LadyGang - Alex Baskin

Episode Date: June 10, 2025

You know him as the mastermind behind the mess — this week, the LadyGang is joined by executive producer extraordinaire Alex Baskin, the man responsible for the Real Housewives franchises, Vanderpump Rules, and basically every Bravo show that’s ever destroyed a friendship and fed our souls. We’re asking the hard-hitting questions: Who really decides the cast trips? How many scenes get cut that would’ve changed EVERYTHING? Are the rumors about the valley true? Why did Jax have his phone in rehab? Plus, what is his housewife Mount Rushmore?Thank you for supporting our sponsors!Macy's: Shop Macy’s Friends and Family sale from June 3rd to the 9th at Macys.comQuince: Treat your closet to a summer glow-up! Go to Quince.com/lady for free shipping and 365 day returns!StoryWorth: Save $15 during their Father’s Day sale when you go to https://storyworth.com/ladyTropical Smoothie Cafe: Smoothies and beachside bites made just for you! Earn rewards with the Tropical Smoothie Cafe® App! Learn more at TropicalSmoothieCafe.comProgressive: Wanna save on car insurance? Visit Progressive.com to see how much you can save!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, what is this? Welcome to the Lady Gang. That's amazing. Say that again. The Lady Gang. Things are about to change around here. Each week, we catch up with Hollywood's hottest girl posse, Kelty Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jack Vanek.

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the Lady Gang. I am Becca Tobin here with Jack Vanek and Kelty Knight. Hello. Ugh. What? What? Feeling good?

Feeling great? She's got her Celsius. You're one of the day, right? One of the day. And it's only half done. I'm really like. Savoring? I've never seen you wear red in my life.

Never? I feel like if I ever wear a color, it is red. Really? Have you seen her wear red? Yeah, I think so. Sorry. Sorry, Charlie. Looks jolly.

Well, it's going to be a jolly Good Week, Bad Week. It's time for. Good Week. Yes, it is. bad week oh no okay I'm starting okay I was a mother for four days and it was horrific to who what happened okay so my friend my very best friend's stepkid who is older um was going on a trip through you know the states in a van like just doing the 18 year old thing and she was like hey can he swing by and like stay in LA or park his van in your driveway for a few days or whatever

And I was like, yeah. And I agreed to it six months ago, not understanding that I would be like so stressed out. And like, this is probably not a good time in between a zillion trips and Chris being gone and like everything breaking and no car for Derek. Like it's been like so crazy. So I was like, yeah, yeah. And then all of a sudden he's like, okay, well he'll be here tomorrow. And I was like, oh God. So anyway, he came with his friends. So I had two, I was a mother to two teenage boys for four days they stayed here they stayed here so the they asked when they originally asked they didn't say stay here they said park his van at your house yeah i thought they were gonna sleep in the van like i thought it was one of those fancy camper vans yeah but then when they

arrived i was like well i can't make them sleep in the van if i have like this is it just like a mansion it was like literally a dodge minivan okay with like no the door was duct taped on Like it was like, it was 18 year old Canadian boy, like for Jesus. Okay. So it was amazing. So they come and they are the sweetest kids. And one of them is a chef and he's like, I really want to cook for you. And it was just like, it was very sweet.

They're super respectful, but like they're boys. Was this not the beginning of like baby girl? No. The movie? Is that what it was? Did she hook up with him? Yeah. Like the child?

Well, it's like Nicole Kidman's like the older woman, the more like dominant, whatever. And then she becomes a baby girl to this young man. the baby girl you've been what you guys can't i want to be the baby girl okay anyway so they come they say so does he like dominator yeah sorry yes sorry yes anyway baby girl and he's 18 no he's not 18 but he's young yeah okay interesting so they come they stay and it's like it's fine but chris and i are childless wonders like we are used to like the most loudest child no but like technically an adult. We don't have people. We're also people-less wonder. So it's like when the child's are coming in at 11 o'clock after they've been out clubbing in LA or whatever, and they're

like, or I hear them like put music on in their room because they're getting ready. Like I don't have that. There's no sound. You probably should have a little bit of that. That's just like people being human. Yeah. So anyway, okay. But here's, here's where I mothered. So one of the kids was trying, one of the kids was going to leave early to drive the van to Vegas to meet a girl or something, or I don't know. And so, or go on the trip and then left the friend here. So I was like, well, that's kind of weird. Like one of the kids I know, and one of the kids I don't know, he left the friend, like the plus one for a day. And I was like, oh, crazy. When do you fly? And he's like, oh, I fly tomorrow. I'm like, okay, cool. Well, you know, Mikasa Sukai, I don't know

you, but okay. So he left and then I get a call or I come home and he was like, Hey, the friend was like, I'm going to actually have to stay a couple more days because I get my passports in the van, which is in Vegas. And I was like, absolutely not. This will not be happening. I'm a stress level nine. So I had to mother, I was like, well, UPS, like he was like, friend is going to mail it back overnight at whatever. And I was like, no, no, no. I was like, you're going I go to Southwest airlines right now, you're going to fly to Vegas. You're going to meet up with the van. You're going to get your flight. And then I'll get you a flight home to Vancouver. Like I mothered so well, but I was like, I cannot take care of myself. I am not in a position to be

mothering children. It was all consuming. I was worried about what they're eating. Are they happy? Are they drowning in the pool? And they're adults in the pool at 18. I was like, Oh my God. She's like, one's a chef, but they're kids. I'm like, he wanted to cook for us and he cooked for us. and then like it was great but then the amount of dishes and I was like oh my god now the hood fan doesn't work because I think they hood fan so hard and then like you know it was just like they were using dishes I've never seen before I don't know how to clean this pot like it was just towels man stink like it was just you know it was how many nights total did they sleep here like four that's a lot that is a lot how many nights total did this friend stay here alone well no I sent

him off oh you did so it was like right away okay and Chris looked at me and he was like what have you done and I was like I'm just trying to be a nice auntie you know and it's fine they were wonderful but it was just like I was not in my own life I was at the beck and call of you know because it's like normally you know when people come to stay I'm like I'm going to bed good luck yeah in the water yourself I'm fine you know but I felt like I needed to take care of them like what are you guys doing today like I had to small talk with it was being a mother was very hard and they were 18 did you feel like you wanted to be attractive to them no you didn't want to impress them at all I didn't need to impress them they came in a van that was duct taped

yeah no I I did feel like I wanted to be like cool aunt like ha ha ha you guys gonna go meet some chicks yeah you know yeah I just showed my age I also love how you're like they went clubbing and when they got home from clubbing at 11 p.m. I don't even think they went clubbing I think they drank all my beer in the backyard and then like like one night they seem like very nice respectable boys no they were lovely like one night one of them walked in our room like when we're sleeping because I think they were drunk oh Chris was like whoa whoa whoa man and he like looked and he was like because you know the house is big it's dark you know like it was just like you didn't lock your door I can't lock that door it's not a real door wow anyway interesting this

is too long of a story this is no I'm actually I'm actually very into this whole thing it was wonderful it was so weird yeah it was wonderful it was great and I know the one kid well or no not really because it's like a stepson like yeah my friend's second marriage it's not like you've known him since he was a baby no it's like not like that like there he was already an adult when I met him you know yeah but I love that people are like I'm coming through LA but you do I don't know. I don't want that ever. No, ever. I, and it's like, I think as a rule of thumb, no more than two days staying with somebody. Period. Yeah. End of story. Well, I just, I like my things the way I like my thing. Yeah. You know, I tell every single person coming to

