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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Summer House: The Aftermath,” streaming on Peacock as of June 17.
The already top-tier 10th season of Bravo’s “Summer House” became a zeitgeist sensation this spring
when a scandalous romance between two of its cast members — West Wilson and Amanda Batula — brought unprecedented attention to the show, leading to record ratings. Wilson and Batula, in a word-salad-y joint statement to Instagram on March 31, confirmed the rampant online speculation about their relationship, and said that they were attempting to “navigate” an unexpected “connection” that had arisen between them.
There were about a billion reasons that this announcement shocked the Bravosphere, but at the three-part “Summer House” reunion – taped on April 23, with a rollout that began on May 26 — Batula and Wilson appeared glassy-eyed and largely unforthcoming about their hookup’s timeline. Answering questions from host Andy Cohen — as well as Kyle Cooke (Batula’s estranged husband), Ciara Miller (Wilson’s ex), an activated Lindsay Hubbard, Carl Radke, Jesse Solomon, and new cast members Mia Calabrese, KJ Dillard and Bailey Taylor — the new couple seemed alternately contrite, petulant, defensive and aggressive, all while barely emoting. By the end of the reunion, Hubbard declared that she hadn’t learned anything about anything, with Cohen then making a joke that perhaps they should start over.
Enter “Summer House: The Aftermath,” Season 10’s bonus episode, which was kept secret until it was announced at the end of Part 3 of the reunion last week. “The Aftermath” is composed of three long conversations filmed during May, between Hubbard and Batula, Cooke and Wilson and Miller and Wilson’s ex-girlfriend Meija Moreno, sitting down in pairs to discuss the fallout in their friend group. If Bravo shows are usually edited within an inch of their lives, “The Aftermath” feels intimate: almost experimental.
In an interview this week, Noah Samton — the SVP of current production for Bravo and Peacock unscripted, who oversees “Summer House” — broke down how “Summer House: The Aftermath” came to be. News of the ouster of West Wilson, who’s been dumped from the show, happened after the interview, but when asked about Wilson’s and Batula’s futures on “Summer House,” Samton spoke generally about what the guiding ethos for casting Season 11 will be, when it begins filming in the Hamptons in July.
“‘Summer House’ is unique in the Bravoverse,” Samton said. “If you have two Housewives who hate each other, and can’t get along, they can shoot a scene, and at the end of the day go home to their own house. On ‘Summer House,’ they actually live together. So if people have a real issue with each other, you can’t live together in a house. And we wouldn’t do that to the cast.”
In other words, more shoes will drop soon, as the production start date looms; that’s a timeline we can believe in! Below, Samton detailed how “The Aftermath” happened, why Ciara Miller is the future of “Summer House, his Emmys hopes for the show, and what it was like IRL to watch Amanda and West’s zombie-like performances at the reunion: “I wanted to bang my head against the wall.”
Let’s rewind — in March, I assume you’d been hearing the rumors about Amanda and West, right? What were you thinking about that?
People would come up to me and say, “Oh Noah, I’ve heard this about West and Amanda, do you know what’s going on?” And I would say to them, “Absolutely not true. There’s no way that’s happening.”
I mean, I’m talking to the executive producers of the show, all the people who are closest to the cast. And every single person is like, “It’s not happening.” So, when West and Amanda confirmed it, I was stunned. I was just as shocked as any viewer out there.
You found out when they dropped the statement?
I think earlier that day, or maybe the night before.
Using “Vanderpump Rules” as an example, when TMZ broke the news about the #Scandoval, Bravo decided to restart production immediately to film the new finale. Was that a consideration here?
Lots of conversations about it. The timing was a little tricky — the reunion was coming up. There was a crossover episode out of the finale of “Summer House” directly into the premiere of “In the City.” So how are you going to put another episode in between those two? The math didn’t really work.
Lindsay came in for interview the day the statement was released. Kyle walked in, showed her, the phone calls started happening. That worked out great. We incorporated it into the reunion. It was an ongoing conversation amongst myself and the production company, Truly Original. We were just trying to figure out what would best serve the storytelling of the show.
I was told then that the reason filming didn’t happen was that none of the cast really had an appetite for it — that it was too sad, basically.
They were reeling from it. This was a really painful situation for a lot of people, primarily Ciara and Kyle. They were distraught.
And we didn’t know what we were going to film. We’re going to just film everybody devastated and sad? We had the reunion coming right up to start talking about it. I’m simplifying something that was dozens and dozens of conversations. But ultimately the decision was made, “We’re not going to put another episode at the end of ‘Summer House.'”
With Amanda and West’s announcement, two shows were put in the crossfire: “Summer House,” of course, but also “In the City,” the long gestating “Summer House” spinoff, starring one Amanda Batula. What was on your mind when you were thinking about the business considerations of them announcing they were dating?
