Mention It All - SLC Is Our New Reality TV Capital

Episode Date: October 30, 2024

The new Bravo trailers keep on coming, and today, Dylan breaks down what we can expect from Sold On SLC. After years of Million Dollar Listing lagging behind the Netflix real estate shows, it looks like Bravo has finally picked up on what we want from our brokerage programming. Then, he recaps this week’s RHONY, and discusses why not all low-stakes drama is created equal. He also calls foul on Erin’s issues with Jenna and Sai, and shouts out some bright spots in a boring episode. Earlier, he also breaks down Vicki Gunvalson’s recent comments about her Bravo journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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See Store Online for details. Betches Media presents. Ha ha, laugh, funny. Mention It All, a Bravo by Betches podcast. We don't say that, but now we said it. With me, Dylan Hafer. We're going to check me, though. Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to the Mention It All podcast. It's Wednesday. We are continuing to barrel through our housewives fall. And I am going to be talking about Roney today a little bit and also kind of taking a little step back because let's be honest, Roney right now, not necessarily peak TV. But now that we have four Housewives shows airing, another one on the way, some other stuff, some other shows coming to.

I want to talk about kind of the landscape right now and how things are stacking up. But before that, we have another new show, another trailer to discuss, sold on SLC, which I am very excited for, very excited to talk about today. I did not know this was coming, so I'm looking forward to getting into that. And first, we got to talk about Vicki Convilsson. Vicki, I just, I saw this morning. So she's on this new Vice show, The Dark Side of Reality TV, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's people from the reality TV industry talking about the dark side of reality TV. It's like very spooky season.

You know, these producers are out here doing spooky shit, apparently. we've heard a lot in the last couple of years about, I would say, broadly, the dark side of reality TV. I mean, Bethany Frankel cared about it for about 30 seconds. Brandy Glanville's lawsuit is, you know, God knows where. This is not something that nobody has ever talked about before, but it makes sense to me that some, a place like Vice is kind of doing a little bit of a deeper dig into this and kind of talking to some people who have been through it. But Vicki Gundelson was featured in the most recent episode. And I got to say, I think Vicky is an interesting sort of vessel to tell this story. Because Vicky obviously has a very unique perspective on sort of the universe of housewives being one of the first people in the door.

And somebody who was there through a lot of kind of early permutations and sort of the rise of housewives. and she has stuck around in one way or another for 18 years now. But because of that, Vicky has so much experience, so much knowledge about kind of this world, but also she's still in this world. I mean, Vicky has appeared multiple times on this currently airing season of Real Housewives of Orange County. So when I saw some of the quotes that Vicky said on this episode

of Dark Side of Reality, TV, it's a little like, okay, Victoria, like where are we drawing the line? Because she says that doing reality TV feels like making a deal with the devil and that they asked her if she regrets doing housewives. And she says that looking back in terms of her relationships, that she would say yes, she does regret doing the show. Now, I think that is... valid to say that you have, you know, certain regrets. And she specifically talks about her relationship with Don and says that being on the show created problems in her relationship. And that's always kind of been a question of does being on reality TV create problems in a relationship,

or does it kind of magnify and maybe exacerbate existing problems that are already there? I don't know. I don't, I'm not, you know, I'm not the Housewives marriage counselor. I don't know what these people. It's impossible to know where everyone would be without the show existing. But Vicky is somebody who has, who has, you know, gone back for more a few times. You know, she did 13 seasons and then was, you know, let go or offered a whatever reduced role. And then she's, you know, left and come back. And she's, she's appeared on almost every season in some capacity. So it's tough because you don't want to say like, oh, if you're, if you're involved at all, then you can't say anything negative about it.

But Vicky is in a very specific place where it's like, if she wanted to walk away from housewives and never put up with their shit again, she could have done that. And she hasn't chosen to. She does specifically talk about when her mom died. And this is, you know, everybody's seen the scene when she's, I think it was at Shannon's house and she gets the phone call in the kitchen and is, you know, shrieking on the kitchen floor, finding out that her mom died obviously really tough stuff to watch.

And she still is very hurt over how that was handled because she says that production knew for an hour and they hadn't told her. And so they kind of basically hung her out to dry in terms of finding out this news on camera and kind of forcing her to be alone in this kitchen while they were filming her reacting to this news. And so she says she wishes that production would have taken her aside and told her and kind of let her handle it, how she wanted to handle it. Now, obviously, that's not what went down.