Austin that I don't, that I won't be there when they're there. Every single person who reaches out. It's such like an obligation. It's just, here's the thing. This is what people need to recognize. I think this is a good public service announcement. Just because you're on vacation, just because you have time off, I'm on vacation. When you contact somebody who lives in the city that you are visiting, that's annoying. You can just put it out there and say, no pressure, obviously, but I'm here if you want to get a drink, if you want to do something, but also you could be busy. Yeah. There should be no obligation to have the person that lives in that city, whose life is in that city, whose family's in that city, who's all the thing,

who's dry cleaners in that city to have to stop their life to meet you downtown to have fucking lunch. I would never drive downtown even if it was something I wanted to have lunch. Well, my new thing. Well, downtown LA is different. I'm talking Austin. My big problem now is Orange County to LA. Like I had one of my good friends come into town last week and she planned

dinner for all of our friends. And I'm like, I don't think I can do that. Like I was, it was right when I came back from Japan and I was super behind on work, but I'm like a dinner in LA from Orange County. now is a full day experience. Yeah. Like you can't just like pop in for dinner. So, but nobody understands that, that like comes to LA how far away orange County is. Yeah. It's far. Yeah. But yeah, I agree with that. Boom. My good week is that my parents and my brother are coming to lady

world. I don't know if I said this before, but I officially booked their accommodations. Um, and I like, they're so proud of us and I, um, but we're staying the whole week before I probably shouldn't say this, but see you on the beach guys. Um, I'm making a family vacation of it. We've never done a family vacation before. I'm like terrified, excited, but we're going to stay the whole week and like beach it and whatever. I'll probably be super stressed, but, um, I think it's going to be super, super fun. And like they're planning their outfits and whatever. And more importantly, we added two new sexual people to our lineup. Three, three sexual people. Yeah. There's two people in one of those sexual groups. Oh, you're right. Oh my God. I'm like, what? Um, two sexual

acts two sexual acts three sexual people we're so excited that is coming and the girls from are coming we added them in it has been you know such a journey of like getting this line upset and I could not be more excited I just feel like they are the energy that we need and I'm just I'm so excited so tickets are on sale now ladyworld.co you don't want to miss out it's gonna be insane everything's falling into place yes it's a beautiful thing um i'll go next um my good week is this weekend i will be going to the warp tour it's back my tent will not be there um but i will be there watching jared i'm so excited it has the last warp tour was 2018 so it's been like seven years whoa reconnected right that was when i reconnected with jared

wow it's like your anniversary it's like a full circle moment um finger banging and finger banging and we didn't finger bang just to make out just to, I like sat on his lap and we made out on like a little camping chair, which was like, but so we didn't do back in the day of him getting a boner of him getting a boner. And then, uh, texting me in paragraph bombing you love bombing me. Um, but it all happened in like June. There's a week in June. It's like the 23rd to the 29th that like so many of our life things have happened. Like we reconnected, we got legally married. We bought our house. Like all of our stuff has been in that week. We like exchanged numbers for the first time. So it's June again. So I'm really excited about it. Um, so that's my

good week. My it's not a bad week. It's just an interesting week is the Warped Tour lineup came out and they have this like side thing that they're doing for Warped Tour 2 and that lineup came out and I got so many dms they're like lady gang is going to be on warp tour no I saw lady gang on the ad mat and I was like wait what and I go to look you guys there is an artist named lady gang uh not for long because we own the trademark lady gang music is an artist that's playing on warp tour this is it's one lady um I thought it was very interesting and it's not us Ooh, I can't wait to write that cease and desist. Whoa.

Yeah. Weird. Should we ask for $30,000 to use our name? It's so weird because I've never heard. Are we trademarked under music? Entertainment. Entertainment. Mm-hmm.

And if she's selling merch. I don't want to f*** her over. I don't either. But I do think we have to. That's confusing. Yeah. Well, no, because people, I got so many DMs being like, you're on Warped Tour? Lady Gang's doing a podcast on Warped Tour?

Right. Oh, no. If it was somebody making, like, you know, pencils or, like, things that are confusing. I mean, the genre of Warped Tour is very, it's connected to me. Yeah, that's also why it's weird. Oh, I can't wait to sue someone. Yes, I've been waiting for something like this. We're not suing anybody, Kelty.

No, no, we're not suing. We're just going to politely ask our attorney, like, what's the best course of action? You know, we don't want to ruin lives. No. Karmically, we owe her kindness because we didn't receive it. That's true. Yeah, that's right. It'll be like when Bush, Gavin Rousdale's band, came to Canada and there was already

a band called Bush, but in Canada they were called Bush X. Oh, I think that's how like ex ambassadors became ex ambassadors, you know, the band. Oh, cause there was already ambassadors. Yeah. I think so. Wow. Yeah. Okay.

Anyways, good for you. Okay. My good week is that I was flying here and luckily it was a flight for the first time. That wasn't first thing crack of dawn in the morning. It was a sensible 4 p.m. flight midday on a Sunday. so I thought I'm gonna just get ready for because the flight's so short and I hate putting my makeup on after like a nasty flight whatever I was like I'll just get my makeup on and be a human at the airport which I think I can count on one hand how many times I've worn mascara in an airport right

so I looked fine I wasn't like a smoke show by any means and when I left Ford asked me why I was wearing my pajamas because I was in a linen pant that was quite casual but I go and I sit down and I'm seated directly behind this guy who's so tall. I just see him standing to put his stuff up. Right. And I'm just thinking, wow, that's like a very tall man. His like butt cheeks were pretty much like eye level with me. He was so tall. Oh my God. Um, and then I just like to spy on people that I sit behind and I'm like spying and I'm just looking and not that I perv on men anymore. because I really, like, barely have a sex drive of my own, you know? So I noticed halfway through the flight that it is none other than Joel McHale.

Oh, really? Well, you wouldn't have recognized him because he got that new hair. It's very hot now. He got the hair transplant. He had a hat on, so. Oh, you would have recognized him. Okay. Yeah.

He's much better looking in real life. Is he? He's hot in real life. I didn't realize he was so tall. He is so tall, so muscly. He's so hot. Yeah. So hot.

Yeah. I had met him 10 years ago. Did you say hi? No, but I felt good because when he did actually look at me, I didn't look like a troll under a bridge. You know, it was like a sensible, if we were both single, like could something have happened? Probably not. He's probably not into like short little gymnasts, but anyways, so that was fun.

Um, and my bad week is, you know, school just ended. It wrapped up school. We call it school. it's pretty much daycare that's expensive. But, um, I really liked the school and I liked the, the energy there because I felt like I was left alone by all the parents. I felt like it was a sensible, Hey, Hey, Hey, nothing more. Um, we didn't even learn each other's names. There was one class mom who just sent out a really respectful email every couple of months. If there was a birthday of a teacher, whatever, whatever. It was so great. Right. My friend Odette, our kids are in

the same class together she calls me she goes did you know this entire school year there was a group text that you're not on that somehow we didn't sign up for there was some someone I guess we opted out of something and she said the only person on it of the four of us was her husband Dave and Dave is useless useless oh my god he's the actor he's been receiving group text from the class for a for almost a year without noticing that any of us were not on it and also just never bringing it up she just was sitting next to him in the car and sees all these texts blowing up and it's the parents that's so funny so no wonder they didn't speak to us because they thought we were dicks yeah because we didn't sign up or opted out or some part of somewhere along the lines we

all didn't oh are you would you have liked to be a part of the group chat it's a happy accident yeah it's a happy accident I don't think that would have been something you like it wouldn't have been and that's exactly why I put Zach as the primary parent yeah in our paperwork I love you he's the only dad that's primary parent oh my god um but yeah so you know it's a win win yeah that's that's it feels like something I would do but I appreciate you yeah you know what no I'm gonna keep it going next year I think yeah what do I need to know no because I have friends that are in parent group chat and there's a lot of drama in there because like if your kid hits another kid at football and then I feel like I'd like to watch that happen oh you would love it

