The pandemic hasn’t impacted the drama of Housewives, anyway.
It’s been a busy year-and-a-bit for producers across all Real Housewives franchises as they navigate the usual catty drama and diva-esque behaviour alongside filming during a pandemic, more intense conversations around race, and federal criminal investigations.
Yep, that’s investigations, plural.
Fans of the popular Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will be well-familiar with the investigation into Erika Jayne’s ex-husband, Tom Girardi, who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars won in lawsuits from clients that include orphans and widows of plane crash victims.
The impact of the divorce and investigation on Erika has played out on-camera as her cast mates question the degree of her involvement in Tom’s alleged crimes, what she knew and when she knew it – leading to multiple dramatic sit-downs, stand-offs and mascara-stained cheeks.
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But while Erika’s legal woes have dominated the current season and raked in viewers, a newer franchise might just do us one better.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City only began its first season last year, but it hit the ground running.
The Utah-based cast featured a range of characters who promised to entertain – including “good Mormon(s) gone bad,” a woman who married her step-grandfather, and Jen Shah, whose legal woes are arguably more damning than Erika’s.
Back in March, Jen, 47, shocked cast mates when she and her assistant were arrested and accused of allegedly defrauding hundreds of people in a nationwide telemarketing scheme.
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At the time, the show was said to have been filming when Jen was made aware that police would soon be swarming her home, and a new teaser for season two shows that was indeed the case.
Jen’s phone call and subsequent dash from the filming location, the police raid of her home, and her cast members’ reactions to watching cops pull up alongside their car were all caught on camera. The trailer also shows the women later finding out about her arrest from news headlines.
“Real Housewives star charged in massive fraud money laundering scheme,” Whitney Rose reads. “I have the f**king chills. Her and Stu [Smith] were charged for stealing people’s money.”
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In April, the 47-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering. She later filed a motion, which was denied, asking for all charges to be dismissed on the grounds of “legal and factual insufficiency” and suppression of evidence.
Her trial is scheduled to begin in March 2022, and judging by the trailer, it looks like the run-up will dominate RHOSLC’s sophomore season as much as Erika’s issues have dominated this season of RHOBH.
Watch the explosive trailer here:
Omg the first two minutes of the #RHOSLC premiere… I’m shaking you guys!!! pic.twitter.com/dtiivyGUwq
— Real Housewives Gifs (@housewifegifs) September 7, 2021
