Sarah Michelle Gellar Refuses To Feel Bad About This Show | Sorry Not Sorry
There was a time when wealth on television was presented as something we should all covet. Big houses and designer clothes were treated as markers of success. And the distance between the audience and that world was part of the appeal. In the last few years, people who flaunt their wealth have become a different sort of entertainment, which even movie stars like Sarah Michelle Gellar enjoy watching.
WATCH: Sarah Michelle Gellar Refuses To Feel Bad About This Show
Speaking to JustWatch, while promoting the 2026 action-comedy, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Gellar revealed that she enjoys watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. "I watch my fair share of Housewives, and I don't feel guilty about it," she said. "I know what I'm watching, and I know what I'm getting into. And I know that it's entertainment like anything else."
"You should never feel guilt if you do something that you enjoy," the actress added. "Guilt is what other people put upon us, not what we should put upon ourselves." It's a straightforward way of framing a genre that still carries a lot of stigma. Even though they're widely watched, shows like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which began in 2010, are still treated as disposable.
Although she's a big fan of the Beverly Hills version of The Real Housewives franchise, Gellar hasn't been shy about critiquing it either. During an appearance on Page Six Radio, she described Season 15 as "boring" despite the efforts of the cast. According to Deadline, her comments didn't go over well with the show's executive producer, Andy Cohen, who said her opinion was wrong.
From Scripted Secrets To Unscripted Scandals
When the flagship series, The Real Housewives of Orange County, premiered on Bravo in 2006, it was initially pitched as an unscripted extension of shows like 2004's Desperate Housewives, which was hugely popular for its "everything is not so perfect in picturesque suburbia if you take a long look behind closed doors" premise.
The only difference is that The Real Housewives doesn't include the murder mystery that made Desperate Housewives really interesting. The reality show chronicles the day-to-day lives of a group of wealthy women. Viewers get to see them throw parties, go on trips, and get into very heated fights over their various champagne problems.
Two decades later, the franchise has expanded to include multiple U.S. iterations. There are also dozens of international versions and a long list of spin-offs. Each version adjusts for location and cast, but the underlying mechanics of status, personality, and perception stay the same. Despite its popularity, The Real Housewives has its detractors.
The franchise has been slammed for promoting "conspicuous consumption" and for presenting women as nothing more than out-of-touch, status-obsessed vessels, who are already ready for a fight. There have also been broader critiques around casting and how different versions are separated by race, making the whole thing even more disturbing.
Why To Watch 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' (And What To Watch After)
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is easy to drop into, especially if you're looking for entertainment that doesn't require your full attention. What makes this version of the show slightly different from earlier installments is how unstable its wealth feels. The aesthetics are still there. But the show doesn't protect that image as much as it exposes the gaps in it.
Money is part of the story in ways that aren't always flattering. The cast is also constantly dealing with legal issues and business failures. And, of course, the show would not be complete without a great big dose of changing alliances that are tied to reputational ruin. For something that explores similar ideas, Desperate Housewives is the obvious next step and can be found on Prime Video.
The series centers on Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), a group of women living on Wisteria Lane, where appearances are carefully maintained, but are rarely accurate. The story begins when their friend, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), dies by suicide in the pilot episode.
The suburban drama was a hit with critics and viewers. It also took home an impressive haul of Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards along the way. Throughout its eight-season run, the show consistently ranked among the top 10 most-watched series. And if you needed any more proof of its staying power, in 2019, Entertainment Weekly placed it at 56 on its New TV Classics list.
