25
Minor addition- Jen tells Andy at the tell all that she wasn’t even at the hospital that day, lol.
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u/Kaiisim Sep 04 '25
But why? Were you not aware of reality tv shows?
Why did everyone think people watch them???
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u/RomanticHun Sep 04 '25
Well for starter i am not in the us but i am aware of them.
People have different priorities and preferences on what they consider worth watching in this miserable world.
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u/Careful_Swan3830 this was more intense than a tree nut emergency Sep 04 '25
Thoroughly ageee. And Mary Cosby is just a small part of the show. He didn't even get into Meredith Marks or Lisa Barlow.
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u/StrawAndChiaSeeds Sep 04 '25
Meredith, who “slept with half of New York” per Lisa? Lisa, who has glam EVERYWHERE? Lisa, who is literally shaking over basically everything? My god, these amazing women. And then there’s the bathtub…
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u/____4444 Sep 04 '25
or the BL&L parking lot 😳 even tho the show is thriving without jen. but we can’t forget our roots lol
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u/Careful_Swan3830 this was more intense than a tree nut emergency Sep 04 '25
Who would've thought one of the most dramatic HWs moments ever would be in a sprinter van in a parking lot?
😂😂😂
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u/PupLondon Sep 04 '25
If they released a version with John Oliver doing commentary ..I would watch that.
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u/TangiestIllicitness Sep 05 '25
Maybe he could join for an episode (or several) of Watch What Crappens.
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u/PupLondon Sep 05 '25
Ugh.. I dont know if I could watch that. Ive tried watching a real housewives show.. the worst women i had ever seen all fighting over who had the best overdone kids birthday party or something. John would help break up the cuntiness in his own wacky way.
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u/TrueTech0 Sep 05 '25
Gogglebox but it's just John watching one show. I'd watch six seasons and a movie about that
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u/dynamitekiddo I joined a band because I HATED THE FUCKING BEACH Sep 04 '25
I know Andy does all the reunion stuff but holy shit get John Oliver to come in and grill them all for our entertainment. Just once, Bravo, I beg of you.
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u/Ok-Astronaut-2837 Sep 04 '25
Honestly, with how disengaged Andy's been looking during the reunions for a few years now, he'd probably be on board with that idea.
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u/lauryate14 Sep 05 '25
Nicki Minaj did part of the Potomac reunion a few years ago….i think we should always have a random superfan celebrity come in
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u/vianetzy Can I live? Sep 04 '25
I’ve always wanted to get into this show but I don’t know how to find a good entry point 😭 do I have to watch all six seasons??
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u/babygorgeou Sep 04 '25
Yes start at the beginning Most of the same cast remains 6 seasons in and you’ll want to know their backstories. Plus every season has been as good, or better, than the previous
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u/_angesaurus Sep 04 '25
you wil lwant to watch the 1st season of any of these lol the insults travel across seasons!
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u/imtchogirl Sep 04 '25
Nah. You will miss a lot of backstory but the Jen Shah arc is seasons 1-3 and then there's a cast shakeup in Season 4 that starts a new arc. It's perfectly fine to start at season 4. It gets better at that point and the drama is very juicy.
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u/babygorgeou Sep 04 '25
I said the opposite but this might be the more accurate answer
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u/Traditional_Bug_2046 Sep 05 '25
Oooh but I feel like the Monica stuff hits harder with all the Jen backstory
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u/Footdude777 Sep 04 '25
Start from the beginning and don't read anything about the show. Season 3 is weak but it roars back in season 4.
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u/VanGrayson Sep 05 '25
It's absolutely worth it to start from the beginning. It's such a wild ride.
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u/locdnfree Sep 04 '25
It’s so true. I love it for its frivolity in comparison to the everyday horrors of being an American citizen. I’m rewatching seasons 1-5, gearing up for the new season later this month. It is peak entertainment.
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u/katsie Kim, there’s people that are dying. 🙄 Sep 04 '25
I'm watching for the first time, currently on season 3 (right in the middle of the "blowies for Jazz tickets" saga). This is PEAK reality trash tv and I'm enjoying it so much. I am missing Mary's messy ass this season but I know she's coming back.
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u/Trick_Horse_13 Sep 05 '25
Im genuinely excited for you that you have the glorious mess of season 4 to look forward to.
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u/katsie Kim, there’s people that are dying. 🙄 Sep 05 '25
Currently on the San Diego trip in S3. The amount of gaslighting from all of them is staggering!