yeah in Austin through some drums in Austin there is I think as the kids get older you kind of have to be not have to but it's helpful to hear if your kid does something and is an asshole or whatever but there was a bunch of moms in my neighborhood on one text with my friend and one of the moms was so drunk one night and she went off like the text the tone of the text was very leanne from housewives of dallas when she goes into the bathroom and she has a hot mic moment and she makes these really weird very mentally ill statements like aggressive statements and that was the energy from this woman's text and it was that's so embarrassing wild oh no she and at one point she goes hold my beer no way well guys hold my beer because the king of reality tv is with us

and i can't wait to hot goss with him this father's day let macy's be your go-to destination for every guy who deserves to feel appreciated from your dad to your husband to your brother your grandpa your favorite neighbor or even a friend who's basically your second dad becca you ready? I'm ready. You got a dad and you got a daddy. A baby daddy. Baby daddy and dad. Father's Day always sneaks up on us because we're like oh we get through Mother's Day and then we're like everything's fine. Anyway so we ended up making a Father's Day gift guide at Macy's.com. It's a total lifesaver. What are we getting everyone? Well I'm actually doing a similar gift for Zach that i am my dad um my for one i like your for one easy peasy well my dad is always checking out

what zach's wearing you know and he wants to be cool and hip but they both want to be comfortable so there's a lot of linen items like a linen drawstring pant which is a very nice option any ladies out there that are trying to get their boyfriends husbands out of basketball shorts and into something a little bit you know elevated but they don't want to be uncomfortable and they want to be breezy there's a lucky brand linen short it's a great length wait I'm honestly taking notes yeah because Chris and I are going to Ibiza well he's not he's a dog dad he is but I'm like I can't have you in a board short anyway these are perfect so it's stuff like that where it's for summer and they don't embarrass us when they go out to dinner with us okay I love this I

also got my dad clothes because he's coming to lady world and I don't want him to embarrass me in front of my thousands of friends that are going to meet him for the first time you aren't going to let him wear jorts or macy's jorts he should wear a jort one of the days he should just wear his dirty jorts and his old super fan shirt and like people will know that he's in costume absolutely but i got him actually it's really cute i got him a matching boss set it's black with like a black hawaiian print but like elevated florida and then it's a swim short but it's a short with the swim pant holder underwear in it that you can wear in the ocean but you can also wear it to dinner so it's like you can throw it on if he's going to lunch or whatever it'll be

like a little elevate i don't know what to do with his feet but we'll get there jack i also got my dad clothes my dad there's something about him like when he goes to step out to do anything he's wearing the most mismatched oh my worst outfit like there's this outfit he wears when goes walking and it's like a light salmon shirt with like a like a peri not periwinkle but like a light teal pant like two pastels and we're like pastels it's easter bitch and we're like we can't be doing this so i went all nike i got him a nike pair of walking pants and like a nice sweat wicking i think is the word that they say yeah long sleeve shirt to wear and then nike socks because i'm like we've got to just like up the game a little bit and like look like we're put

together and not be like wearing pastels on a walk. I love that we really tried and not one of us was like, you're getting, what do we normally get our dads? Like a, you know, a shaver kit or nothing. Skincare. Exactly. Well, Macy's really has everything. Whether you're looking for stylish sport wear like polos and tailored pieces, active wear shoes, something a little more fun and expected Lego sets, barbecue gadgets, watches, electronics, barware fragrances. It's all shoppable right now. And the brands are insane. Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Levi's Club, Hugo Boss, like I said, Finish Line, Nike, like Jack said, something for every guy's vibe. So if you're still wondering what to get the dads, the role models, the men that have helped shape your world, head

on over to Macy's. They've done the heavy lifting with their Father's Day gift guide. And you just have to pick, click and make someone's day. Check it all out now at Macy's.com and get your gifting down early. And if you want to see what we got our dads, check out our Instagram because we made a shopping guide thank you macy's thank you it is summer and i want to be on a beach right all day long that's not really realistic but i can take my taste buds on vacay any moment i want with tropical smoothie cafe they're fresh from the blender smoothies and beachside bites are made just for you it's like a wellness retreat for your taste buds all you need is 15 minutes with the bahama mama smoothie to feel that vacay glow check out their fan fave detox island green smoothie

and my favorite super green caesar chicken wrap a pear a detox island green smoothie with a caribbean jerk chicken wrap for lunch full of tropic vibes tropical smoothie cafe is the holy grail of tropic bowls like the acai with nutella handmade wraps get that morning glow up in with a better breakfast from tropical smoothie cafe including their fan fave acai berry booze smoothie chia oatmeal pudding bowl and pb banana crunch flatbread my mouth is watering order ahead take the scenic route and earn rewards with the tropical smoothie cafe app download it today tropical smoothie cafe you're on tropic time now visit tropical smoothie cafe.com to find a cafe near you this episode of lady gang is brought to you by progressive insurance fiscally responsible

financial geniuses monetary magicians these are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to progressive and save hundreds because progressive offers discounts for paying in full owning a home and more plus you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it so your dollar goes a long way visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates potential savings will vary not available in all states or situations now back to the lady gang today i'm a lady gang we are thrilled to welcome a true titan of reality television he is the emmy nominated executive producer behind some of Becca Tobin's favorite series and bravos including Real Housewives of

Beverly Hills, Vanderpump Rules, The Valley, Denise Richards and Her Wild Things, Real Housewives of the OC and Botched. His keen eye for drama and character development is what we call it now has earned him critical acclaim and a devoted fan base. Beginning his career as a high school intern at MTV, Alex quickly ascended the ranks of television production. He joined Evolution Media in 2006 where he oversaw 30 series specials and pilots including Beverly Hills Nannies and High School Confidential. His approach to storytelling and his commitment to capturing the complexities of human relationships on screen have made him a star. His work not only entertains, but also sparks conversations about authenticity, vulnerability, and the human messy experience.

Please welcome to the Lady Gang, the visionary producer and master storyteller, Alex Baskin. Welcome. First, because you've had so many successes, I want to talk about all your failures. Please. There's so many of them. because, because when I said your bio, you, you, you're so good at so many things and you've had so many hit shows, but I want to know what happened to growing up supermodel. Oh, oh man. I've not been asked about that in a long time. That one came and went. So we usually don't talk about the failures. Um, you know, it just, it didn't work. What was it? Yeah. I want to go

through the idea okay so the idea was um to put together a bunch of celebrities offspring who were aspiring models yeah right okay yeah thank you yeah it makes sense yeah so we tried to do that and we didn't do it successfully because you didn't have good models um i think it was a number of things i mean it was a group that really didn't know each other very well and so it all kind of felt forced um and we had basically no audience from the start and they abandoned us anyway well Well, and models are really known to have sparkling personalities. So that's a good combo. And it's a fascinating job too.

Fascinating. So much. Tell me the ins and outs, you know? Yeah. We broke it all down if you want to. I'm sure it's on home video. Now I saw something, Alex, on your IMDB when I was doing my investigative reporting that you had done something with Stassi.

