The Real Housewives

The Real Housewives is an American reality television franchise that began on March 21, 2006, with The Real Housewives of Orange County. Each installment of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives of a group of affluent women residing in or around a certain city or geographic region. Eleven different series have been produced in the United States, with another 21 international adaptations. One US production, The Real Housewives of Dubai, is set outside of the US. The American series is broadcast on Bravo, with one installment being broadcast on Peacock. The first international adaptation, The Real Housewives of Athens, premiered on March 4, 2011. The longest-running international edition is The Real Housewives of Cheshire, which has aired 16 seasons. The first Afrikaans version, The Real Housewives of Pretoria, premiered on October 13, 2022, in South Africa. The American franchise has led to 27 spin-off series in all; the most successful, Vanderpump Rules, has itself had a number of spin-offs. History On May 1, 2005, The Real Housewives was first announced as one of six reality television shows ordered by the American television network Bravo.The show was inspired by scripted soap operas including Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place, and would document the lives of five to eight upper-class women who "lead glamorous lives in a picturesque Southern California gated community where the average home has a $1.6 million price tag and residents include CEOs and retired professional athletes."