“We’re breaking ground here,” announced Brad Goreski minutes into the series premiere of MTV’s latest unscripted drama, “The Real Friends of WeHo.”
We’ve seen Goreski grace our TV screens for 15 years, from her early days as Rachel Zoe’s assistant to her stints on “Fashion Police” and “Canada’s Drag Race.” He is still styling his celebrity clients. She is still happily married to Gary Jannetty. He has a beautiful house. All wonderful things, but not phenomenal.
“My ideal date is pizza on Sunday,” he admits. Same, Brad, same. So why do we need to look further?
Goreski’s role appears to be the anchor of the six “Real Friends”, a group of Wayhovians that includes artist Todrick Hall, actor Curtis Hamilton, CEO of Butta Skincare Dorian Renaud, TV host James Vaughan and social media personality Joy Zwzig.
Hall’s reason for appearing on the show seems more transparent. During the premiere, he addresses several “scandals” that have plagued him in recent years: allegations that he has over $100,000 in unpaid rent (he shows the deed); reports that he didn’t pay his dancers (he pulled the posting for the project, saying it was unpaid/for risk) and his controversial time in the “Big Brother” house (which he glosses over). Great, now that that’s out of the way, what’s next? (Editor’s Note: MTV provided Episode 1 for screening purposes only).
The two are entrepreneurs: Renaud, CEO of a beauty line, and Vaughn, who runs an LGBTQ+ travel company; and Hamilton, an ambitious leading man. Then there’s Zawzig, a self-proclaimed “open book” who “wears his heart on his sleeve” and posts everything on his many social media accounts. If so, why we ask again, do we need to look further?
“The Real Friends of WeHo” airs right after “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and before “Untucked”. “Drag Race” has shortened its 90-minute episodes to an hour — much to the chagrin of fans — to accommodate “Real Friends.” But whereas “Drag Race” seems deliberate in its casting of contestants from diverse backgrounds (ethnicities, body types, gender expressions), “Real Friends” falls into the same mold: conventionally attractive, athletic, well. Groomed and male-presenting. And while there’s a fair amount of equality between the white and black cast, there’s a Latin or Asian person (even in the background; we noticed) or trans person. When asked by TheWrap about the lack of diversity, Pratibha emphasized that they are diverse, and it is sad that most of the backlash has come from the LBGTQ community.
For drama, “The Real Friends” repeats a tried-and-true formula from “The Real Housewives”: assemble the entire cast for a formal party, load up on cocktails and play a game of telephone — this time with guests/ Between the introverted Raynaud and the host/extroverted Zauzig – spirals out of control. The fourth wall breaks as camera crews flock to position to capture the struggle, but it all seems to be low stakes. Even guest appearances by Issa Rae, Bob the Drag Queen, and Monet X Change (a stunt “Drag Race” uses in its premiere) fail to elevate the show.
It’s Hamilton who has perhaps the most compelling story as a new gay black man vying for leading roles in Hollywood. The previews show her and Hall coming from religious families and the challenges they face. And then there’s Renaud, who freely admits he doesn’t really hang out in West Hollywood or “the scene.” The show explores in depth how these black people navigate a predominantly white space (who is 75% white, according to the US Census) remains to be seen.
And this is where the disappointment comes in. Casting is key to the success of an unscripted series, and viewers are left to wonder why there aren’t fresh, new approaches. MTV’s sister network Logo ran a show for several seasons called “1 Girl, 5 Gays”, a low-budget but informative roundtable in which non-famous panelists talked about sex, relationships, and queerness. That, at least, felt more “real”.
“The Real Friends of WeHo” premieres Friday, January 20 at 9 PM on MTV. Watch a preview below: