‘Summer House’ Season 11 Cast Reports “Are Premature,” Says Bravo VP as He Goes Inside That Part 2 Reunion

The second part of Bravo‘s Summer House reunion played out like an episode of Survivor. There were alliances, side-plotting and their own version of Tribal Council. This one, led by host Andy Cohen, didn’t have an official vote out — but it’s clear who the cast wants to kick off the island.

In the Part 2 reunion episode that released on June 2 (now streaming, uncensored, on Peacock), Amanda Batula felt so much heat from her other castmembers over the relationship scandal between her and co-star West Wilson that she took an extended break off camera. After she walked off set, albeit temporarily, Wilson was urged by the cast to “go after his girl,” and while the pair were gone, the other cast members — including the most scorned, West’s ex Ciara Miller and Batula’s estranged husband Kyle Cooke — whispered about another relationship they accused Wilson of being dishonest about.

Josh Brown, vp of current production for Bravo, who was in attendance on reunion taping day, explains to The Hollywood Reporter that “everyone is trying to piece together what happened, and everybody was trying to do it in real time. I’ve worked on other reunions where people bring big poster board receipts and all sorts of props. But this is not a reunion for props,” he says. “This is a serious moment of reflection for the cast where they were really trying to connect with each other and talk and figure out what was going on. And I have to say, Amanda and West are part of that, too. I think they did try to explain the timeline in the way that they saw it. They mentioned specific dates as well, which you’ll see in Part 3.”

Below, Brown goes inside the decision-making process of showing more strategy between the cast — both on the couch and in the dressing rooms; clarifies what role Wilson’s other ex, Meija Moreno, will continue to play in the reunion; goes behind the scenes of Batula’s walk off (“Anytime a cast member leaves, you think they might not come back,” he says); promises receipts will come into play; and clears up speculation around the season 11 cast: “I have heard reports and everything is premature. We’re still figuring out the cast.”

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Have you heard from the cast between Part 1 and Part 2 of the reunion airing?

I have. To be honest, I can’t really say, because it involves production. It hasn’t been a particular question about the reunion. It was regular production stuff that we deal with in the show.

What has surprised you most about the reaction to the reunion so far?

I knew this was going to be a very watched reunion, but it’s surprised me how much it’s made it into the pop culture zeitgeist. Talking to people who you wouldn’t normally think of as Bravo watchers, and hearing them say, “You mentioned you work on that show Summer House. I watched that,” or “My friends took me to a bar to watch it,” or “I ended up going to [Carl Radke’s] Soft Bar.” I’ve heard some celebrities are watching.

Do you have viewership numbers yet?

Not yet. With streaming, it takes a while for the full picture to come in.

We spoke last week about how you are still finalizing the cast for season 11, which starts filming in July. There have been reports alleging that West may not return, and that producers were choosing Ciara over West. Are you able to address that speculation?

I have heard reports and everything is premature. We’re still figuring out the cast. Anything that people are reading — we’re just not there yet. We don’t make our decisions until later in June, officially. We’re definitely talking about casting, and we’re obviously talking about next season a lot, but no final decisions have been made yet.

The uncensored Part 1 version showed Jesse Solomon saying he had receipts about West and Amanda’s timeline. Do those receipts, or any others, come into play? Part 2 showed a lot of side dealing with the cast plotting out or figuring things out in real time, almost like an episode of Survivor. Does that all come to a head in Part 3?

Definitely, for sure, it comes to a head. And there are receipts. I would say, though, that the receipts don’t come from Jesse. I think I could tell by Jesse’s demeanor and emotions at the reunion that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve and putting it out there. There wasn’t further questioning about when Jesse knew and didn’t know things. He’s just a friend. But yes, other things come to light for sure in the final part of the reunion.

Bravo stars have gotten savvier at these reunions; they bring receipts and proof to use, as needed. With all the side conversations happening and new information coming to light during this reunion, how do you pivot to handle that as producers?

I think what made this reunion so special and unique is that everyone is trying to piece together what happened, and everybody was trying to do it in real time. It’s very telling. I’ve worked on other reunions where people bring big poster board receipts and all sorts of props. But this is not a reunion for props. This is a serious moment of reflection for the cast where they were really trying to connect with each other and talk and figure out what was going on. And I have to say, Amanda and West are part of that, too. I think they did try to explain the timeline in the way that they saw it. They mentioned specific dates as well, which you’ll see in Part 3.

Amanda walked off the set in Part 2 and took a break. How do you get involved in that moment? Are you checking in with her? Trying to figure out if she’ll go back? What don’t we see?

When someone gets up in the middle of the reunion and needs to take a break, obviously, they need to break, so we let them, of course. The control room is really focused on the television production side of things, but there are people in production who are checking on their well-being and making sure that they’re OK, and seeing if they need anything and giving this space and time for a break. It’s really important.

Was there a worry that she might not come back?

Yeah, I mean, anytime a cast member leaves, you think they might not come back. It’s happened before on reunions that I’ve worked on for other series. It could always happen. You would hope that she would stay in there, because I think people want to hear from her. But it’s important for anyone’s well-being to do what’s best for them, so if she wanted to leave, that would have been OK by us. She needs to take care of herself first. We care about Amanda and West, and everybody.