Basically Stassi? We did. That was a- A pilot? It was a digital series that we did for BravoTV.com. Did it go years ago? Yeah. Oh, well you need to put the logo on IMDb. Cause it looks like there's nothing there. It's just a gray square. I didn't know it was real or not. That was real. Okay. That happened. What do you think happened with the Hills New Beginnings? Yeah, it was

during, yeah, exactly. It was during Vanderbilt. Yeah. Hills New Beginnings. All I wanted was Hills New Beginnings. Oh man. It was a tough show to make. Um, I think that, um, you know, that group was used to making a different kind of series for many years ago. And, um, so we did what we could but it was blood from a stone was it like because they all knew how to make reality tv i think that they'd come of age in a different era in reality tv and the hills was uh very little dialogue um a lot of staring into a lot of looks you know and and great cues um and we were trying to make a version of vanderpump and that was very hard to do oh with that group are you making a show with spencer and heidi not currently should that you make a show with spencer and heidi love

spencer and heidi i mean i'm game someone has to you know i mean there's a there's yeah i i think it will happen they're the best reality tv people of all time yeah no why hasn't happened yet she's too busy being a pop star although like i have notes you know what i mean like i what are your notes well i first of all i love heidi and i love spencer but like you know how we're showgirls like we were showgirls so long ago it's like we know the showgirl secrets so i just saw her do the show in london and she had the high cut bodysuit but then you could see like the the the show g underneath like the g string yeah and i'm like no no no we like it's a double fishnet suntan shimmer tight with no underwear under it like yeah and everybody knows that

except heidi no not everybody you i think you know i don't even know what you're talking i think you could send her some notes i'm gonna send her out because it made me upset because you know when you were the high. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um, all right. I want to ask you about everything that's going on right now. What show do you want to start with? Uh, actually Becca, what show would you like to start with? Oh, see. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or the Valley or the Valley. Oh, do we want to be dark or light? I think we should, I think we should start dark. Cause i started with the failures we're like gradually get to the fun time yeah can i just ask one question about the valley i'm sure everybody's asking why does jacks have his phone in rehab

oh i mean where is he in rehab the grove i mean look i have the same explanation that you do on that so what i he was allowed to keep his phone um there's murmurs of california state law where your phone has to remain uh accessible so that's what i know that's so weird yeah but like well that's probably why people have to go back more than once wait was he because i'm not caught up was he like texting her like harassing her yeah watching their security cameras from at her house and he's like you're wearing ripped jeans and a red shirt today i have eyes everywhere meanwhile he's on the nest cam app oh my god threat isn't that crazy yeah okay so that was all i wanted to know i thought maybe you guys would have known or like you guys made a deal

under the table with the rehab facility that he could continue no i mean he checked himself in and he was allowed to keep his phone by his side and yeah there you go as a producer of the show like you have you know we were executive producers of our own show so we understand the strife but like you have this you have the responsibility of the show right like you got to make a television show. And then on the other side of it, these are like human beings and they're real human beings. So like, how do you juggle that? Like when Jax is like, I'm going to rehab and you're like, oh, we're in the middle of filming a television show where you're the main character. Like, how do you even wrap your head around that? Well, I mean, we really take great pains to

try to be responsible. And so, um, that seemed like a step that he needed to take. He did it of his own volition. And so it's our job to document it at that point. So, um, you know, we made, we made very clear that we supported him taking the steps that he needed to take. Do you think it's crazy that we're like, Kristen's the voice of reason in reality television? What a turn. How do you feel about that? Because you've known her for a long time. Well, it sort of makes me laugh because, um, someone was saying to me recently from our team, you know, she's really been the voice of reason since she moved over to the Valley. And it was like, she wasn't last season. So, um, it's a recent development, but I think it's great.

And I also think that, you know, it's a function of, and a reflection of the fact that, um, I think things change and I think people change and I think she's in a really good place and I think she's really centered. And I also think everything that is going on outside of her is magic crazy. Yeah. Did you know during the casting process that there were so many marriages on the rocks? did you know i mean i can imagine a little bit like he knew but he's thinking about how to answer it oh alex the tea is hot i mean i will say this it didn't shock me that michelle and jesse weren't there for the distance so um you know that had occurred to us but i also think that you know if the valley is a series that's about suburban life and it's about people trying to settle down

and become adults then i think the reality of it is something different altogether yeah yeah so and look around, right. Go through any neighborhood and there's probably, uh, divorces or at least splits that are about to happen. Right. Well, no. And I think it's like, we don't get to see it on other shows that like co-parenting aspect of it. Like, and all, so many of our friends, like I'm in the, we were just talking about this. I'm in the divorce era where everyone's getting divorced and they're learning how to co-parent. And you're like, this is actually worse. Like this is a different kind of hell to like have to show up and realize that like I divorced you, but you're actually in my life forever. I can never really leave you. So you have to be very careful who you

have babies with most important decision of anybody's life. Well, thank God I don't have a uterus. If you're having them, who you have them with. I think that, yeah, the Jackson is interesting to me. I actually am behind also Alex and not because it's not great, but I had to take a little beat cause it was very, I think the whole storyline is like incredibly triggering because like, listen, I'm not in defensive jacks because I fall under the jacks. Like it's the same as when Schwartz was here. Like, it's like, you know, this is under the spell. I'm under the spell. Like I fall so easily. Like when I've seen him out and like, you know, when we've talked and we've DM because he is nice to you. Well, he's super nice. And I also, because he has bipolar

too. So does my brother. It's like, there's a very, like, I see the Coke addiction. Like it's actually such a similar story that I'm like the anger that all the things that Jax has, like I have had in my life since I was seven years old. So I have a lot of compassion for Brittany because I'm like this, but then I'm also, it's hard to watch because I'm like, you're actually going about it the wrong way. Like, I think it's crazy that in mental health month, like on TV, when someone calls you and says they found out I have bipolar two to like roll your eyes. Like that to me is insane. Like who rolled their eyes? Everyone in the car. They were like, Oh, and I know that he has more shit going on than just the bipolar. But it's like, if you called

someone and you were like, I have cancer or I found out that I have this illness, like the reaction is compassion. And the reaction, not everyone with bipolar too, is a piece of shit to their family all the time. Yeah. Sorry. We can, we can move forward. No, I know. I know there's a lot of people struggling with bipolar too, who don't behave in that way. I think he's working with also narcissism. He is on a reality television show. No, no, no. But I'm just saying like, I don't know. I feel, I don't know. I'm under the spell, I guess. You love him and you want to be with him. I don't want to be with him. She's going to divorce her husband for Jax. Is there anyone in from the history of you? Am I the only person you've met that's on team Jax? I'm

not on team Jax. I'm definitely team Brittany, but like something else. But I get being sympathetic to him. And I think, you know, clearly there's something going on. I also agree that people should be responsible for their actions so I think it's all true you know we take some hits because the show is considered dark this season yeah and I always have the same response to that which is that this is real and so I'm not sure where people would want us to point our cameras yeah so sometimes it's hard to watch but I'm not sure what story we would be telling otherwise and also a lot of people say well you know this is somehow sort of glorifying Jax but it's Britney's story too so you're seeing what she is going through and I'm proud of the

fact that it is, it's unvarnished. And then, you know, um, the audience can sort of make up their own minds. Um, but I think it does lend to discussion because a lot of people go through this in some capacity. It's just, usually you see a watered down version of it on television and not the version of it that we're showing. Well, I was going to say, it's just kind of ironic because it like actually is reality TV versus like, yes, it's like, Oh yeah. That's not like the housewives in New York where they had to like all go pickleballing and like lie about a fake pregnancy to make a storyline. You have more storylines coming out of your ass in the valley than you probably even have

time to edit. There's a lot going on. Right. And dark isn't necessarily bad. I don't know if dark is a criticism. Maybe some people are like, it's too dark to watch, but I enjoy the light. Like I think it's because it's so real. Well, it's almost like you're watching a documentary rather than like a reality TV show, which

I think is like, well, and there's also the light. Like I really enjoy watching Kristen have her, like learning how to, watching Kristen learn how to be a mature person is thrilling to me. Yeah. Um, who from, from the history of working with reality stars, who do you think has the most charm and charisma or is there like, or is there somebody that you don't think people know is, they don't come across as charming and charismatic as you've seen them or experienced them or. It's a good question. I mean, I would say that, um, plenty of people that I work with are just naturally really appealing and just sort of have whatever that star quality is. Some of them, even more so say Alex, it's the Riz, some, um, even more so when the cameras

turn on. Yeah. Um, but, um, but I would say a lot of them. And then on the other hand, there are people who sort of shrink when the attention is on them, which is not a great quality to have when you're on television. And so, you know, and, and, and sometimes too, they won't even realize that until after they're, they're on the show. So, um, you know, they will, they'll realize, oh shit, I made that much harder than it had

to be. And really when you were telling me to be myself, that's what you actually meant. Um, so people, people tend to overthink when the camera's on. Yeah. Which you feel, right? Yeah. Are you invited to Alexis and John Jansen's wedding? Well, I have not received the invitation.

