The early 2000s are so back. Sure, we’ll takeSimon RexandLindsay Lohan’s comebacks, but if only we can leave behind the Stock Market crashing. One thing we will gladly take as well?Denise Richardshaving her own reality show again.Denise Richards & Her Wild Thingshad its series premiere a couple of weeks ago, but if anything,it feels more like a reboot of all of our favorite shows from the 2000s. The early aughts were a golden era for reality television, and while so much of it has aged like milk and can’t be replicated due to obstacles like “feminism” and “ethics,“Denise Richards & Her Wild Thingsmelds the best elements from those shows and makes it possible to enjoy raunchy, outrageous fun from that era again.
Denise had her first reality show back in 2008 when she was fresh off her (second?) split with actorCharlie Sheen. Her personal life dominated the tabloids just as much asParis Hiltonand Lindsay Lohan back then, only she wasn’t stumbling out of nightclubs and getting arrested. E! Entertainment was in their prime with reality television, having juggernauts likeKeeping Up With the KardashiansandGirls Next Doorunder their belt by the time Denise collaborated with them. Denise clearly had a lot of fun filming the show, but she opened up onReal Housewives of Beverly Hillsthat she did it largely because she needed the money. While the show was endemically very Denise with its provocative humor and honesty, it’s great to see that now Denise is doing it simply because she wants to. She’s obviously very financially comfortable now, owning three townhouses next to each other for reasons she can barely explain, while her husbandAaron Phypers’family lives in her other house.
Denise Richards Is Basically Rebooting Her First Reality Show
Denise Richards: It’s ComplicatedandDenise Richards & Her Wild Thingshave a lot of similarities, with Denise’s infamous candor being the pulse of both shows thatkeeps the plot percolating. They both often break the fourth wall, which has been a very welcome change happening in reality television within the past couple of years.Denise was actually one of the first to break the fourth wall withIt’s Complicated,with the finale of Season 1 involving her promoting that very same show. Bravo has made a habit of breaking the fourth wall by picking up cameras after a season is wrapped should a scandal break, with many of the reality stars acknowledging production and cameras.Denise doesn’t really have any scandal that requires picking cameras back up these days, but she and Aaron did ask the cameras to leave so thatthey could have sex.
The two shows alsoseamlessly blend in Denise’s chaotic, but relatable family.Back in the early 2000s,Keeping Up With the Kardashianswas centered around tabloid fodderKim Kardashian(obviously) with her numerous siblings and messy Hollywood past making up much of the plot of the show. Denise was able to maintain a similar formula with her shows, as well.It’s Complicatedwove in herunorthodox dynamicwith her family, with Denise getting her recently widowed father a makeover and finding herPlayboycovers under her nephew’s bed while babysitting for him. Funnily enough, that’s the same nephew that makes a reappearance onDenise & Her Wild Things,as he’s very close with her daughters.
The 10 Best Denise Richards Movies and Shows, Ranked
Denise Richards has dazzled audiences with her versatility and charisma across a variety of roles.
Denise’s Family Is the Heart of the Show
Denise’s daughters, however, are what steal the show.Sami Sheenis the resident bad girl who is hoping to break out of her OnlyFans career and make it to mainstream modeling. SweetLola Sheen, the classic middle child, found Jesus but not in an obnoxious way, and now hosts a religious podcast. It’s astonishing that she’s somehow related to these people, but she’s exactly what they need to be balanced out. Rounding out the bunch isEloise Richards, who Denise adopted after her divorce from Charlie and later was also adopted by her second husband, Aaron. She’sthe heart of the family, bringing out the sincere, endearing side of her sisters and parents, while giving them fashion advice. It gives us a glimpse into the nepo-baby lives that older shows such asFilthy Rich: Cattle Drive,Tinsley Mortimer’s cursed CW showHigh Society, andGastineau Girlsdid, only they’re doing it in a much more tasteful way that won’t age so terribly and has a lot less tolerance for horrifying behavior.Does anyone want to see a nepo babywin an Academy Award? No, but we love to watch them spin out on reality television.
Denise also infuses another classic trope of early 2000s pop culture, which is adding her ex-husband’s ex-wifeBrooke Muellerinto the mix. The only thing more early 2000s than messy divorces is being a little too friendly after the papers are signed, and the marriage is declared done and dusted. God, remember that Vanity Fair photoshoot withDemi Moore, then-husbandAshton Kutcher, ex-husbandBruce Willis, and Demi and Bruce’s three daughters? They rebranded divorce and made it seem like a nuisance, at worst. Denise famously went through one of the craziest divorces in Hollywood history, and the only thing that makes it even more Hollywood is that she hosted a funeral for Brooke’s iguanaGodzillaon her show. Sure, it ended up being a Christian service even though Brooke and Godzilla are Jewish, butmaybe for Brooke’s next deceased pet they can make it a Kabblah service because that falls under the umbrella of both Judaism and early 2000s culture. We’re obsessed with Denise’s new show, and cannot wait to seewhat comes next!
Denise Richards and Her Wild Things