Amanda is obviously having a tough time on that stage. What do you think made her return and decide to stay?

You saw as well that Amanda appeared at the [Summer House spinoff] In the City premiere party and took pictures with the cast. I think, despite all the tough stuff she’s going through, Amanda has always shown a lot of tenaciousness to stay in there and to stay a part of series and moments, even when it’s tough. I think it’s important to acknowledge that.

Were you surprised at how long it took for West to get up and check on her and, on the flip side, were you surprised that Kyle did jump out of his seat to go check on Amanda?

I was not surprised about West, because I think it was a very uncertain moment where you don’t know what to do. Putting the show aside, when you’re in a new relationship, sometimes you’re not sure what the right thing to do is in terms of feeling like you’re in a partnership. So I wasn’t surprised — that seemed like a big question-mark moment and I think that came across. As for Kyle, he has the benefit of a 10 year-plus relationship with Amanda. They are close and have a lot of love for each other, despite it all. Maybe it’s not the type of love that is working out in a marriage, but it’s another type of friendship. I think that really came across in that moment.

Were you surprised at how hard Darah Levitan came at West?

No, that didn’t surprise me. I don’t know if Darah came at West hard. I didn’t see it that way. She’s always been someone who’s very direct and upfront. I think she was just giving West her opinion. I feel like she would have given that opinion if the cameras hadn’t been there.

Levi Sebree and Darah had smaller turns on the reunion stage. What does that say about if they’ll return for season 11? How do you feel about the new cast this season?

Overall, on season 10, we love the new cast. We’re so happy. It’s always just such a roll of the dice — rolls of a lot of dice. It doesn’t say anything about season 11. To be honest, it says more about season 10, that they weren’t always there on all of the weekends. Darah, I think, first appeared in weekend three. So that’s all it speaks to. It doesn’t say anything about season 11.

We spoke last week about how life goes on for this group even after the cameras stop rolling. Were you surprised to see that Darah and KJ have now broken up?

It did really surprise me. I think we were all following along with the news, just like everybody else on social media. I really like them both individually, so I want what’s best for each of them individually. If it’s together, that’s wonderful. If it’s not together, that’s great, too. But they’re both great.

Viewers got a peek inside the dressing rooms at the end of Part 2 — West was kind of coaching Amanda, and Ciara was talking on the phone to Meija Moreno, West’s newly mentioned ex. How do you decide how much of those moments to show?

I do think those parts played longer than normal with a Bravo reunion just because they were so interesting. This cast is particularly good at letting the cameras that are following them melt away and just being themselves, being real people. So I think those were genuine conversations they were having, and they’re really important conversations, both of them, to what’s going on here. So it felt like we wanted to stick with them for longer than usual.

Will Meija factor into Part 3 more, and was she invited to come and share her story in person?

No, she wasn’t invited. We wouldn’t invite someone who isn’t on the cast to show up in person. We’re not really big on “gotcha moments” — we want everyone just to be able to say their piece. But I can say that Meija factors into something in Part 3 for sure, but she does not make an appearance at the reunion set.

How much are you, as producers, flies on the wall in these moments, versus pushing them to bring this up?

We don’t speak to them in great detail during the day. The production team and showrunners, who are so amazing, will speak with all the cast before the reunion at some point to talk about how, “This is your chance to really share your feelings and air out anything you feel like needs to be aired out. If there’s anything on your mind, now’s the chance.” The cast knows that going into the reunion, but there’s not coaching that goes on.

Would you ever consider a check in between now and when season 11 airs, a special reunion event?

We would consider anything if we thought it was important storytelling. It’s not like we would limit anything. It feels like there are a lot of stakes to what’s going on and people are interested. So if something came up that was really important, I’m sure we would follow it. We’ll never hesitate to pick up cameras at an important time. I wish we could film 365 days a year! We can’t, but we won’t hesitate to pick up cameras if there’s something important.

Even before this scandal came out, when the cast filmed their final scene leaving Summer House season 10, it did feel like a goodbye. What do you make now of that moment?

It really surprised some of the cast, I think, especially the original cast, about how emotional it was. I think it was unknown territory for everyone. Kyle and Amanda were at a place in their marriage they’d never been at before that I think was scary to each of them. They didn’t know what was going to happen in real life to their marriage. At the same time, Kyle and Amanda and Lindsay knew they were going on to film In the City right after Labor Day, and after we wrapped cameras on Summer House. Nothing about that said that was the end of their time on Summer House. But they knew, “We’re in unknown territory now. We’re onto a new series, after 10 years of filming on this other series,” which was very familiar to them.

Every weekend, they’d drive out to the house in the Hamptons, have a lot of fun, drive back and film during the week. And now they’re in this unknown world of this other series where they didn’t have the house to rely on. I think it felt new and I think everybody got caught up in the emotion, including the production crew. It was emotional for everyone.

And I have to ask, are you any closer to the season 11 cast announcement?

Every week we get closer, so yes, we are closer!

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Summer House reunion Part 3 airs June 2 at 8 p.m. on Bravo. All reunions stream next day on Peacock, with extended, uncensored cuts.