Real Housewives of the 1960s gets retro reality TV twist as Bravo adds new shows

The popular Real Housewives franchise just got a retro reality TV twist! Get ready for the Real Housewives of the 1960s, one of Bravo’s 8 new shows.

If you thought that the Real Housewives shows were in need of a makeover after covering everywhere from New Jersey to Dallas to Melbourne, Bravo hears you. One of eight total new series from the ever-expanding Bravo combines the popularity of the Real Housewives with the popularity of reboots (thank you, Will and Grace and Roseanne) to give you Real Housewives of the 1960s.

Bravo Media senior vice president of development Rachel Smith unveiled the NBCU cable network’s treasure chest of new shows. The Real Housewives of the 1960s is being described as an “imaginative docu-series.” The cast of so-called “modern women” will return to the 1960s to “experience the ultimate era of the American Housewife.” (Sounds like the same era my mother once described as “the years when they made the best frozen TV dinners.”)

The new Real Housewives show is expected to be different not just with regard to its era. The production company, Wall to Wall, and executive producers, Leanne Klein and Rob White, are newcomers to the RH series and approaching the project without preconceptions. Viewers will learn what it’s like to reside in a neighborhood of “authentic Sixties homes.” They’ll view an era “where men made the money, women made the home, and teenagers actually did as they were told.”

This could end up being pretty interesting or well, pretty controversial. Then again, this is reality TV. And there’s more, promises Bravo.

“In living through the ‘golden age’ of Sixties family life, the cast will discover if more time spent together, traditional husband and wife roles, and no digital distractions might actually improve their chaotic lives and even fix their relationships,” according to the Real Housewives Of The 1960s producers.

On Reddit, users speculated what would happen if cast members from the current show such as Vicki Gunvalson of RHOC, Lisa Vanderpump of RHOBH, and Ramona Singer of RHONY were the ones chosen to live together in a cul-de-sac with 1960s roles.  “Love, love, love!” gushed one user, while another compared the potential to the infamous Scary Island “dream scenario.”

Bravo orders up new series beyond Real Housewives

In addition to the Real Housewives of the 1960s, Bravo ordered seven other new series. They include:

• Raising the Bar: Hong Kong: This docu-series takes pace in Hong Kong, featuring a group of American buddies who are reaping wealth through the city’s thriving nightclub scene. Sounds to us like Vanderpump Rules Goes Hong Kong.
• Gold with Envy: The docu-comedy features radio personality DJ Envy, famed for the radio show The Breakfast Club. Add in his wife Gia, their friends, staff, and five kids, and it’s time for fun with a high-spirited family.
• Your Shitty Family: Just as Real Housewives of the 1960s is putting a new twist on the Housewives, Your Shitty Family is giving new life to prank shows by having families competing with humiliating but funny pranks designed to embarrass their relatives. (Imagine what happens at Thanksgiving dinner following a family appearance on this show.)
• Beverly Hills Driving School: Los Angeles driving teachers take on drivers with, ahem, issues. Those include learning to drive at age 30 and discovering the intricacies of driving stick with an ultra-expensive car. And it all takes place in the city famed for its expensive stores and beyond-chic stars.
• Pampered Campers: What happens when Bravo stars join other celebrities to head off with an outdoor gung-ho guy, Dhani Jones? These stars will find themselves doing everything from climbing mountains to tackling waterfalls. Bye, champagne: Hello, s’mores.
• Will You Marry Us: Five buddies gather together on a search for love. They’re all single, all from Philadelphia, and all hoping to meet that perfect match.
• Flying High: Fasten your seat belts as this new show takes place on a jet worth millions of dollars. Meet pilots, flight attendants, and their jet-setting passengers and prepare for what sounds like a sky’s the limit version of Below Deck.

Related Story: Real Housewives wiz Andy Cohen expresses his love for the New York cast

Which of these shows are you most excited to watch on Bravo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!