And she says in this vice show that she will never forgive Bravo for that. And I don't know. I mean, I haven't watched the whole episode, but it does seem kind of like Vicky obviously has made a lot of choices in the last 20 years. And not all of those have turned out great. And I think that she probably has a lot of internal, you know, conflict about whether she has made the right choices and whether she kind of is happy about the way her life has unfolded. I think it's like you can't deny that she's had experiences

and, you know, made money and had business things that she wouldn't have had without this. But I don't know. I mean, it's an interesting development in the whole like reality reckoning. God, it sounds weird to even say that now because it feels like we really stopped talking about the reality reckoning because it kind of just, it didn't really happen. But, you know, Vicky, obviously, I wish her well. I think that she, being on reality TV for 18 years is probably not good for anybody. But I don't know. So good, so good.

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It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. Okay, this other new show we got to talk about, sold on SLC. Premering Wednesday, December 4th, which means it'll be back-to-back with Salt Lake City for however long that season goes on. And this is something.

This came out of nowhere for me. When I saw this trailer, I was like, wait, actually, before I even saw the trailer, I was going into, this is like a little peek behind the curtain, there's like, you know, the website that Bravo uses to put their like screeners and photos and all that stuff. I was going in to look for something else and I was scrolling down the list of shows and I see Soldown SLC and there's no photo, no cast photo, no logo or anything. It was like blank and I'm like, what is this?

So I click on it. And I see these photos of these people. these beautiful, glossy people. And then I'm like, okay, this is something. And then I saw the trailer. The trailer dropped like a few minutes later. And I had no idea this was happening. I had no idea that Bravo was back in the lab,

cooking up something, a new Utah concoction. Apparently Salt Lake City is like the new reality TV capital of the U.S. Because tell me why. We have Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. in season five, firing on all cylinders. Secret Lives of Mormon Wives really, you know, came out of nowhere first season, renewed for 20 more episodes.

They're back in the Hulu laboratories, cooking that up. And now Bravo has brought us, you know, from the twisted mind of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, sold on SLC. So this is a real, I think this is a really fascinating show. obviously I haven't seen it yet, but the idea that Bravo is going back into the real estate space,

but very much not in the mold of million dollar listing, which obviously has been this huge franchise for Bravo over the past decade plus, you know, L.A. and New York million dollar listing, both, I think, 10 plus seasons. Million dollar listing is fine. It's, you know, if you love it, that's great. It's personally not really my exact flavor. I think it can be enjoyable. I think it's great like airplane TV.

It's not a show that I need to watch every week and talk about and break down and speak to the cast and everything. It's just, it feels like a little bit of a relic of a past era of like, oh yeah, this show is mostly going to be about real estate. and there's occasionally going to be some kind of like professional squabbles, and we're going to see like wheeling and dealing. And of course there's going to be these like luxury events and things like that. But it really is kind of like a professional show about professional people. And this show sold on SLC feels like Bravo has finally sort of caught up with the times. And specifically, these Netflix real estate shows that have been so successful in the last

five years selling sunset, selling the OC. Ryan Surhant now has one that is, you know, owning, buying Manhattan, selling Manhattan. I don't know. I didn't watch it. Ryan Sirhant, also likewise, not my cup of tea. By the way, I saw Frederick at the airport recently. He was, this is, wait, sorry, this is such a tangent. But I was, I was going through airport security.

And I was like the next person to go up to the TSA podium where they, check your driver's license. And then who waltzes in from the side of the TSA pre-check line or like clear global entry? I don't fucking know. I have regular-ass airport security. But so I'm literally next in line. I've been waiting.

Frederick waltzes up with like two other gay guys. And the TSA agent recognizes him. And so I have to stand there. I'm literally, you know how they have that like flappy little gate thing that's like, don't approach until you're beckoned. I'm, like, standing there with my passport in hand ready to get checked as the TSA agent first takes a selfie with Frederick and then gives him some sort of, like, business card. She must have a side hustle.

Like, go off, queen. Like, do, you know, do your thing. But I'm like, of course this would happen as I'm literally next in line to go through security. I think Frederick was on an earlier flight than me. So I guess it's great that he got through security first. I wouldn't want him to miss his flight. But it was just, anyway, back to reality TV. I think it's really exciting that Bravo is kind of picking up on this marketplace of reality real estate shows

that are more tangentially about real estate and actually focusing on the relationships and the professional dynamics and the personal. dynamics within kind of this brokerage. And the brokerage that it centers on is run by a woman, which I think is important because, you know, selling sunset, we've got the fucking Oppenheim twins. And like, look, Brett and Jason, I think Brett and Jason, congratulations on your business empire, you know, doing great things, you know, fucking beautiful women. It's good for you. But, like, I don't need to see, like, another Brett and Jason Oppenheim on TV. I'm glad that we're seeing Jen, whatever her name is, at the brokerage group in Utah.

