Andy Cohen Talks Real Housewives Casting
Andy Cohen is the mastermind behind the Real Housewives franchise, which means when cast members come and go, it’s his call — at least for the most part. When it comes to casting for the shows and choosing who returns, it is Andy who is sitting and watching the dynamic between certain ladies, deciding whether or not they are reality-worthy.
In a new video, Bravo’s head honcho is telling all about who he’d like to see return and who he wouldn’t have back to the Real Housewives series.
“I always wanted to bring [The Real Housewife of Orange County] Lauri Waring-Peterson back, but Lauri did not want to come back,” Andy revealed in his latest @sk Andy video.
Although Lauri did ultimately come back to the show during season 8, it was only as a guest star and not exactly what Andy had in mind. For Andy, he would have loved to continue with Lauri after she married George Peterson years ago. At that point, she was a newlywed and adjusting to life as a merged family with a couple of handfuls of children between her and her new husband. It was certainly an interesting dynamic but, at the time, not something Lauri was willing to participate in.
As for who another wife who has been rumored to be returning to the New Jersey installment of the series, Danielle Staub, Andy claims he’s not so sure. “If it’s a terrible idea, people will say to me, ‘It’s a terrible idea.’” And in this case, it may be a terrible idea — especially now that he has managed to ensure the return of Dina Manzo.
“Typically, I’m at the forefront of trying to woo formers back to the show,” Andy admits, adding that he’s also at the forefront of casting in general. “I am involved in all of it,” he confirmed. “We have a team … we work with the production company to go over the submissions for Housewives.”