Over the years, the Real Housewives franchise has become a flagship part of the Bravo network. However, reports have come out that certain legal troubles could end up putting an end to the franchise. An insider has recently weighed in on the ongoing story.
NBCUniversal Might Be Considering Ending Real Housewives Due To A Recent Lawsuit
The franchise got its start in 2006 with the release of The Real Housewives of Orange County. Attempting to bring the drama of shows like Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place into reality, the franchise looks at the lives of various upper-class women in different parts of the country.
Over the years, fans would see series set in all sorts of places, including Atlanta, New Jersey, Salt Lake City, and New York City, among other places. In addition, the franchise has seen a number of international versions and a few spin-offs, such as Vanderpump Rules.
![[Credit: Bravo/Instagram]](https://tvshowsace.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/real-housewives-bravo-instagram.png)
However, news has come out that NBCUniversal, who owns the Bravo network, could be putting an end to the popular franchise. According to Radar Online, this comes out after Real Housewives of Atlanta newcomer Brittany “Brit” Eady filed a $20 million lawsuit against Bravo.
The high-profile lawsuit comes from an incident last season. This has led to claims of “defamation, emotional distress, and a hostile work environment.”
Eady had previously chose to leave both Bravo and Real Housewives of Atlanta after Kenya Moore reportedly embarrassed her with a poster board titled, “Who Is This Ho?,” filled with “explicit, allegedly fake blurred photos.”
For her part, Eady has denied being the figure in the photos. In her legal filing, she also claimed she “did not see the explicit photograph until after certain of these events were aired on Bravo, nearly a year later.”
A production insider shared with reporter Rob Shutter, “What made Housewives great – the chaos – is now its biggest threat. It’s just lawsuit after lawsuit.” The source continued, “The drama made it great. But now it’s a walking lawsuit.”
Taking to his Substack, Shutter wrote, “The champagne’s flat, the taglines are tired – and Bravo may finally be done playing hostess.”
Sources Close To The Company & Brittany Eady Have Talked About The Story
A source close to Eady shared, “She begged to see the photo before it aired. They said no. They wanted drama – now they’ve got court dates.” For her part, Moore was cut from the season’s reunion show and may not return.
NBCUniversal had already been dealing with union threats from Bethenny Frankel and a feud involving Leah McSweeney and Andy Cohen. According to the publication, Bravo’s owner is in “full crisis mode.”
An exec was quoted as saying, “Every cast member’s a legal liability. Bravo has become an embarrassment to NBC news.” The publication also claimed that NBC called the Real Housewives franchise “legally radioactive” at this point.
Have you been following this story? Do you think we will see the end of the Real Housewives franchise? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest reality TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