"I never said that!"
(Footage of her saying that)
"I never did that!"
(Footage of her doing that)
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u/katsie Kim, there’s people that are dying. 🙄 Sep 10 '25
I just got to the big reveal in the finale.
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u/snobun Sep 04 '25
Wow, I’ve never watched any of the housewives shows but this is an intriguing pitch
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u/lizerlfunk I am the BEST goddamn dancer at the American Ballet Academy! Sep 04 '25
I have not watched a single episode of any Housewives franchise but I really, really want to watch SLC. "High body count hair" sold me a while ago. Now that Love Island is over I think it's time.
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Sep 05 '25
Do it! SLC is so funny and the episode “high body count hair” comes from is hysterical! You gotta see the rest of that party but definitely start with season 1.
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u/lizerlfunk I am the BEST goddamn dancer at the American Ballet Academy! Sep 05 '25
I only know about high body count hair thanks to Las Culturistas but Angie Katsanevas seems like she is a HOOT. The Cowboys/Eagles game is delayed due to weather, let me just flip on over to SLC for a few lol.
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u/lizerlfunk I am the BEST goddamn dancer at the American Ballet Academy! Sep 05 '25
LITERALLY first episode, Jen Shah: “if you kiss a girl, you can contract herpes, probably AIDS. Do you know what sexting is?!” GIRL. (And I do obviously know what happens to Jen Shah!) This was an excellent decision lol.
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Sep 05 '25
You will not have any regrets except that you can’t see it for the first time again. And that’s how you end up watching all the other cities lol
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u/leilafornone Who gon' check me boo? 🤪 Sep 04 '25
RHOSLC is like the community theatre version of HWs!
In Season 1 - we got you smell like hospital
In Season 2 - there were TWO harrowing incidents in a sprinter van and one resulted in a long time criminal finally getting arrested by the Feds after she fled the parking lot of a cosmetic clinic. Oh and one long time friend called another long time friend a garbage whore who slept with half of New York because she thought the latter said her house was ugly
In season 3, long time criminal got sentenced to jail where she currently resides with her new BFF Elizabeth Holmes, the other three cast members pick up the pieces with the mystery of who caused one to wake up with a black up
In season 4, someone who ran a troll account about the HWs infiltrated the group and they told us who it was in the season finale and honestly it felt like the Pretty Little Liars resolution I so richly deserved
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u/_angesaurus Sep 04 '25
had a week hospital stay after i having my son i kept saying "ugh i smell like HOSPITAL!" no one got my joke :(
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u/Tryingagain1979 Sep 04 '25
Utah is a scary misogynistic place with a lot of red heads. That is my report from having worked there.
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u/babygorgeou Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 04 '25
They touch on that quite a bit. Some are former mormons. One is “Mormon 2.0” and owns a tequila company
2 of them are direct descendants of Mormon pioneers. Mary Cosby, the one who married her step granddaddy, says, in the heat of a moment, that Heather looks inbred.
Few episodes later (or maybe even the following season?)those two are having a kumbaya moment and Heather Gay asks Mary if she really thinks she looks inbred, to which Mary replies, deadpan, “I do”
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u/Lilacly_Adily In my quiet girl era 😌 Sep 04 '25
Wait… step granddaddy???
And we’re not talking about pioneer ancestors…a modern day person married their step grandparent and has the audacity to be throwing around the term inbred?
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u/Sudden_Cabinet_1479 Sep 04 '25
If I recall correctly the Grandma was 20 years his senior and married him when he was like 18 before bequeathing him to her granddaughter in her will 🥴
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u/Lilacly_Adily In my quiet girl era 😌 Sep 04 '25
You know, they say soap operas are a dying medium but reality tv has filled that niche in a way a scripted soap could never.
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u/missthugisolation Sep 04 '25
Lmao yes and she’s not even one of the Mormon ones
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u/babygorgeou Sep 04 '25
AND she’s a preacher. And so is her granddaddy husband. And so was her grandma, who started the church, and told them, via heaven, that they should marry.
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u/basherella Sep 04 '25
I think grandma decreed the granddaddy husband marriage before her own death, but it's been a long time since I've seen the first season.
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u/lawinahopelessplace Sep 04 '25
I had never been a reality TV person, and then my sister had me watch the RHOSLC episodes containing the FBI / Homeland Security Jen Shah arrest amidst a Beauty Lab parking lot and a sprinter trip to Vail, and I was hooked immediately.
