What is the FUTURE of RHOP?

Hey rain Drops. Yes, so I finally got merch. That's right. You can buy your Allegedly and my Boys mugs, T shirts, rain Drops, hoodies and T shirts all on Carlos Kingshop dot com.

That's right. Get your hoodies, your T shirts, and your.

Mugs all on Carlos Kingshop dot com. Welcome to Reality with the King. It's me Carlos kings the King of Reality TV and one of the most sought after executive producers in reality television with over ten years of production experience. Twice a week on Reality with the King, we'll sit down with my friends across the entertainment industry, recap our favorite reality shows, and revisit unforgettable moments that we are still talking and tweeting about. Hey rain Drops, Yes, the

I want to say a year ago or closer.

To that, that she was checking out a Potomac and she wanted the show to be centered around Candice Dillark Bassett.

So we have a lot to catch up on.

Give it up for my beautiful, gorgeous honey friend, Jasmine Henley Brown.

Hello, Carlos Lake Jones, Raphael Povich Springer.

Walters, Yes, you are the father.

Yes, listen, I am the pause father. Yes, Hodey, there's.

Somebody who calls himself the Powfather is going to kick your ass. I'm not going to say his name though, because I heard he can be litigious.

Well, I don't want no smoke with him.

Oh my god, That's why I'm not saying. I'm not saying who it is. I'm not saying who it is.

Well, it's funny.

I posted a selfie once and said the pop father, and the girl said, that's so Assult's name.

I said, I wanted to know that.

Okay, fine, Like I'll stay with the kid in reality television.

Let me let me.

Not add anyway.

I don't want to add more to my play. But the rain Drops have been requesting you. A few of them tagged you recently. Have you been feeling the love that they're like, bring Jasmine back.

I always feel the love. I feel like you have one of the best like fan bases. The rain Drops are so supportive. They've always been really, really nice. There have been a couple of shady comments here and there, but the good definitely outweighs the bad. And you know, I'll pay a bitch dust in a second. So I'm always you know, I'm always your love that I never too ill.

I have missed you so much, so I'm happy, miss Listen.

It's fun because I'm like, I get to talk to my girl and have her on the podcast and key key and what better job can a brother ask for?

So let's get the people what they want.

And we're all wearing black because we're morning Candace Dealer Bassett.

My kangle isn't prepared, dang.

It, Oh girl, Sorry Candace.

So look, you once said to me that you felt that the show should be centered around Candace.

And the way.

We all know where we were when OJ Simpson had the Bronco being chased by the police rip. We all know where we were when OJ had the Bronco. We know where we were when the verdict of OJ came down. We know where we were when we.

Found out Kyle and Marisia were separated.

We know where we were when we were realized we can never buy a white refrigerator after Nini Leeg said.

Why refrigerator should stew her ass because she's single handedly ruined everything, Like if I walk into a place with a wire refrigerator.

Oh no, honey, what is this?

So where were you when you learned that Candace Diller Bassett was leaving the show?

I think I was lying in my bed.

I was resting because I'm getting a lot of rest these days. I wasn't doing much, but I remember being so shocked, like she's leaving. But I was happy when I read it and saw that she was leaving on her own. She made the choice to leave. She was not fired, because I was going to have a lot of questions if they were letting Candace go. But I'm actually happy Candace made the decision to leave, especially with the news that followed about the expansion of her family.

So I am sad.

To see her go because I really think if we're talking about a future.

Of Potomac in the show, she fits that bill.

But after watching the parts the three parts of the reunion, Candace does not have a friend on that cast. She does not have one friend on that cast, and that's not an environment that you want to be in when you're pregnant and bringing a new life into this world. So good on you, Candy, Honey.

Let's dive right into it.

So you watch all three parts Reunion only because you knew I was going to talk to you. So before we get into the questionable friends that Candace doesn't have in terms of what you think she doesn't have, how checked out were you this past season.

The Austin episode. I remember making a video. It might have been the episode.

Prior it went viral, by the way, I don't even.

