‘RHONY’s Bethenny Frankel Sets Business Competition Series on HBO Max

By Joe Otterson, Variety
Published Feb. 19, 2020, 3:39 p.m. ET

Bethenny Frankel is coming to HBO Max with an unscripted competition series.

The Real Housewives of New York alum has scored an eight-episode order at the nascent streamer for The Big Shot With Bethenny. In the half-hour series, aspiring moguls will compete for a chance to win a spot on the executive team of Frankel’s lifestyle brand, Skinnygirl. The series will be produced by MGM Television, B Real Productions and Big Fish Entertainment. Frankel will executive produce along with Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick and Dan Cesareo.

“Aside from motherhood, what truly defines me as a person is being a driven, passionate and hard-working woman determined to make the impossible possible,” Frankel said. “My mantra is to come from a place of ‘yes’ and to find and create the solution. I am an executor of visions, and I share and impart that information to those who work with me. MGM has been neck-in-neck with me with ideas and their execution. I couldn’t be more thrilled to continue my longstanding relationship with Mark Burnett on this series and pay this American Dream story forward.”

Frankel signed a deal with MGM Television and Burnett in March 2019 under which she will develop unscripted projects that she will executive produce and potentially appear on camera. This is the first project to receive a series order under that deal.

“I first met Bethenny when I put her on the first season of The Real Housewives of New York City and she’s always both impressed and entertained me,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president of original non-fiction and kids programming for HBO Max. “It’s incredible to see her empire continue to grow and I know that candidates will be clamoring to work for her.”

Variety exclusively reported in August that Frankel would be leaving RHONY ahead of the show’s 12th season. At the time it was reported that she was taking meetings with cable networks and streaming platforms to discuss producing new shows under the MGM deal.

���Bethenny is that rare talent whose creative instincts are equal to her business acumen and working with her to create this series has been an amazing collaboration,” said Barry Poznick, MGM’s president of unscripted & alternative television and Orion Television. “We’re giving fans what they want, access inside Bethenny’s businesses so they can see how she runs her empire, all while offering one fan the chance of a lifetime to join her executive team. We’ve found the perfect home in HBO Max to bring this exclusive opportunity to viewers.”

Frankel first joined RHONY back when it premiered back in 2008 before exiting the series in 2010 during the show’s third season. She then rejoined the show during its seventh season in 2015 before exiting last year. She has also made guest appearances on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and starred in the spinoff shows Bethenny Ever After and Bethenny & Fredrik.