I liked the first couple of seasons of the Orange County show.

It was an interesting, candid look at the people behind the wild CA housing market. You saw the cycle of pride in real time. People were losing their savings, kids were being sent to different schools, parents were getting divorced, some were dealing with addicition & one person even died. I felt no glee about anybody's misfortune. I was pulling for them. Even if some parts of the show were still staged, there was genuine drama.

They moved to new locales in hopes of tapping into other human dramas.

With Potomac/DC, they hoped to get some political intrigue.

Beverly Hills, Hollywood gossip. Lots of lower tier celebs with hopes of roping in someone more popular.

Atlanta, something about race? You had a mostly black cast & the distant history of Jim Crow.

NY/NJ, organized crime? Sopranos were big at the time & they recruited a guido heavy cast.

None of it has worked. Subsequent seasons of the show just seem like a rich version of Jerry Springer.

I saw they announced a new series set in SLC. Expect them to play up religious tension. And being an E show, the gay angle seems obvious. It would be nice if they got back to their roots & found some humanity, again.