This isn’t the first time “Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen” has shot in Los Angeles, but there was something different Monday night about the Bravo talk show’s broadcast at the historic Wiltern theater. Oh, right. It was the rows of Television Academy Emmy voting members invited to catch the festivities first hand.
The popular 11PM show launched Cohen, a former Bravo TV executive and Anderson Cooper‘s BFF, into the pop culture stratosphere. Originally meant as just a mechanism to promote Bravo’s popular “Real Housewives” franchises, ‘WWHL’ eventually worked itself onto the popular movie promotion circuit. That was partially because of the network’s friendly female 18-49 ratings demo, but also because celebrities were increasingly fans of the network’s programming (you’ll find no bigger champion than Jennifer Lawrence). Cohen also made the show different by taking guests out of their comfort zone. The three-question “Plead the Fifth” game (you can only plead it once) has actually broken celebrity news and you might not have a pulse if you’ve never found yourself stuck in a vortex of edited clips on YouTube.
As Cohen’s star his risen (a solo book tour, a tour with Cooper), the notoriety of his guests has as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re Oprah, an “Avenger,” a Kardashian or a pop diva (everyone but Beyonce has basically appeared), there’s a good chance you’ve stopped by ‘WWHL’s’ tiny New York studio. And, of course, there is a never-ending stream of ‘Housewives’ and stars from “Vanderpump Rules“* appearing to create more drama (usually intentionally). The one thing the show has never really received is critical or industry recognition.
*A ‘Rules’ cast member I’ve never heard of, James Kennedy, pretended to be the evening’s DJ. Every time production started a song during a commercial break he’d remember what he was supposed to be there for and would randomly touch buttons on a music board.
‘WWHL’ has one honor to its name, a BFCA nomination for Best Talk Show this past year. With Emmy season pretty much ramping up it’s no surprise Bravo used this live taping to not only promote Cohen’s late-night staple, but even former Reality Competition TV series winner “Top Chef.” The event featured a post-taping reception where former contestants Carrie Baird, Joe Flamm and Joe Sasto made appetizers for the Emmy voters on hand (Sasto’s Sticky Licky Chicken Wings were quite good). And Cohen also made sure to spend a few minutes answering questions from voters who were hard to distinguish from hardcore fans. Every vote counts though. Especially when you’re trying to break into a category dominated by “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” It’s a tough category to crack, but you have to give Bravo and NBCUniversal credit for believing.
As for the night’s episode, Cohen’s guests were two other Emmy contenders, “This Is Us‘” Milo Ventimiglia and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace’s“ Ricky Martin (who Cohen repeatedly reminded us also has a current Las Vegas residency). Word was having the two potential acting nominees on hand wasn’t planned for an audience partially filled with Television Academy voters, but it didn’t hurt FX’s campaigns that Darren Criss, also from “Versace,” stopped by at the end of the half hour to take shots with Cohen and his guests (Oh, drinking is also a big part of the ‘WWHL’ experience). Viewers learned that Ventimiglia is sort of a bad interview (the large audience might have hurt) and Martin is pretty blunt (he chastised himself for not coming out during a notorious Barbara Walters interview in 2010). The sound also was problematic (the audience often had problems hearing what was being said on stage), but a lesson learned when figuring out where to film the next time around.
Other guests this week in LA include the entire cast of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” Anna Faris and Snoop Dogg, among others.
“Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen” airs every Sunday through Thursday at 11 PM.
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Limited Series
Outstanding Reality-Competition Series
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Seri