Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen has become a pop culture phenomenon since its debut almost a decade ago in August of 2009. As a self-proclaimed Bravo-holic, I have been obsessed with this crazy little half hour show, where the devilishly handsome & hysterical Andy chats with an assortment of celebrities about their own careers and what’s going on in the world at that moment. Last month, I had the AMAZING opportunity to go to a live taping of the show as an audience member (hopefully bartender soon!) and really got to experience first hand just how amazing a show like this can be.
The only frustrating part about my experience with Watch What Happens Live was that I was so incredibly sick, and the weather at that point was freezing cold, but there was nothing stopping me from experiencing the WOOHOO-ness of it all (Thanks, Vicki!) and getting my behind down to their Soho studio and having a blast in doing so.
For this particular episode, they had two of the gorgeous stars of their hit series Vanderpump Rules– Ariana Madix and Lala Kent (who are both good reminders that there is such a thing as incredible beauty in this world). But there was so much that happens before the show even begins that adds to the excitement of the taping!
The show goes live around 11:00 PM EST, so we get whisked up the elevator to the main floor of the taping about an hour early. Similar to what you see on an episode of Watch What Happens Live, there is an actual bar with a fabulous bartender who serves us some delicious drinks as we get to know each other before the show begins! This all happens in the room next to where the show is taped, and the audience size is generally 25-30 people so it becomes that much more of an intimate setting.
I was sipping on my tasty orange juice, which would’ve had something alcoholic in there if my body didn’t hate me at that moment, but having a blast while chatting with the other audience members. The excitement from all of us was beaming throughout the room, as we were all pumped to see what the show was all about from our own eyes that didn’t involve a television in front of us.
As the hour went on, the anticipation built like a dinner scene out of one of the Real Housewives episodes. Except no one was accusing me of sleeping with their husband (that’s another show), it was more because we knew the time was coming where everything was about to begin! Yay!
They time everything to a tee, so we were brought into the studio around 10:56, about 5 minutes before the show began. I wanted to really get a good view of everything before the show started, and was pretty amazed at how the color of the Watch What Happens Live studio pops even further in person. It’s psychedelic in a way with its trippy carpet and colors that adorn the walls, as well as a ton of fun and interesting chachki’s that Andy and staff have collected over the years.
Around 11:01 PM EST the show started and we all applauded as Andy came out first to introduce Ariana and Lala. For the next half hour, I was in pure delightment as Andy did his usual segments of “Here’s What”, “Jackhole of the Day” and many more, on top of discussing what was going on in the Vanderpump Rules universe at that point. Ariana and Lala were in good spirits and kept it real about the show, yet I was continually distracted yet again by their beauty and questioning my sexuality in doing so (relax, fellow gays and Chris Pratt, I’m still out and proud).
The show ended around 11:30 PM EST, which we then were escorted out, headed down the elevator, and back to our normal lives. That hour and a half is 90 minutes that I will never forget anytime soon, as this has been such a “bucket list” moment for my life that I hope everyone gets to experience in the near future. If you are looking for a fun night with drinks, fun, laughs and more, then do your best to score a ticket or two to Watch What Happens Live! You won’t regret it.
For more information on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, check out their official site.