So maybe it's lost. It is soon. Yeah, it is soon. What is Andy like as a boss? Andy's great. Um, Andy is really, I saw him in Florida like two weeks ago and he looked tired. Yeah. Well, he's also got two young kids.

No, I mean, but like, sorry, I mean that nicely, Andy, but like, that's a big job. Like host, think of what he's doing daily show, two kids and over, like how much is he, he just lets you do your thing. Yeah, he's he look, he knows everything that's going on. He has, you know, his thoughts. He gives a lot of input. But at the same time, he is he's supportive. He's not a micromanager. But I do think that I think the housewives very much have his imprint on them. And I think he is he's great because he's a huge fan of the shows. And I think some executives aren't or sort of come at it from a different approach. he loves the shows. He loves the twists and turns. And so, you know, I think that enthusiasm is, is great. And I think he has sort of the perfect filter for the shows. He's, he's of the audience in a good way. He loves the women too. It's crazy because it's very genuine. How do you wrestle with, if there is someone who is just a dick, okay. They exist, right?

I've seen a few. Okay. And like, how do you wrestle with knowing that those people make good television, but also not wanting to give those people what they want, essentially a job and a platform and exposure. It's hard because, um, oftentimes I will say that the most compelling personalities can be difficult. Um, and I think you just have to make peace with it. And I think that it is on one level it's entertainment i think if someone is truly abhorrent then that's a different story right but if someone is just a garden variety asshole and a pain in the ass you kind of gotta put up with it garden variety asshole who would you put under that category i mean you know there's there's one or two contenders okay a garden that's great i love

so what would you do if you were doing new york housewives oh good question that's tough to say You know, I haven't watched it in a long time, so I couldn't I couldn't exactly tell you. So I don't have, you know, sort of a personal thought on on where they might go from here. But look, the shows are tough, you know, and and shows are often in a vulnerable place and it kind of takes a certain cohesion. And the cast either works together or they don't. I think New York did something very difficult. I think rebooting from scratch is really hard and they did that successfully in the first place.

And then in this era, there's constant speculation about the future of the show. I know that from my own, you know, like for example, the Valley is doing extraordinarily well. And a couple of weeks ago I had to come out and refute a story that it was going to be put on pause.

And like, it is not being put on pause. It is flourishing. They just ordered 40 more. Right. It's, it's doing great. So I sort of think with New York,

I think part of it is just the swirl of speculation. Interesting. I always feel like people will criticize reality television for destroying people's lives and marriages and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever. But I actually look at it. I think that there is, I look at people like Michelle on the Valley and I actually believe that these shows rescue people from their reality at times, their own reality at times, like giving women a job when they didn't necessarily have a job or a voice when they didn't have a

voice or a salary when they didn't have a salary. Like I feel like so many housewives, it's been so beneficial and their marriages may have exploded, but it was like their version of getting out of jail, like, you know, freedom. I mean, I could not agree more. We, I've always said this um we have never destroyed a good marriage right right and so i think quote quote i think that um i think the shows can uh i think expedite the the end of a marriage that probably is challenged in the first place um but people bring their problems to us not the other way around and and so i think if a marriage isn't strong and a couple comes on to a show either because one of them wants to do it or the other one doesn't or they think that it'll save their

marriage, or they think that they can hide what's really happening, that isn't going to happen. So we're the ones who take the blame for that. And we're sort of a convenient target. But I don't think that's the case. And I think people make their own choices in life anyway. And at this point, I think to plead ignorance about going on a reality show and being surprised that a lot comes with it, including, you know, the fact that not the show, but people will sort of dig up everything that's going on in your life. Like, I don't think you can do that with any credibility at this point. Well, I also feel like if you're going to go on a show, let's pay our taxes. Do you know what I mean? Like, do you know what I mean? Like, let's do

a full audit of like what we owe on the mortgage and like, it's just know that the people are going to figure it out. Like it's wild to me. Like the amount of housewives in jail are going to jail or getting whatever for like not doing their taxes like baby dolls i think that um yeah it always amazes me that people um you know sort of have whatever they do going out on outside and expect that it isn't going to be discovered somehow so it's strange i think too there can be a sensitivity on the shows to being held to account for the things that are going on in your life and an even greater sensitivity than the things that aren't true. Right.

Because if someone makes a claim about you and it isn't true, it's not hard just to say no, but people don't always like a light being shined on what really is going on. And if that's the case, then truly they just shouldn't sign up for the show. Right. I think what Becca was saying and what I agree with or what I like about the shows is that it gives a place for the oldies of Hollywood. And I mean, this would love to go like, it's like women over 40 instead of a dumpster. Well, exactly. You're like, okay, cool. Yeah. You're like, cool. I've, I've done all this stuff.

I was fabulous. And now like, unless you're Mike White, you're not putting me on TV again. Right. After menopause. Thank you. You know what I mean? Once the vag is dry, the housewives are lubed. It's very true. Thank you. Or plans or what did Lisa Rinna do poise? Like, I love that. You know what I mean? Someone needs an adult diaper and it's the housewives, but are you concerned that it's sort of like an elder ladies group now or are you cool with the valley being sort of next gen younger and then the housewives because it takes a while to get rich alex and that's the problem like unless you're not long to lose it though no but unless you're like a nepo baby or whatever it's like by the time you have the mansion and the range rover and all that shit

you're in your late 40s 50s 60s so it's like how do you well i wouldn't say the housewives are geriatric so um you know i don't i don't think they're quite at that point but i do think that people are more interesting with seasoning in their life and i think that you get to a point where you've you know a lot you've seen a lot i think you care less yeah um but then we've got the other you know life phases covered so we've got for example the new vanderpump rules yeah which i'm very excited about yeah we need to talk about that so we'll cover that and then um and then you know the space between that and housewives is the valley yeah right and um and so i think that we've got kind of you know all of adulthood cover in a really fun way it's true new vanderpump

roles couldn't have more pressure i love it wait is it already cast cast we are we're working on it and we are um we're excited it's back to our basic principles which is you know it's a group of people who are really friends in their 20s, work together, kind of do everything together. And it's the sort of low stakes, but high intensity fun ride that I love. And it bears very little resemblance to the original other than obviously, there's Sir and Lisa presides over it. And there's that life phase again. But to me, I love the fact that people are doubting us. I love the skepticism. them. I want people to watch it and fall in love in spite of themselves. And I think they will, there's really big shoes to fill. Um, but, um, but it's going great. So, uh, very excited to

unleash that. When you were casting, like, I know a probably big problem is trying to find people that are going to act like authentically on camera and not just be like, Oh, I'm going to get internet famous after this. Like the Tom, how, how can you like sift through that when you're trying to find the right people? It's a really good question. And it's sort of the great challenge, right? Because on the one hand, you want people who want to be on the show and are willing to put it all out there. On the other hand, you don't want people who are desperate or, you know, are trying to create a television show. You want them to be in the moment. You want them to be real. And there's a lot of really smart people that are taking a look at the casting. We have meetings