And she says, in Utah, people follow the Ten Commandments. But at my brokerage, we follow the Jen Commandments. And that is like, that's like the delusion that I like to see. And I don't mean, I'm sure she's a great business woman. I'm sure she's very successful. But when it's like, thou shalt always be selling. Thou shalt always be professional. And it's like people, you know, naked in a hot tub and like yelling at each other. It's like, okay, this is, we've got the, we've got the juice here. I think, I think we're going to be okay.

And this trailer, it's pretty, it's pretty action-packed. There's, there's a lot of screaming, there's a lot of crying, there's breaking the fourth wall, there's taking off a mic, there's running away, there's shirtless men. Sold on SLC feels like it's going to be like Bravo's attempt at a selling son. sunset. And I don't know how it will pan out. We get a Lisa Barlow cameo in the trailer. She needs a spray tan room in her house, you guys. She needs it. How is Lisa Barlow not going to have a spray tan room in her house? These are things that people deserve sometimes. But I'm very intrigued by this show. And the fact that I was totally not aware that it was even coming kind of makes me more excited. Because there are, you know, sometimes those things where you hear about a show that's being, you know, it's in production and you see the rumored cast and all of this.

Maybe I, maybe I just, like, didn't have my, you know, reading glasses on for the tea leaves on this one. But, like, I kind of love to be surprised by a new show. And I think that this hopefully will be a good surprise. But either way, we will find out in December. I'll definitely be giving it a chance. I don't know. We'll see kind of where it evolves if it's something that needs to be, like, a weekly watch recap kind of thing. Or if it's just, like, let's check in a couple times during the season.

but I'm excited for it. It kind of feels like spiritually connected to the valley in a way, I think. And that is, I think that's like, it's a good direction for Bravo to go. Focusing on a little younger, a little more of like a co-ed group of people. You know, it's kind of, we saw it with Vanderpump Rules, Southern Charm, you know, Shas of Sunset once upon a time. Like, these shows work when you have the right setting and the right group of people. And so I'm happy that Bravo is still like, cast. the net and trying these things. And with the Valley, I think they really got lucky and it worked

out super well. And I think putting the real estate spin on this one is another kind of good instinct. And so I hope it's good. Also, Southern hospitality, I think, is coming back soon too. That, I think, underrated. I feel like they're poised. They're poised to kind of like go up the ladder a little bit this season. We'll see. It's going to be a busy end of the year. I mean, we've been talking, I feel like I've had a trailer to break down like three episodes in a row. We have Beverly Hills coming back. We have Southern Charm coming back. Married to medicine, I didn't even, like went over my head.

I missed when the trailer came out. That's coming back soon. I think next month, it's a lot that's going to be happening. But I want to like, you know, bring us back to the present because there's a lot of exciting stuff in the future, but there's also a lot of exciting stuff in the present. And, you know, today we have Roney to talk about, which I would say out of all four, of the Housewives franchise is airing right now. I don't think it's a bold statement to say that I am enjoying New York the least.

And it's a little tricky because I think that there are a couple different factors at play here. And I think that one thing that I want to be cautious about is I think sometimes we can have a tendency to drag shows for being a little bit lower stakes and for not kind of having these like big, you know, Orange County right now has like scandals and lawsuits and, you know, big relationship sagas and all of this. And that's great. I'm really enjoying it. You know, we'll talk about the finale very soon. I'm excited for that. Not every show needs that. And not every show should have that, you know, like it's it, you need levels and you need, you need kind of plateaus sometimes to make the peaks a little more exciting. But I think right now, if you look at Potomac, which I talked about the other day,

I think that's a great example of a show that feels lower stakes right now, but in a way that is really refreshing and really fun and really, it has a lot of potential. And obviously, there's stuff happening. I mean, Karen's whole DUI situation is like, you know, very much simmering right now. She has a court date, you know, she, that's a whole thing. But like, in terms of the group dynamics. It doesn't feel like there's kind of this like weight attached to the season right now, but in a way that I'm really enjoying. Whereas I think the issue that New York is running into right now is that there aren't a lot of stakes it feels like in the storylines themselves, but then combined with that, I also just don't, I'm not enjoying the vibe enough to kind of

