Bethenny Frankel pitched a show to Bravo just months before calling it ‘grotesque and depraved’
Bethenny Frankel has recently enlisted the help of two powerful lawyers in her mission to take down Bravo. They have sent a strongly-worded legal letter to the network, accusing them of mistreating reality stars and crew members in a grotesque and depraved manner. However, it has come to light that just six months prior, Frankel herself had pitched a new show idea to Bravo. The show would have followed wealthy families in Connecticut, including their children. This raises questions about Bravo’s alleged depravity, as they had given the green light to Frankel’s previous project. It is possible that the network had changed its ways by March 2023, or perhaps Frankel believed that these privileged individuals needed some tough love. According to sources, Frankel, a former star of “Real Housewives of New York,” had received approval from Bravo executives to develop the show. It was set to feature Eva Amurri, the daughter of actress Susan Sarandon. However, there was a falling out between Frankel and the production company she was working with, leading to the shelving of the project. Nevertheless, Bravo remained interested in the lives of Westport’s affluent residents. In the midst of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, Frankel began calling for reality show stars to join the industrial action. She questioned why reality TV was not participating in the strike, while actors were fighting for residuals and refusing to promote anything. Frankel argued that reality stars should have a union or be treated fairly and valued. Prominent attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos later joined her campaign, sending a legal letter to Bravo’s general counsel, warning of a “day of reckoning” due to the network’s alleged dark and sordid behavior. Frankel has accused Bravo of mistreating reality stars and crew members in a grotesque and depraved manner. In response, an NBC representative stated that the company is dedicated to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on their reality shows, and outlined some of their welfare practices. Bravo declined to comment on the potential development of Frankel’s show and directed inquiries to Frankel’s representative, who chose not to comment.
Bethenny Frankel recently recruited two power lawyers to her righteous crusade to overthrow Bravo, and they fired off a positively bloodthirsty legal letter to the network alleging that it routinely engages in “grotesque and depraved mistreatment of reality stars and crewmembers.”
Curiously though, TheFantasyTimes has learned that a mere six months earlier the very same Comrade Frankel pitched Bravo on a new show of her own devising that would follow rich Connecticut families — including, a source pointedly notes, their children.
Perhaps Bravo was substantially less “depraved” circa March 2023.
Or perhaps the Skinnygirl mogul just thought those spoiled brats could use some toughening up.
We’re told the former “Real Housewives of New York” star — who starred in two of her very own spin-offs and a smattering of other shows for the NBCUniversal subsidiary — got the go-ahead from network execs to develop the show, which was set to star Susan Sarandon’s daughter, the actress/blogger Eva Amurri.
But we hear there was some kind of bust-up between Frankel and the production company that she was working with and the project was shelved, though Bravo remained theoretically interested in the comings and goings of Westport’s most delectably nepo-licious residents.
As the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes kicked off earlier in the summer, Frankel began calling for industrial action. “Hollywood is on strike, entertainers are fighting for residuals and no one will promote anything. Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” she said in the social media video.
She added, “Unscripted talent a.k.a. ‘reality stars’ should have a union or simply be treated fairly and valued.”
Later, marquee attorneys Bryan Freedman — who has successfully represented Gabrielle Union against NBCUni — and Mark Geragos joined the campaign, sending a “litigation hold” letter to the company’s general counsel promising that “a day of reckoning” is coming because of the “sordid and dark underbelly” of Bravo’s behavior.
(An NBC rep responded, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “NBCUniversal is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows” and outlining some of its welfare practices.)
Of the Frankel show, a Bravo rep told us. “We don’t comment on shows that were potentially in development. Please reach out to Bethenny’s rep.”
Frankel’s rep declined to comment.
