BEWARE: The Real Housewives are coming to Potomac
Montgomery County Terps are not thrilled about the new series
The Real Housewives are coming to MoCo in 2016 as The Real Housewives of Potomac, representing the home county of many Terps.
Bravo announced in mid-November that it’s adding two new series to its “Real Housewives” franchise, and Potomac, in Montgomery County, Maryland, made the cut.
Potomac is a small, wealthy Maryland suburb in proximity to Washington, D.C. – labeled the twenty-ninth richest zip code in the country as of 2011, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Students from Montgomery County, specifically Potomac, make up a significant portion of University of Maryland’s student body, and they’re not necessarily thrilled about the new TV series.
UMD junior and Potomac resident Alex Spiropolous told The Tab she’s not amused by The Real Housewives coming to her hometown, and called it “not a real representation” of Potomac.
“The cast is all black, and you really don’t find black people here,” she said. “My neighborhood is all white and one Asian family.”
On its website, Bravo talks about what to expect from the new series, and says, “Viewers will be introduced to the wealthy African-American families who have broken racial barriers and now reside in the sophisticated community.”
But the Census Bureau’s 2010 demographical statistics of the town show blacks making up only 4.6 percent of its population.
Debi Smith, another UMD student from Potomac, agreed with Spiropolous that the show is a poor representation, but said it will be interesting to see another perspective of the community.
“Potomac has been given a reputation of being a rich, snobby community, so I don’t know if bringing the show here will help change that image, but it could be fun to watch,” she said.
The show is set to premier Jan. 17 on Bravo.