Know what viral means at this point, but yeah, I'll take it. I will take it. I will take it. I made a video about how a comfortable it was to watch them just kind of ice Candace out and just be not cohesive as a group.

It was really hard to watch.

I remember watching that, and I remember the Austin trip happens, and I'm like, that's a trip that I could call my friends up and we could take on a Wednesday. I watched these shows because of the aspirational lifestyles, because

No, I think it's hilarious that you and I both stopped watching this season during the autin trip, and it's indicative of the similarities that the audience feels. It's sort of the breaking point that we all had at the same time, because you and I are not alone in that. I think the reason why our percentage of people did check out of the show is because, look, we know, at the end of the day, these people aren't real friends.

But what made our favorite shows.

The favorite is because at least they all clocked in and said, look, while we're a part of this institution for three to four months, let's do our best to figure things out. And I think for us it was sort of like, you guys don't like each other.

You guys do not want to be around each other.

The isolation and the ostracization of Candice bothered me and I and it bothered me in a way where listen, we all or know someone who felt isolated.

When we were in school.

You know, if you had a parent that transferred you to different schools, that's tough. I was somebody who moved. I went to like three elementary schools, right, And I just remember always feeling alone, like people aren't really messed with me because I'm a new kid on the block. And I felt that Candace represented that person, that child,

I don't think so. No, I don't think that's her enemy. I don't think she's her op or anything like that. I just feel like they have a friendship of convenience Garcel and Sutton right on Beverly Hills Real Health Tives of Beverly Hills. I think Wendy and Candace both don't feel super welcome within the group, and so it makes them being friends feel like the best fit. And yeah, that's why I say, like, Candis doesn't have a friend

You don't need to be around a group.

Of people who are making you feel the way that these women seem to make you feel on a day to day basis.

Just be done with it.

But I do I agree with you. I think Candish just feels super ostracized from the group. She doesn't feel accepted, and I think she does. You know, we all want to be accepted. Like, yes, it's no shame when I said that, we all want to be accepted, especially when you're in a group like this on a reality TV show.

You want to be well received and well liked.

One of my rain drops said to me, and I would love to get your point of view on this, because I do think he has a good point. Hi Janelle on Twitter, I call him mister Gobadi Bryant because he is a gazelle stand and a porsious stance. So Hi Janelle, I love him, he said on Twitter. And I was like, this is very interesting and I would love to get your point of view.

He said, that with Giselle being the.

Queen Bee of the show, that if we want to break it down, Wendy and Candace want Gazelle to like them, and the struggles in the beginning was what you said.

We all want to be accepted.

It's just it's human nature and there's not one person in this world who has never felt that way. You may not feel that way as much getting older, but in every scenario that you're in one of those, you want.

To feel accepted.

He said that the girls want Gazell to accept them, and he said that when you if you really played close attention to the earlier seasons, he said, Wendy wanted Gazel's approval, and that's why when Monique and Candace had that altercation, Wendy sided with Gazelle immediately. And obviously there's questions though who was right or wrong. We're not going

She never liked Candace.

She just she wanted Monique out and she used Candace as proxy to do it. And they all said, if you really pay a close attention to the show. Wendy and Candace were looking for Giselle's approval and when.

They didn't get it, and.

She was obviously so overtly, you know, not the nicest to them that it hurt them. And when you see Candace cry when it comes to her friendships with Robin, even Giselle is because she really wanted their acceptance.

Absolutely. I mean we've talked about this before.

Everyone who comes into Potomach they want Giselle's acceptance. So whether you call her the Queen Deee, the Regina George of the group, whatever, for whatever reason, when people come to the something, We've seen it with every newbie, they want Zelle's acceptance. Even you know, you brought up Mommy. You can see her money got off to a rocky start.

Want acceptance from, except for Karen.

