Housewives

Sony Pictures Television has acquired controlling interest in the reality TV production company behind “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and “Vanderpump Rules.”

The Culver City studio, which produces “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” announced Monday that it has closed its purchase of a majority stake of Alex Baskin’s three-year-old production firm, 32 Flavors. Baskin’s company has been expanding beyond its audience-addicting programs on Bravo to develop podcasts and documentaries.

NBCUniversal will continue to own “Real Housewives” and the other programs it televises, including “The Valley,” and spinoff show, “The Valley: Persian Style.” Baskin will continue as executive producer on his Bravo shows and stay on as chief executive of his production company.

Sony declined to disclose deal terms.

“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and “Real Housewives of Orange County,” are produced through Baskin’s company.

“32 Flavors has been on a remarkable trajectory, and with Sony’s support, we expect that momentum to accelerate meaningfully,” Baskin said in a statement.

Sony Pictures Entertainment studios in Culver City.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Sony already owns nonfiction production companies, including Sharp Entertainment, Embassy Row, Brass Monkeys Media and 19 Entertainment, the powerhouse behind “American Idol.” It also owns formats for “Shark Tank,” and “90 Day Fiancé,” and an upcoming adaption of the board game, Clue.

“As the market evolves, we see real opportunity in premium nonfiction, and 32 Flavors strengthens our ability to deliver high-impact, returnable formats that connect with audiences and buyers around the world,” Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, said in a statement.

Pope gained responsibility for the unscripted TV business earlier the spring as part of a restructuring and dramatic downsizing, which resulted in hundreds of layoffs in the Japanese company’s entertainment business. At the time, Sony said the cuts reflected a business shift under Sony Pictures Chief Executive Ravi Ahuja.

Los Angeles — Lisa Rinna said she would return to the “Real Housewives” franchise, but to get her husband Harry Hamlin on board, it would have to involve some big numbers.

“You guys are gonna laugh and think I’m ridiculous, but I was like, ‘I might do it for $5 million,’” Rinna explained. “He’s like, ‘No, 10. $10 million, you can go back.’”

The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum wasn’t afraid to throw shade on a sunny Saturday morning during her panel at The Times’ Festival of Books.

The “You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It” author sat down with Times senior television writer Yvonne Villarreal to talk about Rinna’s journey from soap star to her rise on the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and her recent “The Traitors” fame.

As a “Real Housewife,” Rinna was known for her snappy comebacks and for sharing her candid emotions. Her memoir explores Rinna’s experience during Season 12, which was filmed shortly after the death of her mother, Lois Rinna. Rinna explained that her grief manifested into feelings of “rage.”

“Rage was the first emotion that came. I didn’t expect that. You know, you think you’re going to be in shock, and then you think you’re going to be really sad? Well, I went immediately into rage, and that’s not really very cute,” Rinna said. “But I think my being in grief triggered the housewives, and it triggered the audience.”

After Rinna’s time on “RHOBH,” she joined the cast of Season 4 of “The Traitors.” The show — loosely based on the game Mafia — selects celebrities to be faithfuls and traitors, and the faithful must attempt to discover the traitors. Wearing outfits like her viral cheetah-print ensemble, Rinna skyrocketed to fan-favorite status during her tenure as a traitor.

“So when I decided to do ‘Traitors,’ I was like, ‘Self, listen. You’re gonna go in there and just be you. No Housewives s—, no, none of that reactionary stuff, no, you’re gonna just be you,’” Rinna said.

She also joked that being a traitor was the “highlight” of her year: “I could kill people, I could lie, I could deceive, I could backstab. Heaven.”

Rinna compared the objectives of “RHOBH” to “The Traitors” and the different strategies she had to employ on the franchises.

“‘Housewives’ is not a game. ‘Traitors’ is a game,” Rinna explained. “‘Housewives,’ you just tried to literally protect yourself from the drama and the toxicity. And it’s even though it’s a television show, it’s real. I mean, no one is writing a script for you. You’re dealing with interpersonal relationships and conflict.”

“The Real Housewives of Miami” star Lisa Hochstein has been charged with a felony for allegedly spying on her ex-husband.

Hochstein, 43, and her former partner Jody Glidden, 52, were booked on felony charges of unlawfully intercepting oral statements from the Miami housewife’s ex-husband Leonard “Lenny” Hochstein.

Hochstein turned herself in at Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Wednesday morning, according to NBC Miami. The embattled star’s bond was initially set for $5,000, but she was released on her own recognizance later the same day. NBC spoke with Hochstein as she left the Miami-Dade jail and asked, “How was it in there?”

Hochstein’s attorney, Jayne Weintraub, walked alongside the reality star and intercepted questions, answering, “Five stars!”

Hochstein repeated, “Yes, five stars.”

Glidden, who also appeared on “Real Housewives,” was arrested April 12. He has since been released. Hochstein and Glidden have pleaded not guilty. Her arraignment is scheduled for April 20.

According to a March 17 arrest warrant obtained by People, Hochstein and Glidden allegedly placed a recording device in Leonard Hochstein’s Mercedes-Benz following an acrimonious split back in March 2023.

The outlet reported that Leonard Hochstein loaned his car to the “Real Housewives” star after she said she wanted to take it for a test drive because she was thinking of getting one for herself. When the car was returned, Leonard Hochstein allegedly found a suspicious device in the driver‘s side floorboard, covered with tape and hidden from view. The South Florida plastic surgeon contacted his lawyer, who then brought in experts who were able to pull recordings from the device.

A total of 98 recordings were recovered, according to the affidavit, and “one of the last recordings from before the vehicle was returned to the victim depicts Lisa Hochstein and Glidden holding a discussion and the distinct sound of a device such as the hidden recorder being wrestled into place.”

Hochstein can allegedly be heard saying “done.” The warrant also states that Glidden ordered two recording devices of the exact same make and model on Amazon three months prior.

The Hochsteins’ divorce played out on Season 5 of the Bravo reality series after Leonard Hochstein admitted he was in a relationship with another woman and planned to divorce Hochstein during a hot-mic moment that shocked audiences and Hochstein alike.

After the divorce was finalized last year, Hochstein told Entertainment Tonight, “I am very happy right now. It took a long time to get here, a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows, but I’m finally on the other side, and it feels so good.”