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Red Bull Summer All Day Play. Red Bull gives you wings. Visit redbull.com slash bright summer ahead to learn more. See you this summer. This week, we're back from the Hamptons, which can I just say, thank God, that trip felt like it was six years long. And we start with this bizarre intro that's like a jessel voiceover talking about how her friend group is like a Monet,

where it's from far apart, from far away, it looks really beautiful, but then you get closer and it's a mess. I'm like, what are you, first of all, what are you talking about? Like, why are you comparing this assortment of women to a Monet painting? I think Monet is rolling in his grave, if you could hear that right now. But also, like, is that true? And also, like, what are we doing formally right now? Like, in terms of our structure, like, why are we getting a cold open from Jessel

kind of, like, waxing poetic about the artistic nature of her friend group, which doesn't even seem accurate? I don't know. They're trying things, which I guess I appreciate, but that didn't land for me. And then we cut to Sai, like, talking about how she spends too much money on groceries. And it's like, okay, like, I was, first I was confused, then I was bored. It's not a great start to the episode. I will say, sigh and her husband, I feel like we get kind of the most normal time from them this episode that we've had maybe ever on

the show definitely so far this season. And the conversation about her mom's ashes and all of that, I actually was into that. Like once we got past the like, if I'm not buying $400 worth of groceries, like that's what I do. Like, who cares? Respect for like me too. I mean, maybe I'm not buying like four bags of groceries at Whole Foods. But if I walk into a CVS, I'm not spending less than $30. I can, it is actually wild. I think I got like overcharged for a Gatorade the other day because It was like $5. And I looked at it and I was like, I should, I should double check that. But also, who cares?

Life is short. What am I going to? I'm going to like, wait and get the employee and be like, I think this was supposed to be $2.99. Like, if I'm hung over, I need the gatorade and it's $5. Yep. Not me. I'm going to drink it. But I think that, you know, seeing Cy and David, is David her husband?

I don't. This is not a good sign that we're in season two. And I don't fully. it's David. It's got to be David. But seeing them kind of have like a nice human moment, I liked it and I was intrigued by it. And then seeing her house upstate and how she brought her aunt and they were, you know, planting this tree and Cy was really going through it. Like all of that actually I found pretty engaging. And I love, I mean, you've heard me talk about a lot of housewives storylines. And of course the drama is fun, but like, I like seeing people have real connections

and real conversations. And, you know, earlier this season, hearing Raquel open up about the situation with, um, with her parents and on Salt Lake City this season, um, Bronwyn and Gwen talking about her dad. Like, I, I really genuinely enjoy those human connection moments and learning about people's stories. But then I think on, On an episode like this, then when the rest of the episode was basically about how Aaron is annoyed that Jenna and Cy were hanging out because she felt like she was supposed to be Jenna's closest friend in the group. And then Jenna hasn't really reached out when she's been going through it a little bit. And so Aaron's mad that Cy and Jenna are like friends at all. It just, it all feels, it's not even that it feels fake.

it's that it feels like, who cares? What is, is this, it's not like, oh, this is fake, it's cooked up for a storyline. I'm like, this just doesn't feel like authentic or important. Also, the scene that we see, we see just like a little brief thing of Jenna and Sai hanging out, and they're talking about their shared experience of losing their mothers. it's not like they're going out to have a bottomless brunch and braiding each other's hair and talking about how Aaron sucks and their best friends for life right now.

It's like they're having a genuine human moment about a real life, sad experience that they've both gone through. And the fact that like Aaron can't even stop for a minute and be like, oh, that's nice that you guys were able to connect over. that. My mom is also sick right now. This is something that, like, I, maybe she can learn something from them. Maybe she can, maybe there's some wisdom or some kind of advice or some, you know, it feels like there's kind of a missed opportunity there to actually like slow down and not just be like, I meant that Jenna and me aren't as close as we used to be. And also, I think that

Bryn was also jealous of me and Jenna. Like, first of all, were Aaron and Jenna ever really not close. I think this is also part of the problem, that this rony group doesn't actually feel like I believe that they get along mostly, and I believe that they have friendships with each other, but I don't necessarily buy that things are like this deep. I don't know. And so when we're at Jessel's party that's cluelessle-themed, that Jessel has three outfits for, it's her, first of all, it's a 41st birthday party. And I know that you, when you're on TV and you're filming a show like this, of course you're going to have a birthday party.

Why, you know, it would be irresponsible not to because, look, we need events. We need parties. Doing three outfits for your 41st birthday party, I have to agree with the consensus of the group that this is like a wee bit over the top. But also, the bigger issue is that the best outfit she saved for last when Brin had already had to leave for her spray tan appointment. Because, you know, I love this, like, little tip that the last spray tan appointment of the night is at 9.40 p.m. And so she just, like, booked it while she was at the party.

