5 Cities That Didn’t Make the Real Housewives Cut

Since its Bravo debut in 2006, the franchise has followed the lavish lifestyles of wealthy women from Orange County, California all the way to Dubai. While it may seem like there are too many “Housewives” series to count, each group of gal pals have their own unique qualities that make them stand out.

And it turns out that through the years, there have been even more shows in other cities that just didn’t work. According to executive producer Andy Cohen, there are at least five shows that never came to fruition because they couldn’t find the right group of women.

“You look for a group of friends. Producers bring in casting people, and they find women who are on the society pages and belong to country clubs. ‘Who are your friends, and how do you know each other?'” Andy explained. “In the end, you kind of wind up with a reel of maybe 10 women who have some connections with each other. There’s a little diagram that you look at…There have been a lot of places that we’ve tried but just didn’t work.”

Here are the cities that didn’t make the cut…

1. Greenwich, Connecticut

Andy Cohen says that at one point, Greenwich, Connecticut was considered for its own “Real Housewives” series. Although he didn’t specify why the show didn’t pan out, it could be due to the area’s proximity to New York City, New Jersey and Maryland. Considering several of the Housewives, like Bethenny Frankel, have owned homes in Connecticut, the cast could have been too closely intertwined.

“They have their own identity,” Andy shared. “You know, it’s funny, they’re the same kind of format, if you want to call it a ‘format,’ but they all feel completely different, like really different ecosystems in every city. And so, that’s really important.”

2. San Francisco, California

San Francisco was also once a consideration for a “Real Housewives” show, which makes sense considering it has one of the highest billionaire populations in the world. The city even reportedly had a casting call, which specifically mentioned a search for gay couples to take part in the show. In the end, casting agents must not have found who they were looking for because the series ultimately got turned down.

3. Chicago, Illinois

After New York City Housewife Tinsley Mortimer got engaged to Scott Kluth, some fans suspected that the series would branch out to Chicago, where Scott was based. The show never panned out, with Andy sharing that they couldn’t find the right cast — and would want the star to be someone who was a Chicago native anyway.

“We just didn’t find the right casting for Chicago. Whatever casting we did, it wasn’t right and we haven’t gone back to do more. That’s the issue,” Andy said in 2019. “If we were going to start a new franchise, I just think it would be with someone who had deep roots in Chicago. Who had a whole real, big life in Chicago. If she’s just moving there…”

4. Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas was once a consideration for a “Real Housewives” franchise but it didn’t work out. Instead, producers opted to move forward with “Real Housewives of Dallas,” which lasted five seasons before going on hiatus.

“You know what? We did cast in Houston a couple times. We just never nailed it,” Andy explained. “I think Houston would be great. But I think now that we have Dallas, I think we’re good.”

5. Wine Country, California

California’s Wine Country is a favorite vacation spot for many Housewives but didn’t end up making the cut for its own show. While discussing the failed franchise, Andy didn’t specify exactly which Wine Country region was in consideration — although it could have been Napa Valley, Sonoma or Santa Rosa.