Andy Cohen is unbothered.
In a hidden conference room above the lounge of London’s Langham Hotel, I find the Emmy-winning executive producer of Bravo‘s “Real Housewives” franchise and the host of “Watch What Happens Live” nonchalantly doodling on a notepad. Despite Cohen’s casual demeanor, taking a seat at the long, wooden table feels like I’m about to hear the state of the union from an important elected official. In a way, this isn’t far from the truth.
Cohen is undoubtedly the president of “The Real Housewives,” which he has been producing — and hosting reunion specials for — since its birth in 2006 with the “Orange County” franchise. Since then, it’s become an international phenomenon with a passionate fanbase, spurring 11 different series in the U.S. and 21 around the world. Cohen is in London for the first-ever Hayu FanFest on Saturday, held by NBCUniversal’s all-reality SVOD service that allows viewers in 45 global markets to stream their favorite shows on the same day they premiere in the U.S.
“I just think it’s amazing that we have such enthusiastic and passionate fans across the pond,” Cohen tells Variety. “The story in the States is the passion of our fandom, and to come over here and just get stopped all over town by people sharing the same sentiments, it speaks to the success of the brand.”
But shepherding one of the biggest reality franchises to ever exist hasn’t been without its challenges. Beginning last year, Bravo, parent company NBCUniversal and Cohen have faced a so-called “reality reckoning,” resulting in lawsuits from former Housewives amid allegations of sexism, drug and alcohol abuse and on-set racism as well as a call from one-time “New York City” star Bethenny Frankel for reality stars to unionize. Bravo and NBCUniversal conducted an outside investigation into misconduct claims against Cohen, and he was cleared. Though all the legal drama hasn’t been resolved, these days Cohen says he doesn’t “really think about it.”
“My job is always focusing on making the shows that I produce — and as I said a year ago, and I’ll say it again now — I am so proud to partner with incredible production companies,” he says. “I am proud of the systems that we had in place a year ago, and I’m proud of the systems that we have in place now that are built to look after people’s mental health and also produce absolutely great television that people around the world love.”
Below, Cohen shares more of his thoughts on the Reality Reckoning, teases the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (premiering on Nov. 19), reacts to backlash over new “New York” star Rebecca Minkoff being a Scientologist and more.
There are four “Real Housewives” shows airing right now — “Orange County,” “Potomac,” “Salt Lake City” and “New York City” — which season is your favorite so far?
I don’t have a favorite. Frankly, the show that I’m really into right now is “Atlanta,” which I’m six episodes into the new season of. So usually I’m looking ahead, but I’m also very excited, the trailer for “Beverly Hills” dropped yesterday and it’s a very good season. People’s lives have changed in pretty dramatic ways.
You quickly revamped “Potomac” for this season after the exit of Robyn Dixon and Candiace Dillard Bassett — how do you feel like it’s going?
Great. I feel like the platelets shifted in the way we needed them to. We just needed the group to be shook up a little bit so that they could start to move forward, which is the whole point of these shows. So I’m really gratified, not only with how good the episodes are but how much the fans are loving it and how the ratings are up.
It’s opened the doors for some new friendships to form, including… possibly Gizelle Bryant and Wendy Osefo?
It’s so good to see Gizelle and Wendy. I spoke to both of them yesterday, actually. Gizelle was like, “Oh I need to call Wendy about something.” I’m like, I love to hear this.
There were Monica Garcia stans who thought “Salt Lake City” would flop without her this season. They’ve been proven wrong. What do you make of that?
I think that the whole point of these shows is that they’re ensemble shows and no one person is really greater than the group. Absolutely, last season was incredible and this season is incredible in a totally new way. You have to kind of trust the process, and we had great casting this season. I mean, Bronwyn [Newport] is just a great addition to the mix. And I think from that first episode you’re like, “Oh wow, this is forward-moving.” We’re seeing a different Mary [Cosby] this season. By the way, we’re still in the early stages of this season, so people are going to be really happy.
Mary really seems to have turned a new leaf this season, I think she’s being more vulnerable than ever.
Me too. And there’s some really interesting personal story coming up with Mary that I think is going to really touch people to see.
And you have some new faces on “New York,” including Rebecca Minkoff. What’s your reaction to the backlash she’s been getting for being a Scientologist?
I can’t really judge people’s reactions to Scientology, but I’ll say that she’s a well-known New Yorker and she is fun to have in the mix. And Raquel [Chevremont] is just absolutely blowing my mind, she’s got some really good personal story coming up as well. But she’s so aspirational and fashionable and I’m so happy to have someone who is such a vibrant part of the art community on the show, which I think is a place we’ve always wanted to go. I feel like the group seems more cohesive and they’ve been hanging out a lot for the past few years, so this is kind of a unit.
Do you think it’s strange that none of the other women are grilling Rebecca more about Scientology, or is that to come?
It is something that recurs in the show, and I think that she made it clear on the first grilling how far she was really going to — it doesn’t look like she came on the show to preach about Scientology. So we’ll see how that develops.
Now that it’s been over a year since the start of the Reality Reckoning, how are you feeling? Did it change the way you do things at all?
I don’t really think about it. My job is always focusing on making the shows that I produce — and as I said a year ago, and I’ll say it again now — I am so proud to partner with incredible production companies. I am proud of the systems that we had in place a year ago, and I’m proud of the systems that we have in place now that are built to look after people’s mental health and also produce absolutely great television that people around the world love. Most specifically, I love the women that are on the “Housewives” and our partnerships with them. There was just an incredible article in the L.A. Times where Heather Gay talked about how much the show has changed her life, and why she thinks it’s important for women and why it’s a feminist show — and it really reiterates for me everything that is important for me about this show, and it drowns out the nonsense that can be a byproduct of it.
Bethenny Frankel was definitely one of the loudest voices during the Reality Reckoning. Have you heard from her at all?
I don’t really pay attention. She’s very active on TikTok; I’m not on TikTok.
You were on Doug Emhoff’s TikTok the other day alongside Ben Stiller as part of Girl Dads for Harris. Why has it been important for you to campaign for her?
It’s the most important election of our time. I know this gets said every four years, but I think it is. I’m a gay American dad who loves my country and I’m also the son of a woman who taught me to always stand up for what I believe and speak my mind. And I have a platform and if people want to pay attention to what I have to say then that’s great, and if they don’t then I fully respect that as well. The election will be over in two weeks and we’ll all go back to our regularly scheduled programming and everyone can calm down and chill out.
You also went viral last week for a video of you rocking out to the Grateful Dead. What was your reaction to that?
My initial reaction was I was worried, because the internet is such a cesspool and I was like, wait a minute, I really hope that this private moment of intense joy at a concert is only being received as such. And I’m happy to say it restored my faith in humanity. It was a happy moment, and so I hope it made people as happy as it made me in the moment.
Will we see you hosting “New Year’s Eve Live” again this year with Anderson Cooper? And will you be drinking?
Yes! You bet. After what Anderson did in that hurricane, I’m not only giving him tequila, I’m throwing it at him.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
