Andy Cohen with the 'In the City' season one cast. Charles Sykes for Bravo Logo text “Summer should be fun — and summer will be fun,” Kyle Cooke said while closing out the In the City reunion earlier this week.
And Bravo is indeed having a busy summer after wrapping the first season of In the City, the Summer House spinoff following a group of friends — including Lindsay Hubbard, Kyle Cooke, Amanda Batula, Danielle Olivera and more — as they navigate friendships, relationships and careers in New York City. Filmed immediately after Summer House season 10, the series captured Amanda and Kyle’s marriage before the pair announced their split in January after 10 years together and four years of marriage.
Related Stories
TV 'In the City' Reunion Concludes With Part Two: How to Watch 'Summer House' Spinoff's Cast Sit-Down Online
TV 'In the City' Reunion Recap: Lindsay and Whitney's Heated Exchange, Amanda Reveals She and West Haven't Said "I Love You"
During part two of the reunion, Amanda confronted Kyle and alleged she recently learned he had been unfaithful during their marriage, while Kyle claimed Amanda nearly hit him after he woke her up one morning. The pair also revisited Kyle’s comments from the Summer House reunion about their lack of intimacy, ultimately acknowledging their incompatibilities while reiterating they still care deeply for one another as they continue navigating their divorce.
Amanda also found herself in the hot seat with Danielle Olivera, apologizing for calling her a “homewrecker” earlier in the season. Andy Cohen also pointed out the contrast between Amanda’s apology to Danielle and her more defensive exchange with Ciara Miller during the Summer House reunion, where Amanda addressed her relationship with Ciara’s ex and fellow Summer House star, West Wilson.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Josh Brown, Bravo’s vp of current production, who was in the control room during the In the City reunion, breaks down the episode’s biggest moments, shares where things stand with a potential second season of the spinoff — now one of Bravo’s top three most-watched freshman series of the past five years — discusses Carl Radke’s possible future on the series and offers updates on Summer House season 11, including the show’s new house following the departures of Amanda and West.
***
Things picked up where they left off last week with Lindsay and Whitney’s heated exchange. Was there anything that we didn’t see, and did they really leave the reunion still on bad terms?
For sure, there’s more material, but there were no more twists and turns that viewers didn’t see. Viewers definitely got a true picture of what happened at the reunion. I don’t know if they left on bad terms, but I would call it unresolved terms. I think there will be more to work out in their friendship in real life.
Lindsay was quite activated the whole reunion, as we know and love her for. The same with her conversation with Danielle. Was it surprising that maybe things were still left on an unresolved note?
I was not surprised. I actually thought it was hopeful by the end, at least in my opinion. I work on Summer House as well, and I’ve worked on that series since the beginning. We’ve seen so many twists and turns in the Lindsay and Danielle friendship. So many ups and downs about so many different subjects. From when one of them was in a relationship and one of them was not, to when they were each in relationships, and now both moms, which is fascinating. So, I will never count either of them out to try and work out their friendship. They’ve had a long history together, and personally, I think it’d be great to see them continue to get to a good place.
Lindsay had called out Danielle for not being as open in front of the cameras about her relationship. Could that impact her returning to the series?
That wouldn’t affect how we move forward with Danielle in a future season. It’s more something for Lindsay and Danielle to work out, and if others in the cast take issue with anything, it’s more for them to work out as a friend group.
What is your take on the color of Danielle’s dress to Yvonne’s wedding reception? Was it pink? Was it white? Did production warn her to maybe choose something else to wear?
Well, by coincidence, I happened to be at that scene, and I will say that colors are not my specialty. (Laughs.) It looked — it was borderline. Let’s put it that way. In some light, it looked pink, and in some light, it looked a little bit closer to white. So, I could see both sides.
What did you think about Whitney and Kenny’s performance at the reunion and how they held their own — especially in their arguments with Lindsay?
I think that everyone gave great effort at the In the City reunion overall. I was proud of the cast. This was a first season. We don’t always have reunions in first seasons of Bravo series, and we had a very veteran cast in Kyle, Amanda and Lindsay. Even Danielle is extremely veteran. Then we had someone like Andrea, who’s kind of in the middle of experience. We had some very, very new cast members, and I feel like the cast did great in terms of how they did at the reunion. So we’re happy with it.
There was discourse surrounding Amanda’s performance at the Summer House reunion, and she addressed it at the In the City reunion. What was her energy like that day? Did you notice a shift where she approached this differently?
I did notice a huge difference from the minute each reunion started. I think Amanda was very scared at the Summer House reunion. I think she was not sure what it was going to be like and knew she was going to be asked a lot of tough questions by some of her fellow castmates about certain things that happened in that friend group. Here on In the City, there were a lot of questions for Amanda, but they were ultimately about the In the City friend group, her marriage and the fallout so the subjects and the stakes of the conversations were really different and I think she felt that going into each reunion, so I do think you saw a very different Amanda in each reunion. She seemed more relaxed here for sure.
Amanda had a big reveal when it came to Kyle; she said she found out recently that he was unfaithful in their marriage. He seemed to be shocked by that. Was there anything that viewers didn’t see with that conversation?
I think that was surprising to everyone, both, you know, her and Kyle’s fellow castmates and to producers behind the scenes. There wasn’t more information given at the reunion that viewers didn’t see.
Andy said that Amanda’s apology to Danielle was very sincere and remorseful, and that it would have gone a long way with Ciara. Was it surprising to see her apologize to Danielle like that? Do you think that will change how some viewers perceived her from the Summer House reunion?
