Bravo is expanding The Real Housewives universe has long been a favorite of queer audiences, so perhaps it was inevitable that one day we’d get a gay spin on its tried-and-true “reality” drama.
Well, that day came with an announcement from MTV True Friends of WeHo— Focuses on the intertwining lives and careers of six successful men in the eponymous Los Angeles neighborhood, and the internet is… conflicted!
According to the introduction, the show aims to be “an unfiltered and honest look at a select group of friends who live, love and pursue their passions in a West Hollywood community.”
The alleged “group of friends” in question is made up of “Hollywood’s most influential and successful LGBTQ+ celebrities, personalities and entrepreneurs,” which means:
Celebrity stylist Brad Goreski (who really kills it as a judge Canadian Drag Race recently), singer-choreographer Todrick Hall (who has faced quite a bit of controversy lately), recently actor Curtis Hamilton (in Kings of Napa and Invalid fame), skincare mogul Dorión Renaud (CEO of Butah), entertainment news anchor James Vaughan (notably, her husband Envious girls‘ Jonathan Bennett) and influencer Joey Zauzig (who Good morning America last year he was chosen as “the best friend of the Internet”).
Related: Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan made history with this magazine cover
The first look trailer keeps things very short – only giving half the cast real screen time, but teasing some of the drama to come. There’s Goreski, reflecting on how to balance being a public figure with being a good role model for the LGBTQ+ community. Vaughn mentions his famous beau, but strangely we don’t see her in the clip, or even hear her name mentioned.
And then there’s Hall, who seems interested in addressing the scandals that have surrounded him over the past few years. The titles flashed on the screen in the clip are hilariously vague, but we have to assume it means a comeback for him. Celebrity Big Brother run and the “missing rent case,” among other controversies, will also play into the season.
You can watch the preview clip below:
In a very sly move, MTV will debut True Friends of WeHo January 20, with new episodes every Friday—right after primetime RuPaul’s Drag Race.
So there will be legions Drag Race Are fans of the show on its new network tuning in to watch these gay men screw around in West Hollywood? After a quick temperature check on Twitter, our estimate is… TBD.
Reactions to upcoming reality series are all over the place today. Here’s a small sample of what people are saying True Friends of WeHo:
Replace it with a fake reality show about four gay influencers from The Other Two https://t.co/w4TbFa5dtP
— native swamp gay ???? (@localswampgay) January 5, 2023
Why couldn’t we have a show of non-famous gay friends supporting each other and trying to make it in the city? We don’t need more of Todrick Hall!!
— ✧ ✧ (@ohastroboy) January 5, 2023
I’m sure Real Friends of Weho will be fine, but I think we need some old queens. These young girls are boring.
— Patrick Rogers (@patjrogers) January 5, 2023
mtv sees the reaction to weho’s true friends pic.twitter.com/OkBK5sznWb
— toekneepraysick (@tonypraysick) January 5, 2023
still from Real Friends of WeHo Season 1 Episode 1 pic.twitter.com/Kub0SnbzlF
— ERICONIC (@ericdamianlo) January 5, 2023
Let’s be real – all the f@gs are mad at Real Friends of WeHo because we all think we’d be perfect on a reality show like this and feel bad that we’re not. pic.twitter.com/B1mRpErAVC
– Rose DeWitt Bukater’s Big Bang Hat (@Titanik_Gay) January 5, 2023
I have watched TOO much reality tv to know that this new “Real Friends of WeHo” is not going to be good… I NEED REAL FRIENDSHIPS WITH UNCLASSIFIED GAY FRIENDS.
– King Karma? (@HaroMarcus) January 5, 2023
Here is an Ouroboros event that happened:
MTV creates Laguna Beach: The Real OC that led to Bravo’s The Real Housewives of OC is now leading to MTV’s Real Friends of Weho https://t.co/exiJXJJJxk
— David Cho (@davidcho) January 5, 2023
omw to watch real friends of weho pic.twitter.com/xENCm0cHO9
– Chris. ? (@chrispena_16) January 5, 2023
Our true friends??? Nothing is real in bal weho https://t.co/pgUGz3XZYM
— Gina Tonic (@ginatonicnyc) January 5, 2023
Related: Todrick Hall blasts haters ahead of new TV show: ‘You work hard, but I work harder’