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1. It’s still the Coachella of reality TV conventions.
Vegas’ second annual BravoCon returned last weekend, and Bravoholics appeared as thirsty as ever for the “reali-tea.” Thousands traveled to the three-day reality TV takeover at Caesars Forum, trading gossip and glam tips in long lines well before doors opened on Friday morning. And with reality TV royals like Lisa Vanderpump and Andy Cohen in the building, who could blame them?
“There is no fandom like Bravo fans. I mean, this is fandom in real life,” says Sari Feinberg, senior vice president of creative partnerships for NBCUniversal, Bravo’s parent company. “The fact that you see people coming here from all over to experience the shows they love, the talent they love, and to experience the things that we bring to bear is really, truly incredible.”
Having worked with NBC over many years, back when “we still had Friends and we still had Frasier,” Feinberg has watched reality TV evolve in the most exciting and unexpected ways, BravoCon being chief among them.
Camaraderie is usually hard to pull off in a place like this—the convention space is large; there’s swaths of tourists and strangers—but BravoCon has always felt uniquely like home. It’s a large living room for reality TV fans to binge with new besties. And that’s precisely what they did all weekend.
Together, we gasped at the gloriously messy Vanderpump Rules reboot watch party. We cheered when Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's Britani Bateman assured us she was really (truly!) done with her ex-boyfriend Jared Osmond. And when The Valley panel announced Tom Schwartz and Lala Kent, two Vanderpump alums, would be joining the spin-off series full time, we hoped and prayed neither would develop a toxic crush. “I would eat this man alive,” Kent warned her puppy-eyed co-star.
2. Bravoverse Live Stage brought the intimate tea.
While the Gold and Glam stages of BravoCon brought heartfelt apologies and big reunions, the smaller Bravoverse Live Stage brought us up-close and personal with our favorite stars. In a huge moment, Bravo announced cast members from Shahs of Sunset would return for The Valley: Persian Style. That news prompted Shahs favorite Reza Farahan to join Below Deck chef Ben Robinson and interior designer Jeff Lewis for one of the sassiest and most intimate panel pairings of the weekend.
“Is there an Ozempic-centric menu now for Housewives?” Farahan asked in jest to Robinson, who famously served The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City on Below Deck Down Under.
“Oh yeah, Ozempic has done wonders for my workload,” replied Robinson in his dry, English accent.
Only at BravoCon could we witness these moments between such wildly different Bravolebs. Outside of a show crossover, chances are slim these two would ever even be in the same room.
3. Bravo to the brand activations.
A huge part of BravoCon has always been the brand activations, and this year’s did not disappoint.
Wayfair returned with its House of Housewives activation, featuring four rooms interior designed with a different Real Housewife in mind. The hair brand Nexxus drew inspiration from Beverly Hills housewife Dorit Kemsley for its glam station, where fans could receive makeovers for the weekend. Feinberg says they brought more than 20 sponsors for this year’s BravoCon, with everything from Carnival Cruise to Instacart and Hilton bringing some part of Bravo lore into the fold. This typically would come off stuffy but BravoCon never fails to make its partnerships a part of the culture.
“They all really show up in a unique way. And I think the big thing that we try to do is put these incredibly passionate fans at the center of every single thing we do,” Feinberg says.
4. The fan fashion ruled.
It thrilled me to see Below Deck Down Under fans sporting Captain Jason’s disco helmet of degradation and “Dock It Like It’s Hot” tees in the Bravo merch booth. The amount of men wearing “Real Househusband” t-shirts could also set a new record. And it was especially cool to see Reebok’s limited-edition Real Housewives sneakers on sale at BravoCon. We've come so far as a fandom.
5. Vegas got its stage.
For the first time, all the panels at this year’s BravoCon were streamed on Peacock. BravoCon Live with Andy Cohen was also taped at PH Live over the weekend, giving Vegas a substantial platform with Peacock’s millions-strong viewers. Some of the best reality TV has happened here, so it makes sense that one of the largest reality TV conventions in the country would also happen here. Until next season, BravoCon.
English (US) ·