Andy Cohen and His Real Housewives

Some media critics have said that Andy Cohen, Bravo Cable Network's Senior Vice President of Original Programming and Development, is the Brandon Tartikoff of today. In the 1980s until his untimely death at age 48, Brandon Tartikoff was NBC's programming executive with the golden touch, greenlighting and helping develop a string of hit shows including "Hill Street Blues" and "The Cosby Show."

In the cable television arena, Andy Cohen appears to be replicating Tartikoff's programming winning streak with a string of hit Bravo reality shows. Currently, Cohen oversees production on nearly 30 Bravo shows. Occasionally some of his series, like "Project Runway", draw ratings numbers that surpass all other cable networks.

As executive producer, Cohen's first Bravo success was "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", a series where five flamboyant gay fashion consultants spiff up macho straight males. Launched in 2003, "Queer Eye" was a breakout cable television hit that succeeded in attracting an audience that bridged gay and straight worlds. As an openly gay man, creating this strong audience bridge has been one of 41-year-old Andy Cohen's main programming and creative goals.

Other Andy Cohen-developed Bravo hits have included "Top Chef", "Make Me a Supermodel", Millionaire Matchmaker", "Being Bobby Brown" and "Project Runway." Among Cohen's most controversial and popular Bravo successes have been his "Real Housewives" series.

"Real Housewives"

"Real Housewives of Orange County" is the first of Andy Cohen's "Real Housewives" series. It launched in 2006. Each episode followed five affluent Southern California gated-community housewives and their families engaging in real-life soap opera antics. The larger-than-life (and occasionally dysfunctional) personalities of these housewives and their family members drew a large fan following. "Real Housewives of Orange County" was a breakout audience success to the extent that it created a "Real Housewives" brand

"Real Housewives of New York City" was the first spin-off series, followed by "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and "Real Housewives of New Jersey." In each spin-off, the five affluent housewife families reflect their particular region's unique ethnic and cultural diversities.

The New York housewives are urbane WASP and Jewish Manhattan condo dwellers. They dwell in a world of art, fashion and celebrity fundraisers.

The Atlanta housewives are a feisty mix of comparatively new-rich WASPs and African-Americans.

The New Jersey housewives are primarily affluent and strongly ethnic Italian-Americans residing in the real-life version of the fictional suburban milieu of Tony Soprano. The New Jersey series has actually gained tabloid notoriety when one of the housewives was "outed" as a convicted felon and one-time girlfriend of a Colombian drug lord during the 1980s.

On occasion, Andy Cohen has appeared as a show host for special "Housewives" reunions.

About Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in broadcast journalism. His first television industry job was in the CBS News division. From there, he became an entertainment segment producer for the CBS News Early Show. He left CBS and became Director of Original Programming for the fledgling TRIO cable television network. His boss was a cutting-edge creative executive named Lauren Zelaznick. When Zelaznick was hired by NBC Universal to run the Bravo cable network, Cohen went with her.

Andy Cohen has won two Peabody Awards, one as executive producer of "Project Runway."