When it comes to Bravo, fans go hard. Whether you're hooked on the lavish lives of the world's favorite housewives or enjoy the antics of yachties, Bravo knows reality like few others. Bravo has become the mecca for docu follow reality television. With countless iterations of The Real Housewives and Below Deck, the network has dominated the "Best of" lists for years.
This year, the network saw some major changes in personnel. Some shows had new leads, while a spin-off became the unofficial replacement for the original. It's time to celebrate the biggest moments in Bravo reality TV, many of which dominated the conversation at the time. Indeed, now it's time to focus on those Bravo moments that got us talking around the proverbial water cooler.
10
Kristen Kish Makes Hosting Debut
'Top Chef' (2006-Present)
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Following the departure of Padma Lakshmi as host of Top Chef, a winning alum took the helm to great acclaim. Season 10 winner Kristen Kish officially became the host of Season 21, Top Chef: Wisconsin. Alongside judges, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, Kish was able to perfectly integrate herself into the well-oiled machine of the hit Bravo culinary competition series.
Kish has maintained the aura of the program, keeping the tone alive. Despite being new, Kish kept the infamous "Pack your knives and go" send-off. Her experience as a former competitor offered a warm and supportive presence to the chefs. The new host has ushered in a new era of Top Chef, and fans are eager to see how she continues to perform.
Release Date
February 15, 2006
Cast
Tom Colicchio
, Padma Lakshmi
, Gail Simmons
, Richard Blais
, Casey Thompson
, Emeril Lagasse
, Kristen Kish
, Hugh Acheson
Seasons
21
9
The Last Supper
'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' (2009-Present)
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Season 14 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey was divisive, to say the least. The ladies of the Garden State were in such a state of disarray the animosity caused Bravo to improvise with an unusual and unfortunate "reunion" at the end of the season. Having seen the final scene from the season, it makes sense why the women had separate viewing parties in place of the reunion. Dolores Catania was eager to have a gathering at Rails for the women to speak their minds and say their peace. Well, it went off the rails.
2024 has been a year of change on Bravo. When it comes to departures, one of the biggest came when Captain Lee Rosbach, the Daddy of the Sea, left Below Deck. Having been the face of the flagship series for ten seasons, fans were nervous about how his replacement would handle the helm.
Fortunately, Below Deck was placed in capable hands with Below Deck Adventurealum Captain Kerry Titheradge steering the yacht for Season 11. Captain Kerry had a strong working relationship with long-running Chief Stew Fraser Olender. His ability to keep a firm hand while still maintaining the spark that his predecessor brought has made Captain Kerry the right choice to lead the series into the next chapter.
Below Deck
Release Date
July 1, 2013
Creator
Cast
Lee Rosbach
, Kate Chastain
, Eddie Lucas
, Rachel Hargrove
, Ben Robinson
, Ashton Pienaar
, Fraser Olender
, Rhylee Gerber
Seasons
11
7
Captain Sandy Gets Engaged
'Below Deck Mediterranean' (2016-Present)
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Captain Sandy Yawn had a near-perfect season on Below Deck Mediterranean. Even though there were some close calls, Captain Sandy kept the same crew from start to finish and welcomed Chief Stew Aesha Scott back with open arms. But the highlight of her season was watching her beautiful proposal to her partner, Leah Shafer.
Fans love love, so seeing the divisive reality personality bear her soul and wanting to make the proposal perfect was a joy to watch. While it almost went off without a hitch, having the crew present to witness the love was one of the most special parts. Fans watched the nuptials on the show, which, of course, happened on a yacht.
Release Date
May 3, 2016
Creator(s)
Mark Cronin
, Doug Henning
, Rebecca Taylor Henning
Cast
Sandy Yawn
, Hannah Ferrier
, Malia White
, Mzi Dempers
, João Franco
, Colin Macy-O'Toole
, Kyle Viljoen
, Christine Drake
Seasons
9
6
The Mondrian Dinner
'The Valley' (2024)
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Whether Bravo knew the end was near for Vanderpump Rules, the decision to launch The Valley as its spin-off was one of the smartest decisions the network has made. What was meant to be the second chapter for many of the personalities from the original spin-off series, The Valley, still showed some schoolyard antics of these adults, like name-calling and shoving. When it comes to big dinners on any Bravo show, expect the worst... or the best, if you're a viewer.
