Six Women, One franchise and a Very Funny Series

One is a needy, wanna-be ‘hotwife,’ who is always stirring up gossip. Another is a sexy British heiress with ‘cougarish’ tendencies, while the rest are an eclectic mix of dramatic, rage infused, self-obsessed, ditzy women. These are the women of Hulu’s latest show “The Hotwives of Orlando.”

A parody of one of the most popular franchises in reality television, the show floats mostly on lighthearted mockery of the housewives series broadcast on Bravo that document the lives of several affluent housewives.

Meet the Hotwives of Orlando - Hulu's new parady series.jpg

Meet the Hotwives of Orlando – Hulu’s new parady series.

“We thought the idea would be hilarious and fun to do and watch and so we wrote it,” shares co-creator Danielle Schneider who penned the series along with her writing partner Dannah Phirman. Both also star on the show. “I am a huge fan of the housewives franchise and so we took pieces from existing housewives to create each character. They are all based on aspects of different housewives.”

Starring Casey Wilson, Angela Kinsey, Kristen Schaal, Tymberlee Hill, Andrea Savage, Phirman and Schneider, it’s an engaging comedy that mixes parody and giddy consumer voyeurism that even has the seal of approval from Bravo executives.

Tymberlee Hill, Kristen Schaal, Angela Kinsey - courtesy of Hulu

Tymberlee Hill, Kristen Schaal, Angela Kinsey – courtesy of Hulu

“We heard through twitter that Andy [Cohen] had blessed the show,” continues Schneider. “He has seen the preview and loved it. That is like having the pope’s blessing and for us it’s very exciting.”

Seven laugh-out loud episodes, which has the ladies throwing Pimp’s and Ho’s parties and designing high heels for dogs have been taped and if you’re hoping to see a NeNe Leakes character then you’re in luck with Phe Phe Reed who is played by Tymberlee Hill.

“As soon as people hear housewives, they automatically say I am NeNe as she is the most famous from the franchise,” says Hill whose character PhePhe is a successful lawyer, foot model and aspiring taxidermist and also the most vocal. “She does say more than anything else that she is not about the drama, but she speaks her mind and you’re not always gonna like what her mind has to say. But hey, “She’s just bein’ Phe Phe.”

With plenty of chemistry and camaraderie among the women, “The Hotwives of Orlando” is, in the end, ballsy, brilliant and comical.

The Hotwives of Orlando poster

“We are game for everything and whatever we can think of we just say it,” adds Andrea Savage who plays Veronica Von Vandervon, the British cougar.

“There is ad-lib, but we scripted everything and the ideas come from watching the housewives franchise and taking it a step further. We just hope that people like it and laugh at it as much as we do,” says Phirman.

With a supporting and recurring cast that includes Matt Besser, Joey McIntyre, Stephen Toblowsky, Jerry Minor and Seth Morris, the series premieres July 15, on Hulu.

Samantha Ofole-Prince is a California based Entertainment Editor/Writer for Trendy Africa. Courtesy of Hulu

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