with the group um and we sort of figured out plus in the first place it's a real friend group so it's people who are connected so you get to know them better and it's also a closed universe yeah because we're not just opening it up to the entire world um but i think that um the group that we found is totally game to put it all out there um and they have been they've sort of they've lived up to that i also don't think that they're super fans of the original series in a good way i think they all respect what they're signing up for, but I don't think any of them is trying to recreate the greatest hits. And they were, so they're a group of friends and then now they're going to all work at Sir. Are there, they, they, they work at Sir. Oh, they do. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So we started

with, yeah. So, um, so they've worked at Sir together for a while, um, which is great, which is, um, you know, sort of allowed us to, to zero in on, um, on a group that, uh, is intertwined in really fun ways so excited what makes the show like how much are you shooting that just does not ever make it onto television a lot the ratio is is actually pretty extraordinary typically we shoot for a given show um at least a week per episode and that's five days with three crews so if you start to do the math there's a lot we get more than well like why are you only giving me this many episodes we'd be bored it's in order to like get the diamond you have to like you know sift through the dirt storyline yeah yeah i mean i i you know sometimes it's tough and sometimes you

feel like you know there are choices you wish you didn't have to make but other times you also have to realize that you want the story to keep pushing forward so even if there's a funny lunch or something that you don't see if it isn't in service of story you just can't see everything You need like the, like on Love Island when they have the unseen bits and it's just like a bunch of just random shit that's like on the cutting room floor. Totally. Yeah. And it's, and some of it is, is fun. And I wish that we could see it because it can be things too, like the group having a lot of fun, you know, and sometimes that isn't pushing story ahead, but I think that it would be important to see because you see the camaraderie and you see the connection they have, but you know, necessary sacrifices to the process. Was there any fun in Santa Barbara? There was fun in Santa Barbara. I mean, in addition to the hijinks, but just so much happened.

I mean, that's the crazy thing about the Valley is it's just nonstop. It's very, I get recaps of what we've shot every day, you know, field notes, and they're really dense on the Valley. And sometimes I'll have to go back to a previous paragraph and be like, wait a minute, did I miss this? Like what happened here? Wow. Nonstop.

God. Richness. Do you giggle or enjoy when Heather Dubrow, who's a good friend of ours, we've been on podcast one with her since the beginning. Do you giggle when she does Thrifty Thursday like the rest of us? What is Thrifty Thursday? On her Instagram, she's like, here's what I got from Amazon for $11.99. I was like, bitch, I've been in your closet.

That's what Bethany Frankel's doing with her drugstore makeup. You're right. Okay. It's for the masses. Who's the richest? For real. Oh, that's a really good question. I don't know.

Who do you think? The Dubros. The Dubros now. That Diana lady who, she seemed rich. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Pool's always warm. Pool's always warm, rich. Oh, wow.

Wow. That's rich. That is a great description. That's so good. I'm going to text my husband now and tell him to turn on the phone. Because then you're rich. Everybody's going to think we're poor when they come over. I'm going to come over for cocktails.

do you guys want to dip your feet do you want me to heat up the pool meanwhile i think my pool is freezing and it's like three feet long i don't even have a pool it's a blow-up suntan bed like backyard um okay yeah no i think probably heather from you money like you money yeah yeah i have a number of cast members that have done well yeah but like who was okay yeah i want to ask who the poorest is but i know you won't answer i mean it was fun for example when we were putting together the real housewives of beverly hills remember those early scenes of uh lisa vanderpump and adrian walking across the street in beverly park yeah that was fun because you hadn't seen that on television before oh yeah i don't remember that because i was a late

adrian she was our only housewives girl for like a very long time and then we started having them on the show and we started watching all so you had to watch yeah but i don't know adrian maloof right yeah what's your favorite housewives franchise well i don't want to tell you alex what if it's not one of yours i won't be offended i think that salt lake city is am i wrong no i think you know what it is with housewives that's so nice is that it goes in and out it's season dependent for sure it's also like you know how restaurant groups own different chains yeah you know like the same restaurant group owns so it's a totally different vibe it's whatever you're looking for so if you're looking for a fun silly good time and good

fashion you're not going to salt lake city right you're going there for weirdness and big sunglasses twilight zone yes and everything fake designer yes and you're just embracing whatever that is And then Beverly Hills is like aspirational as fuck and polished usually, you know, so it's like a different, you enjoy the different flavors. I like to watch the shows cause like I, well you can say what you, what's yours? They changed. Yeah. Like for me, like I didn't, I started watching OC.

That was my first housewives because we were friends with Heather and she would come on tour with us and I was like, I want to support you and I want to tell you look beautiful in your confessional outfits and then I got kind of into it you know what I mean same thing with Beverly Hills like I was friends with Garcelle and so I was like oh my god I'm gonna watch you like you know and so like I kind of get into it Lisa I met her through an interview and then I started watching Salt Lake so like I guess those are my favorite because like those are the people that you know them but yeah but I do agree too that I think the the shows have you something else yeah and I and I think also um look it sort of depends on the moment I think there are seasons

that are really exciting, and so you may find yourself getting into something that you don't typically watch, right? And then other times, maybe you fall out of it just because there's a lot to watch on television these days. Yeah. I heard a rumor, this made my week,

that Kyle and Mauricio might be rekindling. Oh. Well, stay tuned. I'm excited. Alex, confirm it. I heard it. Of course they are. From an inside, inside, inside source.

Uh-oh. Is it Justin Sylvester? No. Oh, okay. Not inside her house. Okay. But adjacent. I think they love each other very, very much.

It's something I want more than anything in reality is for those two to be in love again. I believed in love. I believed in love with them. And it broke my heart and it breaks my soul to see them not together. I think they will go back together. Not this season, but next season.

Wink twice if that's true, Alex. You think that's a season 16 development? Yeah. Is that the number that it would be? We're on 15. Holy shit. Believe it or not. That's insane.

It's our quinceanera. Wow. Congrats. You're listening to The Lady Gang. Now, are you upset that Mormon Wives is not your show? No. I mean, I think it's great that it's doing so well. Do you watch it to be like, oh, this is what people are really into?

I've seen it, but I don't watch it. But, um, but look, I, I think at this point, I think hits are a good thing across the board. So, um, I think it's great that, you know, that there's a healthy demand for another series. How often are you developing new, new, new? Cause like right now, like from scratch, cause Denise Richards was like a from scratch show. That was from scratch. Um, yeah.

Oh my God. You have the Kristen Cavallari show. Yeah. Yeah. That premieres on Wednesday. Thank you my God for making a second show on E! Oh my God. Thank God we have two shows now.

oh my god how was that it's a really fun show because obviously um you know she's great no bullshit and it's a fusion of her podcast and then also sort of her her road tour um and it's great it's uh i'm super excited for people to see it i can't wait remember when we had lady gang and kristen cavallari was our lead-in for the second part of it yeah she came on the show and she's like we're like oh man nobody watches our show and she's like just wait till i'm your lead-in And then still nobody watched our show. Yeah. And well,

that was a dark time for E. Yeah. You know, they didn't know what they were doing. Busy Phillips saying us a good night. Lullaby. Did she? Yeah.

I remember. So we followed no shade. It was just a bad programming decision. So busy had her nightly show. And at the end of her show, she wore a nightgown. She literally changes into a nightgown and sings the audience to sleep. She's like,

it's bedtime now. Goodbye. And then they're like, and stay tuned for Lady Gang. We're like taking shots and screaming. And I'm like, who the is staying up? And no one did. No, no, no one did. But we were like, really?

