Bringing a brand new Real Housewives instalment to the small screen was going to be no easy feat for Bravo extraordinaire Andy Cohen, but within the past few months he's done just that on two separate occasions. First he brought us The Real Housewives of Potomac, which had its fair share of drama for sure, but with the newest addition, The Real Housewives of Dallas, it looks to be completely blown out of the water by a new group of five strong Southern women.
Easing us in a little slowly, the first 25 minutes or so of the episode allowed us to dip our toes in the waters of Dallas, but when the curtains were fully drawn back on what's looking to be one of the most explosive seasons of any Housewives series ever, viewers were left on the edge of their seats begging for more.
The breakout personality of the show - for better or for worse - was the incredibly overbearing LeeAnne Locken. I felt intimidated just watching from home when she zoned in on her fellow Housewives as targets, so it was no surprise that former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Brandi Redmond looked super uncomfortable as passive-aggressive LeeAnne demanded she perform an imitation of her in the middle of a charity event. In a strange sort of way, LeeAnne reminded me of Danielle Staub of Real Housewives of New Jersey infamy. Great for television, but not such great news for her co-stars...
Though she kickstarted the confrontation with Brandi, LeeAnne didn't come out of it with the upper hand. Instead, she looked a little silly as Brandi reminded her how she had shared her life story - which she claimed had nothing to do with raising awareness for HIV - at an AIDS awareness charity event. Branding her 'egotistical', Brandi came away smelling of roses, but LeeAnne has shed a little more light on the situation that took place off camera in her Bravo interview following the show.
She explains: "I was asked to share my story, which related to the fact that as a teenager I have already buried someone I considered to be my older brother from AIDS, and his younger brother is HIV Positive. My story was beyond relevant."
Fair enough, but she then goes on to say: "I raise a tremendous amount of funds in the LGBT Community in Dallas, and I won't stop until shame is removed from every HIV+ person around!" A quick wake-up call for LeeAnne - not every person diagnosed with HIV is a member of the LGBT+ community.
Of the ladies, Brandi and her close friend Stephanie Hollman came across as the most down to earth. Well, as down to earth as you can be when you live 'in a big 'ol mansion!' (Seriously, a terrible tagline, but at least she has the goods to back up the claims. What a garden.)
The other ladies, Tiffany Hendra and Cary Deuber, have yet to make a lasting impression. Tiffany's husband seemed to get more screentime than the woman herself in this opening episode, and whilst the song he sang was a moving moment for his wife, I hope it's the last we see of that storyline going ahead.
So, in a time when the drama over in Beverly Hills doesn't seem up to standards and the ladies of Atlanta are fighting with one another seemingly just for the cameras, we can at least rely on this new bunch of crazy characters to keep us entertained. It may be all farts and charity this week, but if the season preview is anything to go by, things are going to get very serious, very fast.
"I'm not having a f**king mental breakdown", are you sure?
The Real Housewives of Dallas airs Mondays at 10/9c on Bravo in the US and comes to UK reality TV streaming service Hayu every Tuesday, just hours after the US premiere.