{"id":695002,"date":"2026-03-31T14:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/695002\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:30:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:30:18","slug":"real-housewives-of-boston-why-isnt-there-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/695002\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Housewives of Boston: Why isn’t there one?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeople keep asking me when I\u2019m going to do a \u2018Real Housewives of Boston,\u2019\u201d<\/a> he said in a 2020 episode of his talk show, all inner smirk, as he put guest Rachel Dratch through a fake screen test while she drank pinot grigio from a bottle through a straw and barked out retorts in thick Bostonese. <\/p>\n

In reality-focused circles, the \u201cwhyyyyy not Boston?\u201d wail has been picking up steam as the franchise sets seasons <\/a>not only in recognized hotspots like Miami, Atlanta, and New York, but also in locales (Potomac, Salt Lake City) that are obviously not as important as we are. <\/p>\n

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With disbelief boiling over a few years ago, Reddit user poohbear1025 made a pitch to any Bravo casting directors who might be scrolling the subreddit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have lived in a suburb of Boston my whole life and I think it would shine and be messy AF,<\/a>\u201d the user wrote, before suggesting a cast:<\/p>\n

\u201cA housewife from Cambridge with three PhDs being a stay-at-home mom, a Southie housewife yelling at her five kids to get out of the triple-decker while she cooks, a wife of a professor spending money they don\u2019t have, a tech bro\/crypto investor\/scammer wife in the Seaport trying to be a creator on TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Massachusetts Film Office says it has \u201cno current record of conversations with Bravo regarding filming a season of Real Housewives \u2026 [but is] always interested in exploring opportunities that showcase the state and its communities.\u2026\u201d so it may not want to hear this, but judging by the RHORI trailers,<\/a> it looks like Bravo may have landed on a drama goldmine one mere state away.<\/p>\n

Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos<\/a> herself would likely respect the Housewives\u2019 cosmetic work; a pampered cat <\/a>named Ganji promises to play a minor but satisfying role, and it\u2019s filled with lines like: <\/p>\n

\u201cMy family, when they come over, I just need the edge off, you know what I mean?\u201d (Alicia, requesting a daytime glass of wine from her husband); and \u201cEveryone says I bite people\u2019s heads off \u2026 and I can be \u2018scary,\u2019\u201d (Liz, sitting in her mansion, addressing unseen critics).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never watched \u201cThe Real Housewives,\u201d or any reality TV \u2014 not even just for the pleasure of wondering how are these people letting themselves be filmed like this? \u2014 the thing to know is this: while the industry is not what it once was,<\/a> it remains enormous, financially and culturally.<\/p>\n

One research report projected the global market would grow from $35.6 billion in 2025 to $55 billion in 2035<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s America, behaving poorly, or at least dramatically, on TV is a good career move. Some reality stars fall into scandal, tax, child porn, staged home invasions, what have you. <\/p>\n

But with greater regularity, Housewives and Kardashians and Bachelors and Bachelorettes \u2014 not unlike professional athletes \u2014 become crossover pop culture characters, using their credentials to become girdle magnates, say, or to join the Trump administration<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Hayden Cohen, a full-time content creator on the South Shore and a self-described \u201caspiring real housewife of Instagram,\u201d is thrilled every time a Real Housewife follows him on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe this is happening,\u201d @hayderz<\/a> thinks. <\/p>\n

But of course, what is not happening is \u201cThe Real Housewives of Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are no trailers showing dramatically haired women, bejeweled under black puffy coats, impatiently waiting for the valet. No Market Basket parking lot slap downs. No seaside clambake meltdowns. <\/p>\n

All we have are parodies of a show that itself seems like a parody.<\/p>\n

Boston influencer @everydayMaggie has created a whole social media series <\/a>that caricatures the Housewives\u2019 famed taglines.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cIn Fenway, I don\u2019t just pitch drama,\u201d she says in one reel, wearing a tight red dress and caressing a hot dog, \u201cI hit it out of the park.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the North End, I keep my friends close and my cannolis closer,\u201d she says in another.<\/p>\n

In the early 2010\u2019s, a series of short clips for a broad satire called \u201cThe Real Housewives of South Boston\u201d<\/a> became a YouTube sensation, and on the platform, users are reporting that the algorithm is serving it up to them again.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust found this! OMGawd! I\u2019m freakin dying!\u201d one person wrote. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize this is a documentary,\u201d said another. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, with the April 2 premiere of \u201cThe Real Housewives of Rhode Island\u201d looming, we need to know: why don\u2019t we have the real thing? <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Has Bravo not heard how local girl Amy Poehler described us<\/a> on a recent episode of her podcast to Steve Carell???<\/p>\n

\u201cI love where I\u2019m from. I love the directness. I love the real loyal, just really good, honest people,\u201d Poehler said. \u201cBut there is a definite… brusqueness and, honestly, I\u2019m going to say it, there\u2019s just like a \u2018you\u2019re not better than me\u2019 quality about Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alas, Bravo didn\u2019t answer a reporter\u2019s query, but observers have theories.<\/p>\n

For starters, neither of the two stereotypes that define Boston \u2014 that casting directors would lean into \u2014 is seen as \u201caspirational\u201d by reality TV execs, said Dr. Monica O\u2019Neal,a clinical psychologist, lecturer at Harvard Medical School, and former cast member of Bravo\u2019s \u201cCamp Getaway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou either have Ivy Leaguers, who execs assume viewers see as the opposite of an underdog and thus won\u2019t root for, or hardcore female sports fans who\u2019d rather go to a hockey match than be ladies who lunch,\u201d she said.\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n

\"TheThe cast of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.”NBC Universal<\/p>\n

So, despite any Rhode Island inferiority complex we may be now developing thanks to Bravo, let\u2019s remember: the problem isn\u2019t that we\u2019re not good enough. It\u2019s that we\u2019re too good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wealthy women in Boston are very private,\u201d said Angela Peri, founder and co-owner of Boston Casting. \u201cBoston is different than other parts of the country. Boston is very conservative, and the women here are just not going to put themselves out there like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lauren Beckham Falcone<\/a>, the WROR host, echoed Peri. The Nantucket people wouldn\u2019t do it, she said, and while the regular Boston types might want to, the disconnect between their real lives and the glitz and glamour the show demands would be too great.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be like putting a hippo in a tutu,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Beth Teitell can be reached at beth.teitell@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @bethteitell<\/a>.<\/p>\n