I feel like Karen is the only one who's like, I could go either way. But I think that's because they already had a history before the show, and she has Gazelle's number. It's like, I don't need you to accept me, like you know, the Grand dam doesn't need anybody, all right, But yeah, I think everybody that comes through the show wants to be accepted by Gazelle for whatever reason. And it's not you know, like she's a beautiful woman,

So maybe that's what it is. But it's something about.

That damn Giselle that people just want her acceptance, and I understand if that could be hurtful to not have it, especially if you go from having it and then there's a fallout and you no longer have it. She seems so disinterested in even trying to build anything with Candace, and that could also be herful of Candace is on the side of the aisle where she's like, I'm willing to forgive her, but then Gisella is like, I don't really care if you forgive me or not.

I don't want anything to do with you. That's hurtful. And this is just speaking as like a human being.

It's not like Candace personally Giselle personally, Like that's hurtful when you want someone to like you, or you know, you want to walk in forgiveness with them and they just don't even care about it.

No, but you listen, you are one hundred percent right to me, because this isn't us sort of recapping the season. It's more so about the psychology of Potomac. And the only thing I can say to you is two things. First, when you met Giselle when you were my EP the podcast and we did a zoom interview, you even said to her and to me, I don't want I don't wanna speak for you, so just say what you said.

No, Giselle was so nice, like she was so cool.

She was cracking jokes, like she was being like the Giselle that we see her be on the show.

That's who she was when we had her on Reality with the King.

And I always say this stuff because people ask me, like, when you know they see that you have certain house fives, their reality starts was such and such mean or how were they I'm like, everybody was nice to me. But I also recognize I'm in a specific position when I was their EP. They're coming into the show and I'm your EP. No one's gonna be rude to the executive producer, you know, like the of the host of the show right or of the show.

So I do recognize that there was.

Almost like a privileged position that I was sitting in to meet these women. But maybe they were nicer to me than they would normally be if I was just you know, Joe Schmoe on the street, or if I were one of their cats. I have found it harder to jump on the hate train of Giselle because I have met her and she wasn't this awful evil person that she's.

Made up to be. I'm not saying she's a great person. I don't.

I'm not saying I agree with her actions and the thing she displayed because I thought her laughing at Candace crying was terribly juvenile.

But I haven't.

Experienced her personally to be a bad person. But that's also why I'm teen Candace, because I've experienced Candicce more times than i've met Gazelle, and she's so sweet, so lovable, so supportive of just like black women doing anything that I am all often taken it back by the hate that she gets from other black women. So I'm like, if y'all knew this woman, she is, she is rooting for whatever you're doing. Like, she is such a supporter

It's often disconnected to me.

Yeah, no, it is, it is. It is.

And obviously I have been around Gazelle. We have a great rapport and that's the reason why last week I said, well the real Gazelle Brian stand up, because the Gazelle I see on the show is not the Gizelle I met in person and been around. Those are two different people, and it's interesting to know that there is a side of her that I do see on the show that

After watching the three part reunion the cast.

It's so disjointed that you can tell that they were told like try to get along and make amends. And even Candace said that she was told to hold back.

I don't know when I read it. I didn't read it like as a quote from Candace.

I read it as like someone saying that that's what they heard.

So I was like, I don't know how true this is, but that is official. Like Candace said that out of her mouth.

Yeah, she said she was told to like pretty much hold back. Because obviously if you look at the reunion, and I believe this was part three, when she sort of looked off camera said y'all want me to make up with this? You know that sort of gave an idea that, yeah, and it's what you said too, let's have a real conversation.

I want this show to do well.

However, I am afraid of the future because I too felt that Candace was the future. And one thing I know about producing reality shows is when you have somebody who we saw all these milestones. The wedding happened, the first time she was a home buyer, you know, we saw that happen. We saw glimpses of her being a step mom, and we saw this journey of her wanting to have a baby, and now that she's having a baby, and I believe she is at this point fourteen weeks pregnant.

But we have to deal with Ashley.

Darby, which is the biggest fumble for me.