It’s a really tough situation. On the one hand, I have a relationship with these people, and I actually care about them as human beings. And you know that this is going to be devastating to the relationships within the group. On the other hand, you know it’s going to put a huge spotlight on the show, and it’s going to generate a ton of interest for viewers. So it was, “How do we tell this story in a way that’s respectful to the people who are actually living with it? And yet be fair to the fans who’ve invested so much in this show, and deserve to hear the true story of what’s going on?”
When did you start thinking about picking up the cameras post-reunion?
Ciara reached out to the production company, and said that she wanted to film a scene with Meija. I said, “I don’t really see where this fits in the show, but let’s explore it.” Then she spoke to Meija at the reunion, she called her. After the reunion, she came back to us and said, “I still want to have that conversation. I want to do it on camera.” And we’re like, “OK, let’s look into it. We’ll start scheduling it.” Then Lindsay and Amanda came to us and said they wanted to film a scene. Then West and Kyle came to us, and they also wanted to film a scene.
So, it was really driven by the cast, and we were very happy, obviously, to accommodate — these could have been private conversations. I think West initially reached out to Kyle to have a private conversation, but as Kyle says in the special, the whole story unfolded on camera. He wanted this to be on camera too.
Did you know what you wanted to do with these conversations, or where they’d go?
It was, let’s film them, let’s see what we get, and then let’s figure it out. Initially, there was a thought of putting it as a super-sized episode of the reunion, and you’d have three short coda scenes at the end of it. But as we dug into the material, we realized there was a lot more there.
And it didn’t actually feel like it was part of the reunion. It really felt like aftermath. I think that’s why it works best as a separate episode.
These three pairings — Amanda and Lindsay, West and Kyle, Ciara and Meija— those were self-generated. But were you interested in filming anyone else together?
Not really. Those, to me, were the people that had a lot more to say after the reunion ended. When you watch the reunion — as incredible as it is, and as great television as it is — you walk away feeling a little unsatisfied because of the way that West and Amanda handle themselves.
They didn’t explain themselves in a satisfying way. And then there was a whole separate conversation with Meija, who nobody knew anything about. To me, those were the three stories that that needed to be fleshed out further.
Did you ever consider West and Amanda together?
Again, it was cast-driven. West wanted to talk to Kyle; Kyle wanted to do it on camera. Lindsay wanted to talk to Amanda; Amanda wanted to talk to Lindsay, and they wanted to do it on camera. This wasn’t about us pushing them to do a certain thing.
I want to go through some of the things that Lindsay said to Amanda in the episode, in the way that only Lindsay Hubbard can: “Imagine fucking up so bad that we all forgot how bad a husband Kyle was to you.” Do you have thoughts about that, as someone who knows them? The redemption of Kyle Cooke?!
Oh, yes. I absolutely have thoughts about that.
I had a conversation with Kyle, after the initial joint statement was dropped [in January] by Amanda and Kyle, about what he was facing in the press and social media — that he has to buckle up, and get ready to be annihilated. I worried about him as a human being, and I worried about his future on TV. I thought he was going to be the most hated man in America.
But Kyle had a comeback better than the 29-point comeback by the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. It’s great to see, because I don’t want anybody knocked that far down. But yeah, he dodged a bullet there. A lot of bad behavior. And I don’t think anybody’s excusing any of his bad behavior. But he would have taken a lot more heat if this hadn’t happened.
Lindsay and Amanda conclude with Lindsay telling Amanda she “should feel stupid,” and her saying of West that “he’s got to go,” with Amanda agreeing. Yet they remain together as we speak. We achieve closure in that one segment, and you think Amanda’s going to see the light. But no.
This is the amazing thing about what I get to do for a living, and our shows in general. Truth is stranger than fiction. What you would have written in a book or a movie or a scripted show — it’s always crazier what happens on our shows. Just like I would have never predicted West and Amanda in the first place, I would never have predicted it would go where it is now. And I have no idea where it’s going next.
Was it important to give Ciara the last word?
Yeah, I think it was. I think she got hit the hardest by all of this — personally, emotionally, the toll that it took on her. She has been incredibly open and vulnerable on our air, and when somebody gives that much of themselves and keeps getting knocked down again, it hurts all of us. I felt terrible for what she’s gone through. I also oversee “Love Island,” so to be able to give her the opportunity to host “Aftersun” for us there — she did a fantastic job on in the premiere episode the other night — that was great. And I think she deserved the last word in this situation.
Back to the reunion, what did you, the executive who oversees “Summer House,” want to see come out of it?
