Bravo has renewed its docu-soap series THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY for a second season, it was announced by Frances Berwick, Executive Vice President of Programming and Production for Bravo, during the network′s session at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, CA. Bravo has tapped Evolution Film & Tape Inc. ("Fear Factor," "Big Brother") to produce the second season, with series creator Scott Dunlop also returning as executive producer. The second season will feature original cast members, along with new personalities that will be introduced. The new season is scheduled to begin production in Orange County, CA on eight episodes later this summer, with series debut set for late 2006 on Bravo.
"THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY debuted as a unique concept for television with its provocative exploration of the daily ups and downs of a group of sophisticated and complicated real-life women," said Lauren Zalaznick, President, Bravo. "It′s a perfect series for Bravo that connects viewers with unique characters, and creates ongoing buzz."
"The new season will pick up from where the last season left off, but with new dramas, new relationships and new characters," said Berwick. "Viewers can continue to follow the complicated lives of each of these ladies, and experience their emotional highs and lows."
The premiere season of THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY sparked heated viewer and critical buzz, with the Los Angeles Times saying the show "crystallized Orange County′s identity as home of the nouveau riche" and the New York Times describing it as "educational" and "fascinating." Tom Shales of the Washington Post observed that the show offered "insight into contemporary values" and "modern American materialism," and the New York Post called it "fascinating television." The Hollywood Reporter said the series played "more like a documentary than a...voyeuristic reality show" and delved "into such meaty subjects as choosing a housewife′s life over a career, looming empty nests, midlife crisis, teenage drug and alcohol experimentation, teaching kids the value of money, the first tastes of adulthood, being that suddenly single mom and simply fitting in."
The first season of THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY averaged a 0.7 HH coverage rating, 646,000 total viewers, 503,000 viewers 18-49 and 440,000 viewers 25-54. The series increased Bravo′s average in the time period (Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m.) by 19% in total viewers, 47% in 18-49 viewers and 26% in 25-54 viewers year-to-year. The program built on average by 39% on its 18-49 lead-in and by 42% among women in the demographic. The series also ranked as the youngest program on Bravo during its run with a median age of 34.4 and as one of the most upscale shows on cable′s most upscale network.
Bravo′s THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY follows a group of sophisticated women and their families who lead glamorous lives in a picturesque Southern California gated community in Orange County. The Orange County "housewives" are used to the good life and will do everything they can to hang on to it. They each have their own personal story to share, from surviving an ugly divorce to choosing a career over a life of leisure, and they′ve granted Bravo an all-access pass into their lives, families, friendships, careers, and homes. The women take viewers along for the ride and into their real-life dramas that show how life isn′t always perfect behind the gates.
Eight second season episodes of THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY will be produced by Evolution Film & Tape Inc., with partner′s Douglas Ross, Gregory Steward, Kathleen French and Dean Minerd serving as executive producers. Series creator Scott Dunlop also returns for the second season as executive producer.
