Andy Cohen will remain in Bravo’s clubhouse for at least two more years.
The NBCUniversal-owned cable network announced Wednesday that it not only has renewed his late-night show Watch What Happens Live for two more years but also has inked a multi-year, first-look deal with Cohen’s newly launched production company, Most Talkative.
As part of the new pact, Cohen will relinquish the remainder of his executive duties, continuing only as an executive producer of Bravo’s Housewives franchise, which he helped launch in 2005. He also will stay involved as host of the franchise’s reunions and specials, which have averaged 2.7 million viewers since their 2006 bow.
As part of the arrangement, Lara Spotts will assume the role as head of Bravo's development team. She currently serves as vice president of development for the network and now will lead its scripted and non-scripted efforts on both the West and East Coast. She’ll report to Bravo and Oxygen Media president Frances Berwick.
"Andy has influenced the course and the shape of Bravo tremendously over the past 10 years as a production and development executive, and as creator and host of our flagship late night show, becoming the face of the network,” said Berwick in a statement confirming news first reported by the New York Times.
She continued: “He has created legions of cultural-touchstone programs and left an indelible imprint on the network. We are excited to retain him as a creative force with this new deal, which will also allow him to take Watch What Happens Live and its irreverent, brand-defining humor to the next level."
Added Cohen: “In my 23 years as a television producer, my time at Bravo has been the most rewarding and this next phase of my career is the perfect marriage of everything I love doing -- producing and broadcasting. Watch What Happens Live is the show I have dreamt about hosting all my life - it's the exact extension of my love for pop culture and fun.”
To be sure, Cohen --as much the face of Bravo as any of the stars on the shows he helped launch-- began scaling back on his executive responsibilities in late 2011, when the network announced Live would expand to five nights a week in January 2012. In the nearly two years since, the interactive show has been averaging 534,000 viewers in the core 18-49 demo and 942,000 viewers overall. Cohen began at Bravo in 2004, after a lengthy stint at CBS News.
