'Real Friends of WeHo' Bombs in Ratings. People Tune Out After 'RPDR'
The "Real Friends of WeHo" is making no friends on TV.
A Nielsen ratings report showed that the MTV series bombed in viewership even with it sandwiched between the ever-popular "Drag Race" and the "Drag Race" post-show review, "Untucked."
As reported by Vulture, a boost from the "Real Friends" premiere managed to hold "onto just 29 percent of Drag Race's viewership with 186,000 viewers and a 0.03 share of the night."
MTV hoped to make the series of shows together a "destination night" for gay viewers, but "Real Friends" turned out to be a real dud. Drag Race, however, soared with 578,000 viewers, "making it the sixth most popular show on cable for the night and giving it a 0.14 share of the night," Vulture reports.
Untucked clocked in around 214,000 viewers, making it the 60th most-watched cable show of the night. "Real Friends" ranked 69th.
What's more damning is that clips started to pop up around social media showing "Drag Race" viewing parties erupting in cheers as they turned the TV off on "Real Friends."
"In an act of support for 'Real Friends,' MTV made the choice to cut Drag Race down from a 90-minute episode each week (which the show had aired since season ten) to 60 minutes," Vulture reports. "That has meant seeing less of Ru's interactions with the queens, a shortened runway, and seeing no judges' deliberations for the first time in the show's history — including when the episodes were only 60 minutes for seasons one through nine."
Disgruntled "Drag Race" fans took to Twitter to voice their frustrations about the pace and point the finger at "Real Friends."
In response, Todrick Hall tweeted: "Fun Fact: The average annual earning for gay men in the U.S. is $59,618 compared to $57,032 for straight men," Hall argued. "We are successful, we work hard, and we deserve to see ourselves thriving on TV."
Before "Real Friends" even premiered, the show seemed dead in the water, with many commentators questioning the bounds of friendship between the show's stars and questioning why Hall was even included at all. If you remember Hall is accused of not paying his dancers, including Drag Race legend Manila Luzon, for their work.
Yikes! Maybe the next episode will do better?
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