Making Los Angeles

Alex Baskin: MTV, The Real Housewives, and Reality TV

Episode Summary

Alex Baskin is the executive producer behind some of Bravo’s most recognizable reality series – most notably, The Real Housewives. But his story starts well before that. In this episode, Alex shares how his father’s career as a television writer brought their family to L.A., what it was like coming up through MTV in its heyday, and why, fresh out of law school, he took a job that paid just five hundred dollars a week – a decision that helped set the course for everything that followed. We also get into the evolution of The Real Housewives – from early experiments in a few cities to a cultural phenomenon – including why Beverly Hills became such a defining setting, and what it takes to keep a show like that both relevant and unpredictable. His is a story about storytelling, cultural influence, and how Los Angeles helps shape what the rest of the country watches. And yes: we go there on Scandoval … and the Baskin-Robbins connection.

Episode Notes

Alex Baskin is the executive producer behind some of Bravo’s most recognizable reality series – most notably, The Real Housewives.

But his story starts well before that.

In this episode, Alex shares how his father’s career as a television writer brought their family to L.A., what it was like coming up through MTV in its heyday, and why, fresh out of law school, he took a job that paid just five hundred dollars a week – a decision that helped set the course for everything that followed.

We also get into the evolution of The Real Housewives – from early experiments in a few cities to a cultural phenomenon – including why Beverly Hills became such a defining setting, and what it takes to keep a show like that both relevant and unpredictable.

His is a story about storytelling, cultural influence, and how Los Angeles helps shape what the rest of the country watches.

And yes: we go there on Scandoval … and the Baskin-Robbins connection.