It's 2005. An upstart TV exec with a flashy new job picks up the pilot of a no-name reality TV producer about "bitchy tennis wives" in America's largest gated community. Neither knows that the landscape of pop culture is about to change forever.

About:

Hosted by journalists Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson, Eating For Free is a weekly podcast that explores gossip and power in the pop culture landscape: Where it comes from, who wields it, and who suffers at the hands of it. Find out the stories behind the stories, as together they look beyond the headlines of troublesome YouTubers or scandal-ridden A-Listers, and delve deep into the inner workings of Hollywood's favorite pastime. The truth, they've found, is definitely stranger than any gossip.

You can also find us on our website, Twitter, and Instagram. Or buy our merch! Any personal, business, or general inquires can be sent to [email protected]

• Joan Summers' Twitter: @laracroftbarbie
• Matthew Lawson's Instagram: @_matthewlawson

Sources:

• Bravo's 'The Real Housewives of Orange County' to premiere March 21 [Reality TV World] [Jan 6, 2006]
• 'We were ready to kill the show': How Bravo's 'Real Housewives' made it to TV [NYP] [Oct, 2012]
• 'Vanderpump Rules' executive producer Alex Baskin on 'Scandoval' and what's in store for Season 11 [LA Times] [Jan 28, 2024]
• The Ringmaster [WP] [Sept 26, 2019]
• Andy Cohen Revels in His Rise From CBS Intern to Bravo Star [Variety] [Feb 4, 2022]
• 'Real Housewives' trying to create some new realities [via LA Times] [East Bay Times] [Mar 3, 2007]
• 'Housewives' franchise comes to Atlanta, [South Coast Today] [Oct 2008]
• INTERVIEW WITH ANDY COHEN, [Youtube] [Oct 2008]
• The Affluencer, [NY Times] [Oct 2008]
• Decay at play in the O.C. [LA Times] [Feb 10, 2009]
• Andy Cohen To Become First Openly Gay Late Night Host? [Mediaite] [Jun 209]