by Thinus Ferreira
If television were a circus - well, who are we kidding, TV is a circus! - then Andy Cohen with his devious smile is its ringleader.
Since mid-October, the host and executive producer of Bravo's American talk show Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen can now be seen on weeknights in South Africa on E! (DStv 124).
TVwithThinus sat down with Andy from his home, to get him to spill some of the tea on The Real Housewives success, Below Deck's ocean of South Africans, and how he keeps control of his talk show guests.
What advice he has for people who want to go into the entertainment biz? Andy shares everything - including some secrets from his set.
In the Bravo reality series Below Deck and the various spinoffs we now see on E! there are so many South Africans, I'm wondering what you make of that?
Andy Cohen: Well, you know in my experience with yachting there are for whatever reason there's good representation ... you're well-represented in boat crews for some reason.
And I love it! Listen, you guys are cheerful and chipper and great at what you do, upbeat and fun and great looking. So, what can I say? You're perfect on Below Deck!
You're one of the executive producers on The Real Housewives. What on earth did you unleash on the world Andy?
We have four South African versions in four different cities here on MultiChoice's DStv now. Nigeria has one. Dubai has one. There are all of the American ones. If you look back now, did you have any idea it would become this successful?
Andy Cohen: No, I mean, absolutely not. I absolutely did not think I would still be talking about this show 16 years later.
It's changed my life, and it's changed a lot of people's lives. It certainly changed the lives of everybody on it. There are so many international versions.
I have nothing to do with any of the international versions except for Dubai. But I hear Durban is great!
To me, I was always a great fan of soap operas growing up, so I think for a lot of people for a generation, has replaced soap operas. I'm proud of the show, I'm still a fan of the show, and I'm excited and surprised and gratified and grateful that Watch What Happens Live! is now broadcast for you all on E!. It's great!
'I have a sense of what we need to get,
and what the viewers are looking for'
Since you started Real Housewives, how has it changed and how has it changed from what you've set out to do?
Andy Cohen: I think that as it has gone on, I think certainly you can't overlook that this is now an institution, this show.
In the early days it was more experimental, a lot of them didn't know what they were getting into, and what it would be, and I think some people join the show with an expectation of, you know, this is what I'm supposed to do.
I think that's good and bad because the truth is we want people to be themselves, we don't want them to be who they think we want them to be. You know what I mean?
You mention the soap operas. In your very first biography, Most Talkative, you wrote that when you went to summer camp you asked your mom to record your soap operas and TV shows.
I think so many people who end up in the industry entertainment can so relate. Television and those stories are all we had to show us other bigger worlds. What advice might you have for young people who want to go into television or film?
Andy Cohen: Follow your dreams. Do whatever it takes to follow your passion.
Follow the kernel that is the thing that you're interested in. It will then reveal itself further. If you think "Oh, I'm interested in this a little bit" follow that and see where it goes.
With Watch What Happens Live!, what have you learnt in terms of - you're kind of like to me Twitter before Twitter started. Volatile guests sometimes, slightly unhinged, they're erratic and it's all unpredictable and you don't know who's going to say or do what.
What did you learnt about enjoying it as host but also having to keep it from going off the rails?
Andy Cohen: Well, you know, it's my job and I think that being a producer of the show helps because I have a sense of what we need to get, and what the viewers are looking for and what's important and what's going to make good television.
I think I know my limits with the women and they know what they're there to do also. It's an interesting dynamic.
The backdrop of Watch What Happens Live!. So beautiful. How much of that stuff is real and from maybe your life or house?
Andy Cohen: Well, it's funny that you ask because I'm on my home office right now which you can see mimics the set of Watch What Happens Live!
The answer is pretty much everything on Watch What Happens Live! are things I brought to the set when we launched 13 years ago or things that we've accumulated over the years. Some of them have historic significance to The Real Housewives, some of them have significance to me, and others are just things that look good.
It's fun to look back there and figure out ... there are things audience members have given me. It's 13 years of history there.
And the beautiful rainbow spined books, what is that because I need to get that from Amazon.
Andy Cohen: Those are Childcraft encyclopaedia. They're vintage from my childhood. It's called Childcraft. The whole set of them.
Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen is on E! (DStv 124) weeknights at 22:30
