Getty Leah Remini
Could another familiar face be getting ready to join “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”? According to a blind item from Deux Moi, actress Leah Remini may be in talks to join the long-running Bravo reality show.
The blind item, shared by All About the Real Housewives, is titled “New Queen on Beverly Hills,“ and it states, “Word on Rodeo Drive is that this actress, known for her role on a late ‘90s early 00’s sitcom as well as putting Scientology on blast, is in talks to join the ladies of BH.” A photo of Remini is included in the post.
According to Radar Online, Remini’s talks with Bravo producers “started to heat up” after she did an impressive job filling in for Wendy Williams last week. Remini and her bestie Michelle Visage took over the talk show host’s table while she was out on medical leave, and they got rave reviews, per The Sun.
Remini, 51, is a reality TV fan — and of “The Housewives,” in particular. She recently told “The Today Show” that she is a huge fan of “Real Housewives shows — any state” and she rattled off some of her other favorite reality shows on the network.
“Basically Bravo,” she said of her reality TV viewing habits.
In response to the new rumors about Remini possibly being in talks with Bravo, many fans on Instagram were excited.
“I’d love this! She takes no crap from anyone,” one viewer wrote.
“She devour them,” another added. “Rinna got nothing on Leah’s mouth.”
Fans Have Been Talking About Remini Joining RHOBH For a While
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Rumors about Remini joining the Bravo franchise have been circulating for months. In a Reddit thread posted earlier in 2021, a fan made a major case for adding Remini to the cast in place of either Erika Jayne, Lisa Rinna, or Dorit Kemsley. The fan noted that Remini is outspoken and has famous friends – she counts Jennifer Lopez as a bestie. She also lived in close proximity to Beverly Hills with a lavish home in Studio City, California, per Showbiz CheatSheet.
Commenters agreed that Remini would be a “great” addition to the cast.
“For too long the RHOBH women have thought they could show up in designer garments and collect a pay cheque without addressing anything really happening in their lives,” one fan wrote. “Leah wouldn’t have time for that. I think she’d also really gel with people like Garcelle who are down-to-earth and don’t have time for the fakeness of BH.”
Others think Remini could be too “real” for “The Real Housewives” – at least the Beverly Hills branch.
One commenter noted that Remini is a native New Yorker and could be too “abrasive” for the “RHOBH” ladies.
“I don’t see Leah acting subdued at all on the show. I think she’d get fired up quick,” the fan added. “New York/Leah is too fast moving and gritty for BH. Leah has no time for bulls— and BH is always so fake.”
Leah Remini is Best Known as an Actress, But She’s No Stranger to Reality TV
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Remini has been in the acting business since she was a teenager. One of her first roles was in the 1980s on the ABC comedy “Who’s the Boss,” per IMDb. Her character, Charlie Briscoe, scored a spinoff with “Living Dolls,” and Remini went on to “Saved By the Bell” and more shows before scoring her most prominent role as Carrie Heffernan in the late 1990s on “The King of Queens.”
After “KoQ” ended in 2007, Remini appeared in a few more short-lived shows and even did a stint as a co-host on “The Talk.” She turned to reality TV in 2014 as the star of the TLC series “Leah Remini: It’s All Relative,” which featured her husband, Angelo Pagan, and her mother, Vicki Marshall. The show aired for two seasons.
If Remini expands her reality TV resume on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” the addition of another actress on the show would be interesting. According to Page Six, when “RHOBH” first launched in 2010, Bravo boss Andy Cohen didn’t want actresses to be on the cast at all. He felt the cast should be all “unknown” rich ladies, and he even shot down Lisa Rinna as an original Housewife because he thought she was too well known as an actress. Cohen also reflected on his “no-actress” rule in the recently published “Real Housewives” tell-all, “Not All Diamonds and Rosé.”
But there have been many actresses on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” over the years. In addition to Lisa Rinna and actress siblings Kim and Kyle Richards, the show has featured Eileen Davidson, Denise Richards, and Garcelle Beauvais, who all have long acting resumes.
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