You had to put us behind a lullaby, a good night lullaby. And do you remember how hard we were like, we're like, can she please just say stay awake for Lady Gang? She did like one hour. She's like, now everybody in the world would go to sleep now. Turn it off now. Lights out unless you're a loser. Unless you're on death.

That's pretty much what it was. Good night. Okay. Of all of your reality. well how close are you with everyone like are you texting all of your children like all your reality babies all the time constantly oh my god so how is that um who gives you the best christmas present or like holiday present oh that's a good question um they're all pretty generous i would say they're all they're all thoughtful yeah around the holidays well i don't know that they see it

that way i don't know these you know i don't think they think i'm the the the cause of their of their success which i'm not but um uh yeah no i hear from them all the time talk to them all the time I think it's important to be on top of everything that's happening and that is that's the great challenge of having a lot of production um and the shows are always hard to produce and you know if they're running too smoothly usually that's a problem too right means nothing's happening yeah how is this with your personal life do you have a personal life I have no personal life no no I'm a big loser like nothing no one no no I mean we don't I don't I don't do so much I mean, I watch Laker games, but that's great.

They got eliminated a few weeks ago, so that's been rough. Oh, I'm so sorry. And I mean, that's about it. But I mean, I'm working all of the time, and usually every night there's a dinner, there's a something. You know, it's busy. Got to do the schmooze. Got to do the schmooze. Yeah.

You never get tired? Oh, I do. But like, do you ever just think, and I'm done? Well, I mean, I'm really fortunate to be able to work on shows that I love. Yeah. And I appreciate the business. It's a completely different thing when you're on a show that are hits. Well, I mean, yeah, but it's still exhausting, I'm sure.

Yeah, I mean, it is. It is. And there definitely are times where you'd like a break or I will look up and realize I don't have a dinner that night. And, you know, I will think that I can happily head home and then all hell will break loose. You know, and there's a fire to put out on something. And so that part of it isn't fun. But that's, you know, kind of what you sign up for. Right.

And again, I really, I dearly love the shows. Okay. Out of all of your reality babies, and by that I mean adults, give us Alex All-Stars. It's a show. Oh, like when Bethany put Mount Rushmore? Yes. The Housewives of Mount Rushmore? Yes.

But it's like ultimate Alex trip where like you're going to an island, you're going to make a reality TV show that has never been seen before, like that is greater than the sum of all of your shows. Who are you putting on from each of your shows past or current? Well, I'm going to start 10 slots. Okay. I'm going to start with Terry Dubrow cause we need a doctor.

Oh yeah. Okay. Smart logistics. I'm going to bring Heidi and Spencer because Spencer will make sure that we, um, that we crowdsource. So Heidi will sing a little bit and I don't know what good this money is going to do us,

but this is my Island. My choices. Okay. Um, then, um, Um, I'm going to throw in Lisa Vanderpump cause she'd be mad at me if I didn't. Um, and I'm also going to include Kyle and I'm going to watch Kyle and Lisa together.

Oh my God. So that's amusing. Oh, right. Live in the same area. Okay. Okay. I think if they were back on TV together, they would become friends again. I agree.

Yeah. 1 million percent. I think at this point it's just like, they're just like, yeah, it's like a bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's just funny. When you say you hate me. Well, I would hate you if we didn't have to work with you every day. That's the thing.

You know what I mean? Okay. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. No, that's why I'm saying they'd be friends. Oh, yeah. Because it's an intimacy of working together that you just have to get over. Okay.

Who else? Okay. Then Heather Dubrow because Terry needs his wife. Of course. And we love Heather. Uh-huh. Okay. And for Thrifty Thursdays, she can post from the island.

Amazon finds. I'm like, Heather. didn't even yeah just do rich bitch mondays like just be like here's my chanel collection and wealthy wednesdays wealthy wednesdays um i'm gonna throw in doty yeah because doty will make it interesting on the island oh yeah um and then how many more do i have you have three tamra vicky is the og and then oh god who's getting my last spot it's getting the coveted final palm frond um oh man um busy phillips to sing us a lullaby she's not a reality star or from any of your shows i'm not allowing you to pick her pick

someone from your shows she tanked our show yeah she'll tank that island show if you want to blame her um that's true okay um we did paint topless yeah that's on the internet forever i can't believe it it didn't rain how is that possible with these jugs shocking i'm gonna go back to this is a blast from my past this is a show that no one watched but i loved it um i enjoyed making it it's with it was with d snyder and his family i'm gonna pick d did you watch it i did so d When I was doing Rock of Ages on Broadway, Dee Snider, Schneider? Schneider.

Schneider. Big fan, clearly. No, it's because Schneider is very, I don't know. Rob Schneider? I know more Schneiders than I know Snyders. Is it Dee Snider? Snyder. Anyways, he would come to see Rock of Ages on Broadway

because we did songs of his. Yes. And I have like 10 pictures of me with Dee Snider. That's so good. But I remember loving the show. It was a really fun show. Dee was awesome and this is when Family Jewels was sort of all the

rage. Gene Simmons, yeah. And what I'm proud of too is that when I sort of talked to the Snyders about doing the show in the first place they were hesitant, they felt like they'd been burned by producers before and the fact that at the end of the experience, even if the show wasn't renewed

for a second season, they had a great time and we walked away as friends, meant something to me. And so Dee gets a spot on the island as well. I love that. Honestly, this show is great. it's great right let's do it it's a hit it's a um i just forgot if you guys ep credits and company cards hell yeah wait can we discuss can we discuss did have you watched the baldwins no okay i want you to watch it oh god i'll just give you this i'll give you this i was sobbing

in the finale wait what and nothing sad happens that's how bad it was nope i don't know how to explain it. I went from troubling. No, it was just, I was so touched. Really? Really? I loved them. Okay. So sorry. Was this before you re got on Wellbutrin or after? This is post Wellbutrin. Oh wow. So you shouldn't be crying. Well, no, actually. Well, no. Cause depression makes you numb. Yeah. And drugs make you numb. No. Wellbutrin lets me feel again. Okay. So I think it's actually good. Okay. So I'll just say, I went into it being like very critical of their entire operation of all of it, of the cucumber. How do you say cucumber? Her hit Hillary from Boston, fake accent, all of it being really critical. And then with him, I'm like, after

your, everything you've been through, like, do you need money? Like, what is this? And also your seven children are all over this show. Everything you could possibly imagine. It was set up for me to absolutely hate it criticize it and while i had my moments the final episode i am crying in my bed and i'm like i root for them forever who cares if she wants to be latin whatever guys let her be her you know like i just i'm so mad at everyone for getting upset with her for faking her background but so what happened and feel free to spoil this because i won't watch it okay me neither even after that review no i'm not gonna watch it either yeah go ahead spoil it it's there's literally no that's what I'm saying nothing happens it's just that you are so like

it's just I fully understand who they are as a couple I don't think they faked anything in the making of this show I think they did an amazing job however they did it of having them just show up as who they are I think their marriage is so beautiful they are still very madly in love with one another wow and it really encapsulated like his life has been saved by these seven children and this woman after such a horrific accident unfortunate event and i'm just so impressed with them and i can't wait for season two jesus wow the thing okay i probably weird it's so weird the thing i'll probably get fired for saying this but okay um is that for me and alex please chime in but and i love tlc and tlc was in its heyday a great place when page used to do the house

