| The Real Friends of WeHo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality television |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production company | Truly Original |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | January 20 (2023-01-20) – February 24, 2023 (2023-02-24) |
The Real Friends of WeHo is an Americanreality television series that premiered on January 20, 2023, onMTV.[1]
A small teaser of the series was released by MTV, on January 5, 2023, showcasing six costars living inWest Hollywood, California.[2] The series featuresBrad Goreski, a current judge fromCanada's Drag Race;Todrick Hall, a choreographer and internet personality; Dorion Renaud, founder and current CEO of Buttah Skin; Curtis Hamilton, known from television seriesInsecure; Joey Zauzig, a social media influencer; andJaymes Vaughan, a television host.[3][4][5]
| No. | Title | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Six Degrees of West Hollywood" | January 20, 2023 (2023-01-20) | 0.186[6] |
| 2 | "Thank You for Being a Friend" | January 27, 2023 (2023-01-27) | 0.169[7] |
| 3 | "Wigging Out" | February 3, 2023 (2023-02-03) | 0.150[8] |
| 4 | "Palm Springs Shade" | February 10, 2023 (2023-02-10) | 0.130[9] |
| 5 | "Family Matters" | February 17, 2023 (2023-02-17) | 0.189[10] |
| 6 | "He Said, He Said" | February 24, 2023 (2023-02-24) | 0.185[11] |
The reception of the show following the release of the first episode was overwhelmingly negative.[12]
The show has been criticized for itsstereotypical and unrealistic representation of thegay community. Critic Coleman Spide ofThe Daily Beast called the show "a colossal gay nightmare" and described it as a "sad amalgamation of six arrogant gay men who would rather spend time talking about themselves than try to make good TV."[13] Lawrence Yee ofTheWrap calledThe Real Friends of Weho a "show we don't need about people we don't need to see more of" and pointed out its lack of diversity.[14] While ensuring "equal parity between white and Black castmates," Yee notes "there's nary a Latin or Asian person (...) or trans person."[14]
Further criticism of the series came from the viewers ofRuPaul's Drag Race who argued that therecent season's runtime had been shortened from "60 minutes to 40 (without ads) in order to make room" for the reality series.[15]
Shortly after the show began airing, castmate Dorion Renaud was critical of the series in an interview. "They promoted the show as 6 gay men living in West Hollywood who are friends, first I don't live in West Hollywood, I live in the valley, I love the valley. I never go to West Hollywood, I'm not in that scene. Aside from Curtis I wasn't friends with any of the cast. I also have never confirmed or talked about my sexuality. I felt betrayed because they have me identifying as something I'm not. I'm Dorion Renaud." Renaud claimed he was told that the series would be a reboot ofThe A-List: New York titledThe A-List: LA, and that it would be aParamount+ exclusive which would focus primarily on his business. Renaud said that he would not have agreed to appear on the show had he known it would be on MTV.[16]