Like you guys like Candice walk Away when she's about to to have a baby, but you're keeping Ashley, who's not gonna give us anything more than she's given us. If she really is dating someone, she may she might want to give a dating storyline, but that doesn't even seem to be true, right, Like Ashley just doesn't seem to be very.

Forthcoming, and I'm like, you're keeping her you're.

Keeping Giselle, who, like I have said multiple times, is not going to give us more than what she gave us.

That boy she was playing with last season.

He was dating some girl the whole time allegedly.

Well I never bought that they were dating for real anyway, Like stop playing about your pace. Okay, that's the extent though, that we're gonna ever get of Gizelle's like dating life, you know what I'm saying, Like the stuff with her her daughters, that's always going to be like really good TV.

But Gizelle just isn't willing to give us as much.

Like we've seen candases like strain relationship with her mother, you know what I'm saying. We've seen like how that has gone back and forth and seems to be like on the up and up. Right, She's shown us so much more, and I feel like she is at the point of her life she would still be ready to give and we're not gonna be able to see it.

What are your thoughts on the future of Doctor Wendy.

I'll say this, I think that Doctor Wendy's not beating the allegations of not wanting another like Nigerian girl on the show, because as I sat and watched the reunion, I said, I actually, I'm actually buying into that theory now because she's see the way in the way that

Anything else from Wendy, because that just felt achy to me.

Like Mekka brought it up like we could have been the first two, like Nigerian sisters.

They could have taken it and Wendy was not interested in doing that. It never was.

But would YouTube and somebody say your mama was a witch and practices witchcraft. I just don't listen, No shade, you talked about my mama being a witch and does the seance and all that.

I don't know if I could be friends with you, though, Jazz Cluche.

If you talk about mama biscuits, we might have to. You're you're right, but I do like, I don't know. I think you just watching the interaction.

You know, when you get to a point and watch the reality TV for so long, you start to just we were talking about the psychology of everything. You start to just watch people like body language and their actions and like, yeah, the aftermath of what Neka did, you shouldn't fuck with her, but I do. But like I said, she's not beating the allegations that she just didn't want

In my mind, I got your remember Wendy.

Oh Lord Jesus, this is interesting. I will say this.

I feel bad for Mekka, and I'm gonna tell you why to have a three part reunion and you are a housewife and you only spoke three times and listen, listen.

That Neca versus.

Wendy was honestly the biggest drama of the entire season. So the fact that it was reduced to a ten minute if that conversation, we had three hours of television and the biggest drama this season that was reduced to ten minutes. I felt bad for Neka because I'm like, I don't know anything about you, Sis, I know nothing about you. And I was like, because of that, I want you to come back only because I'm like, let's give you another chance.

Maybe.

But to your point, look, one thing I love about doctor Wendy is you never have to worry about how she's feeling about you. So when she very much threw Ashley under the bus and said, how about you explain.

It because you brought it up, I did.

Yeah, Now you know it actually goes to the Sesame school, you know, Sesame Street school.

Child, I actually don't know anything but Barney and.

You know how to be a TikTok influencer, Like she doesn't have the level of you know, intelligence to explain that for us.

Right, So when she clocked.

That, and when she pretty much told Andy about Mecca, not once, but twice, I can coexist with her if that wasn't a nanny leak's phrase. When it came to how she used to feel about the girl's honey, I said hi because need even walking.

Remember in a group scene, Hi, dath.

Man, she would do this what Paul and do and running across so she could say, I said hi to everybody.

So when doctor Wendy said that this is no shade I lack.

And I said, doctor, to your point and her body language, Doctor Wendy wants no parts of Mecca. It is rumored that Mekka has been fired. Do you think that's fair?

Yes, because I'm very indifferent on Mecca, Like I don't care about her as like a housewife, not as a person. I feel like I always have to give that disclaimer because it sounds harsh, like I'm sure these people are fine in real life, but as a housewife, she did nothing for me, Like I was so disappointed in her reunion, like her performance at the reunion, because there was even a point where they show her backstage and she was saying, I gotta say something. Somebody's like, you need to you

Beautiful gowns though.