trading well i'm watching it on max oh but it's on it's a tlc show yeah i guess so so it's like to me in the way that the world works as tv that means they took it out to netflix hulu bravo eat like of course yeah and everyone remember we thought we got it well tlc turned us down and e took us remember that so that might not be the order in which they took things out you're right tlc was a tough crowd yeah it's a specific type of show but i see what you're saying it is crazy to me that netflix wasn't taking alec baldwin yes i mean i think networks are also strange things these days so who knows right and i mean it's probably an experiment for tlc in a celebrity series right but it's also like there are other shows and there's you know a number of kids running

around and so i don't know it's kind of family it's very family you're right it has to be there's like 25 children let me ask you this alex you worked on welcome home nikki glazer yes um we had her on to promote the show you're welcome um many years ago and didn't help much well that's the thing i was on e it was on e yeah well that was a tough time in e no i'm claiming e for all of it i was expecting to get a bounce from you guys but rude well we couldn't bounce you because busy killed us she deflated us before we could bounce exactly okay but what's it been like for you like you guys did this show and you're like she's so funny she's so crazy she's so like what a talent and so you build the show around her and that kind of did not do what you wanted it to

but then the world caught up like do you feel a pride in that well but she's obviously a great talent and um she was super successful before we did the show and it was a lot of fun and she and I had a conversation and she was telling me about moving back to St. Louis during the pandemic and it was, you know, sort of the fun, a fun premise of the series and then shows either catch on or they don't. She was going to do really well regardless. You know what I mean? And so the show is a, is a blip and people don't even know about it. And it was great to work with her. She was an awesome partner in all of it.

And you know, look, I would love to work with her again. Are you now like, yo, Nikki, now that you're the hottest thing since sliced bread, let's do another follow? Well, I sent her a note after the Tom Brady roast, you know, and just said that was, you know, that was great. And so, you know, so occasionally talk to her. And if there, again, if there were something else to do, then I would do it in a second. I think she's just, you know, an extraordinary talent. I think it should be four little ladies and a man. And it's you and then us and Nikki because we're like all the same.

We all have the same spray tanner. what do you mean like all of us on tv together just a show no do you think it's like a tlc series yeah i think it's like it's like a tlc it feels diverse okay um nikki should be on the island by the way it might revise that would be great yeah i'm obsessed with her parents oh they're great obsessed like have you seen her mom at on her instagram always going to the events with her all and she's so embarrassing in the sense that your parents are where they are so proud of her and they can't hide it and she still allows them to go like if those were my parents i'd say clean it up or you're not invited oh i love it three

word minimum you can greet somebody and say how are you and it's done sure she allows her mom to be who she is and it's really adorable there's no artifice no bullshit no it's so refreshing okay so what do you have coming up like what is next what's the next six months of your life like are there's a few projects that i wish i could announce that are that are sort of like new news new news yeah that are that are in the hopper and then otherwise we cover doesn't have any more air time i mean we're trying we're trying to create time that doesn't exist so there's uh we talked about beverly hills orange county vanderpump the valley persian style cavalry uh we talked about Denise. Um, and then, yeah, there's, there's a, there's a couple others. So we're trying to stay

busy. You're rich. I'm not rich, rich. I wish I were, but a little bit rich. The pool is moderately warm. It's not heated, but it's not ice cold. It's not comfortable, but once you get used to it, it's okay. You know what? This is our new thing of how we feel on things. Like when I text you guys are like, Hey, do we want to do this thing? Like, yeah, the pool is the face of herpes or whatever for money on the podcast. And you're like, I'm moderate. The pool is moderately warm. Yeah. Okay. I'm into it. Well, Alex, you're amazing. Thank you for bringing us so much joy in our lives. I don't, one last question. What do you think it is about reality TV that is so comforting to people? Because like as a fully formed human being, like that the amount of

people that are watching like if you go to bravo con say right and you walk through bravo con it's not like they're alien people and they're like a bunch of dumb asses that you've like fooled into watching these shows it's like smart women like when we go to our shows and people are like i'm a doctor or like i'm i'm like why do you listen to lady games three dumb asses but like it's like smart successful emotionally intelligent intelligent mature women that just can't not watch the group trip to the islands or whatever it is, you know, like what is it about reality TV that is like a comforting blanket for us in our shitty lives? Well, I think it becomes a part of the fabric of your life. And I think the fact that is real people makes it even more compelling. Um,

and I think draws you to it even more. And so it's the little things, right? Like it's interesting to see if you're watching the housewives, what do they order for dinner? How do they, you know, how do they live their lives um and um and so i think that's really what it is and i think that sort of invests you more sometimes than than certain scripted series do because it's it's this odd connection to it it is real and as much as you know people denigrate it or claim that it isn't real and and you know that's sort of the the age-old question the bottom line is these are people that exist in real life and you feel like you know them and there's something about seeing them week after week year after year that draws you in and keeps you there wait i wanted to say

one thing before we go sorry go ahead one thing i wanted to say one more thing i have a theory about sutton strack oh strack yeah okay are you ready yeah i'm excited okay i mean i did i did watch the episode that like literally sees how she was formed but i'm excited from the mount reba and kick that um reba isn't reba treasure wow i could watch a spinoff of her i would not okay here's what i'll say is that wait is reba her mother mom ice cold ice cold cold chilly okay so becca and i grew up the reason we know each other is we were both dancers in new york and we grew up in the ballerina world and we grew up and it's like i like to call black swan okay so here's the thing Sutton is a black swan and Dorit is getting well the reason Sutton is

mean to everyone or like during the hard time in their life is because you know when you're in okay I want you to this is for you Alex as a producer this is a treat thank you in advance she's giving you a gift I'm giving you a gift okay so here's here's what you need this is what You need to know about this situation when you go into your next season. When you are growing up as a ballerina, if you are useful, talented, have a future, are sparkly, or like any, if they want to bring you to the next era of the company or the next era of your talent, they are mean to you. They yell at you. In a very crass, hard, hit you with a stick, pull up, you know, like that kind of thing. if you're useless to them, there's no, there's no feedback. There's no feedback. So it's like,

I was a back row dancer. So I was never in the front getting yelled at like craziness. I was in the back being ignored because if you're hopeless, they just ignore you. They won't bother. And so actually I think what happens with Sutton is that she's so hard on the girls and she's so cunty about it. I mean that with love, but like she can be so curt about it, but I think it's black Swan. Becca. Disagree. Damn. I think she's jealous, which is also black Swan. Right. I just think she's like hard where she's like, how do you not know whose name is on the mortgage? Like you're a grown woman, right? Like if my mortgage isn't being paid, I'm freaking the out. Like I will say the moment where she said her wallet was thicker. I'm like, what took

her so long if i were sutton and i were so much richer than all these women i would constantly remind them how much richer that i than i was that would be your immediate go-to literally i would show them my bank account like it would be constant it would be regular like very and they're all like how dare she yeah i'm like yeah yeah on her main road that was the best hilarious best okay all right alex has to go produces 19 shows you are you not excited about my hot tip i feel like it did not it wasn't really a tip it was just like a observation yeah a theory theory theory wow okay well thanks for coming okay alex we um i would like promote what you want to promote wait i know you have an instagram right yeah what is the instagram it's the alex

baskin yeah follow him follow him for all the hot tea but i love that you're making the rounds i was actually really mad because when i asked alex i was like thought i was being so i'm like would you come on the podcast and then you want to file files first? I mean, he asked first. What can I say? Rude. Alex, thank you for being here. Please watch all of his shows. Farewell. has to offer.

Don't miss out. Play exciting casino games based on the iconic game show only at BetMGM. Check out how we've reimagined three of the show's iconic games like Plinko, Cliffhanger, and the Big Wheel

into fun casino game features. Don't forget to download the BetMGM Casino app for exclusive access and excitement on the Price is Right Fortune Pick. Pull up a seat and experience

the Price is Right Fortune Pick only available at BetMGM Casino. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you,

please contact ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.