You have already seen the insane preview for Bravo's Real Housewives of New Jersey two-part reunion special, but in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, moderator and network exec Andy Cohen offers five insights that might help you better understand tonight's first installment.
· The reunion marks the first time that all five women have been in the same place since last season's reunion, best remembered as the night that Caroline Manzo perfected her trademarked "You are garbage" insult.
· During the two-part conclusion beginning tonight, Cohen finally acknowledges why the production crew did not interfere during the great Brownstone Weave Pull Incident of 2010. Coincidentally, the crew also does not intervene during the reunion special when Teresa Giudice goes street on Cohen (who joked afterward, "I should have gotten hazard pay for this one").
· Twice, Cohen tries (and fails) to break up a threatening confrontation between Danielle and her castmates -- ironic, since the Bravo exec attempted to provoke a fight between Jill Zarin and Bethenny Frankel during the New York City reunion. "Surprisingly, it was Bethenny that came to [Jill Zarin's] defense and said, 'Why don't you just nail her to a stake and burn her?'" Cohen recalls. Oh, Andy. That was a great moment.
· Even though Andy Cohen told THR that most housewives "come back on their own accord" after the de rigeur reunion moment when a participant stomps offstage, production was stalled this time around so Cohen could privately talk Danielle Staub "off the ledge."
· The entire reunion took approximately 8 hours to shoot. "I usually come out shell-shocked," said Cohen, "needing a shower and needing a drink, not necessarily in that order." Viewers are recommended to do the same.