The Real Housewives of Dubai won’t be returning to Bravo for a third season anytime soon, and executive producer Andy Cohen tells PEOPLE the decision isn’t personal.
“It’s just the smart thing to do,” says Cohen, 56, while on the red carpet at the 2024 Bravo Fan Fest on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Miami, Florida. “We have a lot Housewives going right now. And that’s one of the reasons why it took so long to get it The Real Housewives of Atlanta goes, and one of the reasons why we are in a deep break The Real Housewives of New Jersey. We just want to make sure we do everything right and be very deliberate in everything we do.”
Network executives told cast members RHODubai that their show went on hiatus earlier this month, PEOPLE can confirm.
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Lesa Milan, Caroline Brooks, Nina Ali, Chanel Ayan and Caroline Stanbury in the first season of ‘The Real Housewives of Dubai’.
Emilija Popović/Bravo via Getty
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The series — which originally starred housewives Chanel Ayan, Sara Al Madani, Caroline Brooks, Lesa Milan, Caroline Stanbury and Nina Ali — first premiered in June 2022, making history as Bravo’s first international continuation of the franchise. But despite plenty of glamor and drama within the group, the series didn’t make it to a second season until June 2024, two years later.
That absence seems to have had a huge impact on interest in the series, with audiences complaining that momentum was lost. Cast changes, including the departure of Ali and the addition of Taleen Marie and friend Saba Yussouf, didn’t seem to help the ratings.
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Andy Cohen at Bravo Fan Fest 2024.
Ivan Apfel/Bravo via Getty
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But ratings, Cohen tells PEOPLE, are only part of the story when a network decides which shows to bring back or not.
Example: The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Last season, the series had an overnight viewership of more than The Real Housewives of New York and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City they were. But the show was still on hiatus, and cast departments were leading the network to discuss the possibility of a reboot.
“Great thing about Housewives overall, the numbers are super high for all of them across the board, especially when you factor in Peacock and streaming,” he tells PEOPLE. “You can’t look at overnight or live ratings anymore. It just doesn’t tell the whole story. And when we make decisions, we actually look at the whole picture.”
“We love these shows,” adds Cohen. “We all want to get it right.”
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Kate Chastain and Kyle Cook at Bravo Fan Fest 2024.
Charles Sykes/Bravo
Fans also love these shows, looking for new ways to discuss them in the day.
Bravo Fan Fest is one of the network’s newest initiatives. Announced back in August amid news that there would be no BravoCon in 2024, the “intimate one-day celebration” included an all-star performance by 30 Bravolebrity.
Participants were able to interact with them in themed activations, panels and photo opportunities. There were also 5 special episodes WWHL recorded.”
“We decided to skip a year of BravoCon, but take our show on the road to the great Bravo community,” explains Cohen. “It’s working great and I’m really overwhelmed by the response.”
BravoCon will, however, return in 2025. The convention will return to the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas next year, the weekend of November 14-16.
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Source: HIS Education