The infamous Mondrian Dinner on The Valley has become one of the many defining moments of the first season. Things got explosive when perennial bad girl Kristen Doute dropped a truth bomb about Michelle Lally. After feeling she was being discussed in a derogatory manner by Jesse Lally, Doute left the table, where her hot mic caught her talking smack about Jesse and Michelle's marriage. With the fourth wall being smashed, Jesse Lally and Kristen Doute got into a war of words, causing Luke Broderick, Doute's boyfriend, to step in and push Lally away. The quartet continues their screaming before Doute reveals that Jesse said he was going to divorce his wife. Why would he do that? Michelle Lally may have had a guy on the side. Michelle is then forced to reveal the truth to the table. And here Kristen Doute thought The Valley was going to be the mature version of Vanderpump Rules.
Release Date
March 19, 2024
Cast
Jax Taylor
, Brittany Cartwright
, Kristen Doute
, Luke Broderick
, Daniel Booko
Love on Summer House can truly be hit or miss. While their relationship has been far from perfect, Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula have been the gold standard of love in the series. Leave it to OGs Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke to want to try their hand at being the next best couple. Their friendship has been documented since Season 1, with ups and downs along the way, but the pair ultimately got together and engaged. However, as viewers saw, there was massive trouble in paradise.
This past season, Carl and Lindsay picked up the pieces as they dealt with the aftermath of their broken engagement. It all came to a head during the Season 8 reunion. Their breakup was the focus of the gathering, with a lot of finger-pointing and both individuals' inability to take accountability for some of their actions. Seated next to Andy Cohen, being in the hot seats was essentially the couple's therapy fans got to witness. The toxic relationship seemed to be over for good, but both Lindsay and Carl are set to appear together on Season 9.
'The Real Housewives of Orange County' (2006-Present)
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As the original in the series, The Real Housewives of Orange County has had its ups and downs. Thankfully, the drama between Shannon Beador and Alexis Bellino on Season 18 has been enough to pick up the franchise. Shannon Beador's season started rough as she was reeling from the aftermath of her drunk driving incident, which came on the heels of her ex, John Janssen, and Alexis Bellino forming their intimate relationship.
The season was filled with wild insults (Jesus Jugs) and extraordinary moments (Shannon uninviting Alexis from the London trip). With the season ending in an epic screaming match and accompanying lawsuits, these two blond bombshells kept RHOC lively and entertaining.
The aftermath of Scandoval has truly been the downfall of Vanderpump Rules. If Season 10 was about Scandoval, Season 11 was all about the aftermath. With some individuals fighting against the drama, holding it against the trio from preventing their own stories from shining, Vanderpump Rules brought out more lies and deceit.
With the departure of Raquel Leviss, some stars, like Lala Kent and Scheana Shay, went against Ariana Madix because of the drama. They felt some sympathy with Tom Sandoval because they were going to be forced to film with the cheater. With a season that some fans felt was a disservice, Bravo opted to reboot the series for Season 12 with a new cast. It's the end of an era, but fans understand why it was necessary. There's always The Valley!
Release Date
January 7, 2013
Cast
Scheana Shay
, Lisa Vanderpump
, Katie Maloney
, Tom Sandoval
, Tom Schwartz
, Ariana Madix
, James Kennedy
, Lala Kent
A major part of why fans love these shows is the Bravolebrities, who share their extravagant lives with the world. Season after season, audiences fall for the faces and almost feel a part of their family. Being a newbie amongst seasoned pros can be hard, but these new cast members have proven that being a breath of fresh air is sometimes all that's needed! Each of these women has already had their viral moments, and fans can't wait to see what they do next!
1
"Receipts! Proof! Timeline! Screenshots!"
'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' (2020-Present)
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We could easily title this entry as Reality Von Tease, but the moment that everyone continues to parrot is Heather Gay's "Receipts! Proof! Timeline! Screenshots!" It even made its way to Congress when Representative Robert Garcia introduced the infamous phrase into a hearing. Season 4 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City may go down as the best season of the entire year, and it's all because of the drama surrounding the truth behind Reality Von Tease.
The infamous troll account had been tormenting the women of the show, but when Heather Gay sleuthed her way into discovering that Monica Garcia was one of the masterminds behind the account, the OGs put their differences aside in Bermuda to have the greatest confrontation in the history of Bravo. The fact that Monica Garcia weaseled her way into the series just to be found out like a Scooby-Doo villain was masterful. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during the filming of this dinner.
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