Not a reason.

Oh that was my girl? Okay, ree, what's my girl?

Ree?

What's my girl? Rest in peace to that queen?

Yes, oh r I p to the queen Utie, Yes, yes, yes yes.

How do you feel about Robin being fired? Smart decision or bad one?

I saw it coming with the whole like putting her story about wine behind the paywall. Smarter or bad decision? Though that's hard for me, you know, I've historically called her Robin paint Jay Dixon because in the beginning I felt like she like she just didn't do it for me. But I will say though, her relationship dynamic with Wine is so interesting that like that's always gonna be like

But I don't know. I don't know the juries out. The jury's out on that.

Because I think if Giselle doesn't have a Robin next season, it's either going to be really really good or really really bad because they play so well off of each other. So like, is it good for Robin as Robin the individual? Probably the best thing? Is it good for the show if they're keeping Gazelle.

I don't know. Jerry's out.

Yeah, I just said I think Robin being gone is going to be a wake up call to Giselle in terms of you have to foster some relationships.

I can.

I can't go another season of having her and Wendy not speak to each other. I just I just can't do that.

So Wendy is coming back because there was a rumor that she was not coming back.

No, she's coming back.

Okay, I mean Giselle, Wendy, MIA's coming back for sure, Ashley Darby Yep, those are the.

Only four confirmed so far.

Oh, I mean, let me tell you something about I can't Baren. Karen is what they with the network. I think in the production company wants Gizelle to be like Karen is when I think of Potomac and if you're going to anchor someone on the show called The Real Housewives of Potomac.

Karen has the connections, she has the intact marriage. I mean the institution. My bad.

She has the institution, she has the grown children that are doing pretty well in life. Like she is what I think of when I think about Potomac, and like, I'm just so shocked at how much Gizelle has become the face of the show and not Karen but Karen, Gizzel, Mio, Wendy, Ashley.

Yes, Okay, that's weird.

I was gonna say to say, Oh my god, I go ahead, you.

Got That's that's that's really weird to me because we know that Giselle and Ashley are locked in. They literally have a business together Wendy is on an island along.

You know, they get they get along. They're not friends, they get along.

And your expert Attenion go ahead. As an executive reality television producer, how do you round out this cast? You have Karen who's like the motherly, the matriarch, you have Giselle who's the bone collector, you have Ashley who's bone collector junior, and you have Wendy who is just there kind of on an island. I think, I think when these professional life is really interesting. If we're going to get to see her go to the White House at some point, let's we should we should see more of that.

And then you have Mia.

I think going into next season, if they add no more, like let's say they cut this four or five, Mia is the most interesting storyline going into the next season period. No.

I've said this last year.

I told them last year to build the show around Mia because last season, Jasmine I saw some very into resting moments in MIA's life, not this past season. Last season, the season where she threw the drink on Wendy and I once again I told Mia courtesy of the podcast how wrong she was, but it was more so about her friendship with Jacqueline and her relationship with Gordon, and that to me was like, no center the show around her. Because we love personal story. I want this show to

You're the face of the show.

You have to be you have to be somebody who could come in and try to do it the way Kyle Richards does it right on Beverly Hills. She gets into with the girls, but fundamentally she tries to get all the girls together. And having this cast of Ashley, Giselle, Wendy, Karen and Mia is weird is really bad. Ashley should be dropped. Ashley is a great person. I'm not judging these women as human beings. I'm judging them. What you

Did it. I just don't think Giselle.

Has the reach to have a real conversation with Wendy that means something. We saw her try to deal with Monique, and I remember thinking to myself, this is so fake. And the moment they have Monique and Kansas had that altercation, that was the one thing Gazelle said, Baby, that's all it took for me to go back and not messing with you.

And I'm gonna drive this bus all the way over.

Your ass again.

The remaining Housewives, the Jury, Salona, whoever they decide to cast to round them out, the remaining five is really a testament to like what I have been feeling is that Potomac has lost the plot of like what it was originally supposed to be. I think they either go all in with women who are like Karen, closer to Karen and Giselle's age like kind of in that same like life experience, or they just go they skew around like the Ashley and the Canvases.

