After a rather dark second season that involved storylines of substance abuse, domestic violence, and a suicide, Bravo has not yet asked any of the current Real Housewives of Beverly Hills back for another season. According to Camille Grammer, the network has been upfront with her, saying they are doing a "big casting call" looking for new Housewives. It's not inconceivable Bravo would do a big overhaul since it recently axed four Housewives from New York. Many believe that the Housewife who is most likely on the chopping block is Taylor Armstrong, who is possibly a con artist, definitely not as rich as her cast mates, and most likely abusing alcohol to cope with her recent struggles. Her particular type of drama doesn't fit in with the light-hearted tone the network is pursuing with the franchise. Plus, the network already had one Housewife it had to put in rehab, and probably wants to avoid another.
Moving on to happier news, a number of Housewives have nailed down their own spinoffs. In a press release regarding its 2012 schedule, Bravo announced that Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kandi Burruss will star in The Kandi Factory, which will follow the Grammy-award winning songwriter as she "transforms two music hopefuls into the next big popstar." We'll also be treated to Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding, in which Kim Zolciak will pretend to be Kim Kardashian as she prepares for a fairytale wedding of her own. Additionally, Beverly Hills' Lisa Vanderpump has filmed a pilot for Bravo, focusing on her restaurants and her family.
Sadly, after being fired as Housewives, Jill Zarin and Alex McCord are still chasing the reality TV dragon. Jill is supposedly in talks with Fox for a show called The Beverly Jillbillies, which would be "based on a fashion-out-of-water move on her part to Los Angeles." And Alex McCord and her husband Simon Van Kempen are shopping around a show tentatively titled Based in Brooklyn about 30-something parents in "brownstone Brooklyn."
'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills' Recasting Camille Grammer? [HuffPo]
Lisa Vanderpump Gets 'Real Housewives' Spin-Off [HuffPo]
Taylor Armstrong's Friends Want Her To Go To Rehab [Radar]
‘Wives' was a ‘train wreck' [NY Post]