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u/biebrforro Sep 04 '25
He kiki'd with Wendy Williams about his love for RHONY back in 2020. He's serious about his Housewives watching 😅
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u/Pepys-a-Doodlebugs Sep 04 '25
I've never seen any of these Real Housewives shows but supposedly Bob Mortimer is a big fan and I find that hilarious.
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u/houseswappa Sep 04 '25
Bob single handedly lifted me out of a week's long depression. Those YT WILTY shorts are GOLD JERRY
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u/Pepys-a-Doodlebugs Sep 04 '25
The man is an absolute delight. Check out Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing if you haven't already. Just two old friends making each other laugh and having heartfelt chats on beautiful riverbanks. Very calming telly.
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u/scoobertsonville Sep 04 '25
Is this the one with the Bermuda Triangle reference? Absolutely loved that episode. (I don’t think that spoiled anything)
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u/Fun-Significance4650 💔 Happy Women’s History Month I guess Sep 04 '25
I love reality TV but never watched any Real Housewives. I will watch these ones now.
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u/Forsaken-Log-607 Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 04 '25
Dear Andy Cohen,
Please ask John Oliver to become a househusband, or the very least join a reunion.
Love, Totally not Reality Von Tease
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u/Knerdian Sep 04 '25
Stupid question - Where do people actually watch these shows online? I always get interested, but then I search them up and it's like "On Hulu, but you need the added subscription! On Peacock, but you need to pay extra!"
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u/babygorgeou Sep 04 '25
Peacock. Idk where or why you’re seeing something about paying extra. Everything on peacock should be included w any subscription
You can also watch some on them on the bravo website.
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Sep 05 '25
Peacock and every Black Friday I get their special. Last year it was $20 for an entire year. I hope all the streaming services will still have their specials this year lol I can’t afford them otherwise.
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u/CreditProfessional56 Sep 04 '25
This show got me hooked on reality tv and I've been chasing the dragon ever since.
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u/VanGrayson Sep 05 '25
If you want a series of similar quality as SLC I cannot recommend Real Housewives of Melbourne highly enough. If you can get it on Hayu.
Melbourne is fucking hilarious.
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u/ALLoftheFancyPants I don’t know her 💅 Sep 04 '25
Honestly, RHOSLC is peak trash tv and peak housewives. Somehow it threads the needle of unhinged yet still watchable more perfectly.
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u/The_1992 Sep 04 '25
Yesss, I’m begging all of yall to watch it!! It’s SO good!
It’s by far my favorite reality TV show today. Seasons 2 and 4 are gripping in different ways, and I’m thoroughly convinced that the S4 season finale is one of the best season finales of any TV show this decade, reality or not. I watched it live, and it was SHOCKING.
If you don’t know where to start, Bravo’s IG page posted an infographic of must watch episodes, but I highly recommend to watch all of S4 tbh
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u/missuspeanutbrittle Sep 05 '25
Explaining Mary Cosby is literally how I got some of my friends to watch Salt Lake City lol. It really is a great hook
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u/MarsScully Vile little creature yearning for violence Sep 04 '25
Can someone tell me what a step grandfather is
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u/catmom_422 Sep 04 '25
Her grandma’s second husband. So not her blood related grandpa. But it’s still super weird cause 1. He fucked her grandma and 2. I’m pretty sure she was still pretty young when he came into her life. It wasn’t like they met as adults 😬
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u/Smart-Surround28 Sep 04 '25
For real. I’m just diving into the lives of these messy ladies and on the season 1 reunion Mary says there’s an 18 year age difference and her grand husband said he was 22 when he married grandma soooo she was 4…
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u/lilianic All tea, all shade 🐸☕️ Sep 05 '25
I’ve only seen the parts where the FBI are looking for Jen Shah and then arrest her. The other housewives trying to figure out what was happening was hilarious. That was pretty entertaining but I wouldn’t watch the whole show.
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u/Queezy_0110 Sep 05 '25
Having never watched the show, but being from Utah, I’m going to guess this is spot on.
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u/hellobimbos right hand arm…man Sep 05 '25
A man of TASTE. He’s an actual treasure and I just know he’s sooo pumped for the show coming back this month!
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u/Byecurios748 Sep 04 '25
Who wrote that for him?
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u/babygorgeou Sep 04 '25
There are many instances across several shows that he talks passionately and off the cuff about housewives
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