Where the rest of America leads, Washington, D.C. follows. That is the case, anyway, in the Real Housewives franchise, where the nation’s capital last night became the fifth branch (joining a D.C.-set edition of Top Chef). I’ll be curious to see the ratings for The Real Housewives of D.C. Bravo has seemingly turned the Real Housewives into a ratings ATM, adding edition after edition to ever-higher numbers, but I have to wonder at what point fatigue sets in: first, for the concept, second, for Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the White House party crashers and/or wrongfully maligned guests (depending if they’re telling the story) who are the show’s drawing card.
What might have surprised viewers catching the first episode is how relatively little the Salahis figured in to it; indeed, they may eventually have competition as breakout character from Cat, who spent the first episode blithely tossing off one cluelessly obnoxious remark after another. It’s been over half a year since the Salahis broke into notoriety, after all, and—confrontations with Whoopi Goldberg aside—people may just be losing interest.
Or do I have too much faith in America?