I feel like my version of that is if I'm somewhere and I'm bored, I'll, like, go on the, like, AMC theaters app and be like, okay, like, can I see a movie after this? If I have to dip out at 8, could I make it to, like, an 830 movie? Because if I can, I'm going to. I don't know. I think that this birthday party was kind of like a good representation of where we are with this season. It was like everybody was kind of mad at everybody else. But at the end of the day, it's like, are we, what are we really doing here? We're mad that somebody else's friends, you know, Cy and Bryn still aren't getting along.

So, Sy sent Bryn a long apology over text. And Bryn didn't respond. And I'm a little confused because it sort of feels like Bryn at this birthday party is acting like this apology never happened. And if the apology is not sufficient, if she hasn't moved on yet, that I understand. Because an apology isn't always a one-to-one thing of like I said sorry, now we're friends, now we're good, whatever. Like it can be a process, whatever. But it feels like Bryn is like still waiting for the apology that Sye already. gave and that Bryn didn't respond to.

Like, if Bryn is still mad, that's okay, but you still have to acknowledge that Sy made an effort and that maybe the effort wasn't what you wanted or, you know, enough for whatever. I don't know. I'm a little bit at a loss of like what to do with kind of these conflicts that just feel a little bit like neither here nor there. I don't know. I don't want to be completely negative. I am really enjoying getting to know Raquel a little bit more. I talked about, you know, kind of what she shared before about her family situation, but also she has a scene with Uba that I really liked this episode where they're talking about her, um, their shared experiences as black women in the modeling industry, particularly, you know, Raquel when she was coming up, I think she said it was in the 90s and it was a time when a lot of these agencies or a lot of these, you know, jobs and stuff were hiring. one black woman. So if you weren't getting hired, it might be because they already filled your

slot as fucked up as that is. And Ubo was talking about how when she was first getting into it, she wasn't even really realizing that. So she was like, oh, it's so hard to get jobs. Just thinking that the industry is competitive, not even necessarily putting two and two together, that it's like people aren't hiring me because of specifically who I am and what I look like. And I think that having two people in a cast who can kind of share those experiences is really kind of heartwarming, I guess. I think it's a good kind of layer to add to the show. Obviously, I don't, I'm not totally sold on this show right now. But I think that there are still kind of moments in there that I am really interested in.

I mean, I think Sai probably had her best episode from my perspective that she's had in a while. I don't know. So yeah, I mean, in this four housewives schedule right now, I think New York feels like they're just kind of like struggling to hang on a little bit right now. It does feel, obviously we have a good chunk of this season left to go. So I'm going, still trying to keep an open mind. But I would not be surprised if this season kind of is the last season that we see this exact cast together. I'll just say that. I don't know where we're headed, but it feels like especially right now that there are four shows on and the other three are really working to have one that's not, it almost makes it, it makes it feel maybe like New York is even worse than it actually is. Because it's like if I have a show on Monday that I'm excited to talk about, a show on Thursday that I'm excited to talk about, a show on Wednesday night, Salt Lake City that I'm excited to talk about, it's like, you know, Wednesday night, Salt Lake City that I'm excited to talk about. like the one that isn't quite performing sticks out like a sore thumb. And I personally, I'm,

I'm very excited for whatever Salt Lake City is throwing at us next. I'm very excited for the OC finale and reunion. I'm excited kind of to grow with this new version of Potomac, but New York, it's tough right now. God, I feel, I feel, I feel mean. I feel like I'm being mean. Aaron's theory that Brin was jealous of her friendship with Jenna and she wanted to get closer with Jenna because Jenna was getting so much love from the fans, that didn't ring true for me either because really watching season one,

Bryn was the fan favorite, if anybody was. Like, Bryn was the one that people were obsessed with. Jenna, of course, was the most well-known going into the show. So if you want to say she wanted Jenna's proximity to fame or influence or getting invited to the Met Gala, that's valid. It wasn't the fans. I mean, people like Jenna, I guess, but it's like, it's not, I don't know.

It just feels like everything is a little, everything's a little like calculated right now and like cooked up. And I just, I want these women to like relax a little bit, but then also that sounds boring. So maybe I don't know what I want. But what I do want is to thank you for listening to this episode and for listening to every episode. Make sure you rate, review, and follow the show wherever you listen. so you never miss an episode.

And until next time, be cool. Don't feel like uncool. Mention It All podcast is produced by Dylan Hafer and Bell Roman. Editing by Bell Roman, social media by Dylan Hafer and Candice Maniga, guest booking by Ali Friedlander. VP of Podcast is Chris Allen. And be sure to follow Bravo by Betches. Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari.

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