The Real Housewive Franchise goes global

Post from the NY Post about all the RH shows popping up.

By MAXINE SHEN
The Real Housewives” franchise has stormed the European shores.

“The Real Housewives of Athens” — as in Greece, not Georgia — is currently being filmed and is expected to premiere this fall. Like its American sisters, this version will follow affluent Greek ladies as they bustle about the cradle of democracy.

It’s just one of many planned Euro editions of the series, which features a format so easy to copy — a handful of screeching women living their “fabulous” lives — that parent company NBC Universal has already had to initiate a lawsuit against imitators in Spain to protect its hit intellectual property.

Although it hasn’t been picked up yet, casting is complete for the UK’s “The Real Housewives of Sandbanks,” set on the ritzy resort peninsula in Dorset, England — aka “Britain’s Monte Carlo.”

Meanwhile, versions set in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Australia have also been optioned, with an Israeli version expected to be optioned soon.