I wanted the truth of what happened. I wanted to know when it started. I wanted to understand how it happened: How did these two people end up making this choice that — you know, I don’t want to say destroy their lives — but turned their lives upside down? How did they get there?
I think we didn’t get that in the reunion, and that was very frustrating for us. So I feel very happy that we were able to make a lot of progress in that “Aftermath” episode.
Obviously, there were recordings leaked from the reunion, and I did want to ask about one thing that got cut. When Amanda and West were talking about the statement being rushed, Amanda mentions there was possibly an “intimate” video of them that was going to come out. Why didn’t that make it to air?
The edit that we did on the reunion was not affected by the leak. We cut the reunion the way that we would have cut it anyway. The supposed video, nobody ever mentioned that to me. Nobody ever mentioned that to production. Neither Kyle nor Amanda nor anybody else on the cast ever brought up a video, or talked about a video. So it wasn’t really something that was ever part of our plan to talk about.
I wanted to ask you about the conspiracy theory that was fueled by the leaks — the theory that Bravo wants to “protect Amanda,” and not put her in too bad of a light. She’s a 34-year-old woman, but she is somehow often treated like a child. Are you protecting Amanda?
I don’t know how you could watch that reunion and feel like anybody protected her from anything. This is what we do on reality TV — we tell everybody’s story, and we try to tell it as best we can from a very fair point of view. We are cutting down 10 hours of a reunion into three hours total or something. So sure, stuff hits the cutting room floor. But there’s never any intention of protecting somebody, or spinning it in a certain way. It’s about representing what actually happened in the most fair — but also entertaining — way we can.
I would want to protect anybody on any one of our shows, to the extent of it’s a cruel world out there. People are vicious on social media. I don’t want anybody to get death threats. I don’t want anything bad to happen. People have opened up their lives for the viewers’ entertainment, and they deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. But that’s different than protecting somebody.
West and Amanda could barely string two words together at the union. How did that feel in the room?
I wanted to bang my head against the wall. It’s unscripted television — they’re going to do what they’re going to do. It was very frustrating to watch.
I thought there was a story for Amanda to tell, as somebody who has been divorced myself. I understand somebody getting out of a 10-year toxic relationship and behaving badly and acting out and making crazy decisions. There’s a lot more to what she could have said at the reunion that would have been really interesting for viewers, and would have helped them to understand her. It was frustrating to not see her explain herself.
West, I still don’t fully understand. So I don’t know what I would have wanted to see out of him. But just something would have been nice.
Well, West certainly brings a different kind of energy to his own podcast. What’s it been like to watch that?
Well, I didn’t watch it. I did get sent some clips of it. And I’m just going to say that I’m very glad that the Knicks won in five games.
He might have to leave New York City.
That was a crazy take.
As far as “In the City” goes, I assume that will be coming back for a second season, though Bravo hasn’t greenlit it yet. Depending on what Kyle and Amanda’s relationship is, would she ever be able to continue on that show? Speculatively!
I do think if you’re doing a show about a friend group, they do still need to be friends to an extent. So if there’s a world in which Amanda made sense with that cast — sure, that’s a possibility.
Would Ciara’s “Aftersun” duties interfere with coming back for Season 11?
Being on “Aftersun” would not prohibit her from being on “Summer House.”
Can you speak generally about the importance of what Ciara brings to “Summer House”?
I told Ciara a few months ago that I think she’s the future of “Summer House.” She has a voice that we love on “Summer House,” she has the connections with the rest of the group — with Mia and KJ, and she’s tight with Kyle. She feels like she has become the center of the show. And that’s a story I want to continue telling.
The finale of “In the City” is also around the corner. Will there be any filmed new additions to “In the City” that we’ll see?
There is a reunion that we just shot. And what I think will be interesting is how different Amanda is on the “In the City” reunion versus the “Summer House” reunion. It’s a whole new Amanda.
Really! Say more?
I can only say so much, but it’s a different cast around her. There’s not the pressures, and the situation that she was dealing with at “Summer House” is not there for “In the City.” It’s just different.
The photo of Kyle and Amanda leaving the reunion and laughing went viral, which also set off some conspiracies among the very normal fandom of these shows. How are the two of them now?
Kyle cares a great deal about her, and he continues to worry about her, with everything she’s going through, and I think he feels very protective over her.
Season 10 of “Vanderpump Rules” brought the show its first Emmy nomination. What hopes do you have around that possibility for “Summer House”?
I’m an eternal optimist, so I have very, very high hopes for it. It absolutely deserves an Emmy.
I think that what the cast gave to the show, and what the producers and editors did with what the cast gave, is just absolutely incredible. I’ve been working in television for 30 years, and to see a season that was as great as it was — and then have a layer added on top of it, of a scandal — it was a feat of post-production and television-making like I’d never seen before.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