I don’t know if it will change how they perceive her. I really don’t. I think viewers would appreciate that she apologized to Danielle. I was not surprised that she apologized to Danielle. I think what I was maybe more surprised about was the lack of a true-feeling apology to Ciara. I think that was surprising to everyone behind the scenes back at the Summer House reunion.
Kyle Cooke, Ciara Miller, Andy Cohen, Amanda Batula and West Wilson at the Summer House season 10 reunion. Jocelyn Prescod/Bravo Moving forward, if In the City gets a second season, how do you think it will play out with Kyle and Amanda’s dynamic? Can they both be on the show?
That is a very good question. I think, like Summer House, we approach things organically, and so we have to go by the facts on the ground, so to speak. I really don’t know what would happen if we are to get a season two. The one thing I would say is that, as viewers have seen on Summer House and In the City, both Kyle and Amanda are making a sincere effort to be friends post-marriage, even though they’re still technically married. They both really care about each other. I think viewers felt that at the reunion.
What’s the status of season two right now? Have you heard anything?
It’s too early to say. We just finished airing the season, and we’re really happy with the performance of the series in its first season. Bravo just released a big announcement about ratings in the past week or so, and In the City was included in that touting its performance for season one. So I’m optimistic.
A few days after In the City’s reunion filmed, it was announced that West was leaving Summer House. Two weeks after that, it was announced that Amanda was leaving Summer House. What is Amanda’s future on TV? Could she still be part of a future season of In the City? Could we see West join?
If I’m being honest, I think it’s too early to talk about that. We just finished airing the season, but we always approach things organically and by the facts on the ground. So, anything’s always possible, but there’s no plans for anything at this time about anything I should say, just because we’re still reacting to finishing airing the season. We’re getting our heads around where we go from here, so it’s too early to talk about casting for season two.
Have you had any talks with Amanda about whether she’d even want to return to TV in the future?
I have not — we have not. It’s just too soon to be talking about that. We are so appreciative of everything she’s done so far, and we really care about her. But it’s just too early to be having any talks like that. It’s premature.
When do you think that process for In the City will start?
I would say by the end of the summer for sure. We’ll definitely know a lot more within a month.
Fans have been begging for Carl to be on In the City as a cast member. Is that something that you’d be open to?
We obviously love Carl, and he made an appearance on In the City. In the City, I think, is a very different subject than Summer House. It’s about people who are sort of on the edge of leaping into a big adult decision, and they’re not quite sure which way to go on it, which is very different than Summer House. And so, I would say for anyone, that would have to be part of the equation that we factor in on the show in terms of their bigger participation on the show for Carl or anyone else. But Carl, of course, is a very organic part of the group, even In the City cast. So, if there’s a reason and if it feels organic, we always love Carl.
After everything that’s happened with Summer House, is there anything that you learned from these experiences that you’ll apply to either the next season of Summer House or a potential second season of In the City?
This was the ultimate sign of how willing this cast is to really talk about what’s really going on in their real lives. Obviously, last season was a very tough season in a lot of ways. Or really, it was the fallout from the season. It wasn’t necessarily things that happened on Summer House that were as tough, but it was what happened after the season and the reunion. The fact that we are back on Summer House the very next summer for another season, obviously, we’ve had some changes on the show in terms of who’s there, but the fact that we’re back with our forecast and moving forward and having a really fun, exciting summer says a lot about this group and the real friendships that are approaching over a decade for some of them. We hope to build that in a very separate way on In the City, should we get a green light. We want this real friend group that hangs out 12 months a year and not just showing up for filming. So, if that cast is willing to go there, we’re hopeful.
West has said that his exit was mutual. Is that correct, or is there anything you can share about that?
Yeah, I mean, especially with something like Summer House, it has to be the right fit. It has to feel real because they’re housemates. This is not like a house reality show where we bring in 10 strangers and see what happens when these 10 strangers get to know each other. This is a real friend group and an organic friend group, and so if someone doesn’t fit organically in the group, there’s sort of nothing that can be done. I’m sure West quickly recognized that. I’ve not spoken to him about this, but I would guess that he would not be interested in pushing his way into any friend group. He wants to live his life as well.
Was it similar with Amanda, where it felt like there was just too much damage done and things couldn’t return to how they were with the group?
Yeah, that’s exactly what I would say. Most episodes, every morning, they have to wake up and have breakfast together. You can’t have breakfast with someone that you don’t want to be there — it doesn’t make any sense for a show about a Hamptons house share. Obviously people will go through their ups and downs and their conflicts, and maybe once in a while, I’m sure a cast member is thinking, “Wow, I really wish I weren’t facing this person over my omelet right now.” But in the end, they have to have breakfast together. So, it’s going to feel forced if it’s not an organic friend group of people who, at their core, like each other as friends.
Is it true there’s a new house for Summer House season 11?
We can say that we’re not in the same house as last season. That’s true. So I think that’s great. It’s a new chapter. It was a wonderful house that we had for years, but I don’t know how the cast would have felt being back in that same house. We decided to get a different house way before this scandal and news broke, but I’m very grateful that we did make that decision because I think it would have been tough for them, some of them, emotionally, to be back in the same house.
Can you tease anything about how Ciara is doing this summer?
Here’s what I would say: I’m the biggest Ciara fan. So I’m a cheerleader for her in life, including Summer House, but also everything else she’s doing. I feel like Ciara is living her best life, and I think people are going to see a lighter, really fun Ciara who’s not weighed down as much by the conflicts of Summer House past. It’s going to be a really fun summer for her and for us.
***
All episodes of In the City season one and 10 seasons of Summer House are streaming on Peacock. Check out all of The Hollywood Reporter’s In the City coverage here and Summer House here.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe Sign Up
