Bravo: Rumors about a new contract format that would pay per episode

There’s been a lot of drama with casting and contracts with some of our favorite Bravo shows as of late, but apparently this is just the beginning.

After losing Lisa Vanderpump last year, and more recently, Tamra Judge and Vicki Gunvalson, there’s definitely been something interesting happening behind the scenes.  A few years back, Bravo updated some of the franchise contracts to state that if a housewife was not in an episode, they did not get paid.  Lisa was paid for last season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but barely appeared on screen save for a tea party scene or two at her home.

Is Nene the inspiration for this change?  Lisa V?

Before, the wives got paid for the season and were mostly included in every episode anyway.  But some of the franchises got stale and boring (#puppygate anyone?).  After Nene Leakes left the show, she was offered a lot of money to return.  But this season, she’s barely appeared on the hit show.  There have been (unsubstantiated) rumors that since Nene was fighting with the ladies behind the scenes and they didn’t want to interact with her, there was nothing to film.  Nene claims Cynthia Bailey was recording talking poorly about her, but some think the recording was just a way for her to get more time-on screen.

Change is in the air

Some of the highest-paid wives in past franchises have left in the last year, such as Bethenny Frankel, Lisa Vanderpump, Tamra and Vicki.  If you look at any of the “highest-paid wives” lists, these four were certainly at the top.  We know Denise Richards of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was offered $4 million dollars – $1 million for four seasons.  

This rumored change reported by Radar Online is a good way to ensure that there is drama on every episode – but how authentic will it be?  The RHOBH cast is frequently accused of being the fakest and the most produced off-camera – is this a way to make it more dramatic in an authentic way?

It will be fun to see how this plays out on screen, but it seems like no housewife with a contract negotiation coming up is safe.  What do you think about this change?  Will it benefit the shows in the long run, or make it too fake?

Another possible change that might happen is that wives possibly show up to events uninvited, as opposed to sitting at home to show how “mad” they are.  That would certainly incite some drama.  Or, is this straying even further from the original “housewives” premise?  2020 should be an interesting year for housewives.

Stay tuned for more information about all things Bravo!