Right.

For some reason, this city in particular has not done a good job at just like meshing those two like kind of age groups together.

Right.

It feels like actually and Candace Nekka at her in there like they are great housewives. Well, Candace is a great housewife, but they also haven't had like a whole lot of life experience, for it's to ftill genuine when they are with like a Karen or a Gazelle, right, which is why Karen often is coming off as more like the mother to these women as opposed to just like we're all cast members.

Right.

Giselle comes off like the really mean big sister that everybody like, it's like my sister, my big sister is so mean.

I just want her to like, let me go hang out with.

You and your friends, right, Mama said you gotta take me too, right, you know what I'm saying, Like it feels like that because they just haven't found like a natural way to like blend these worlds together. And I just don't see them recovering or becoming like a really good show next season with this core five. And I don't know if it even matters who they used to round it out. There's something about this cast that just

Maybe Giselle is.

The reason no, And I think that's a fair question to ask. Is Giselle holding the show back? I think that's a fair question to ask. I will say this without her having her sidekick with her, it's going to be a big test to see what I saw.

In this three part reunion is what you saw too.

And she could care less about these girls, you know. I think when it comes to Karen is a history there, and they listen.

They're both in on the joke.

Like the audience likes us our playful nature, so we'll give you that. But I think what's missing is the depthness of their friendship. And that's what's missing we saw with Nini and Cynthia, right Niini and Portia Nini and Kenya, you know. And I hate keep bringing up you know, Atlanta, but I'm only bringing it up to say, it's what you said. Has Potomac lost the plot? Is Giselle holding

You can't read me because I'm in such a confused place. I want to say that, right, like some of some of the.

Things I've said have like contradicted like my feelings in the past. But it's because I am just as confused as I feel like the network and production are with where to go with this show. Like I'm confused as a dealer. So I'm like, I don't know how to feel now. I'm not excited about the next season. I stop watching this season, I stop watching last season. Right, It's like they always get me, like I will come back for the first first couple of episodes and there's somewhere where I'm.

Just like, I don't like this, and that is that is how it's remained for me for like the last two or three seasons.

I get to a point, and I'm like, I actually don't like what I'm seeing on TV is not entertaining to me anymore. It's maddening at some point, like it's triggering for some people, right Like it's just not a good entertaining show. Like I'm watching Summerhouse my Visvinyard right now, like they have petty drama too.

But something about it.

I'm just like it doesn't feel so deep, Like it doesn't feel so deep that like at the end of this they will never speak to each other again, and it's on site when I see each other, like I feel like with Potomacs, like there are relationships there that can never ever be repaired, like you see them, and it's two ships passing in the night, right Like, it just feels not it doesn't feel good.

It's not feel good TV. I don't like it. I'm not I don't know.

Yeah, No, I think what you brought up with Summer House Martha's being here is true because even when you see like Preston and Bria have a moment or Jasmine and the girls on that show, it's lighthearted. And even the whole thing with Nick and is he is he weird? Is he a creep is he touching. It's like real healthy conversations, but they're able to move past it because it's not that deep. And I think, listen, I think some of those girls in Potomac are too busy trying.

To make TV instead of just be themselves.

But if the girls, honey, want to support you anything you're doing or follow you on social media, let them know how and where.

There's two ways you can supppart me that would be huge and mean so much. One, I am developing a series me and my Emmy winning friends Antenna. We're developing a show called Camp Inner Child, and it is all about a group of burned out thirty somethings, your old women. We're gonna send them a camp for a week. See

And those are my two things.

And I'm on all socialists ja Henley Brown, but I'm private on the socials right now because that's just where I am with my life right now.

Thank you for listening to Reality with the King.

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Reality with the King is a production of Kingdom Reign Entertainment. It is produced by Sierra Spragley rix An executive produced by me Carlos King, king Domraing Entertainment, Baby