A combination you didn’t know you needed.

One of the best things about writing is that you occasionally get to boost something you think everyone should be aware of; this is my version of spinning a sign on a street corner. On today’s menu is The Real Housewives of Dungeons and Dragons, a podcast/actual-play show that combines two things that shouldn’t go well together but do: shallow reality television and table-top role-playing games (TTRPGs).

RHoDnD’s unique blend of Bravo and fantasy

RHoDnD’s delightful main cast includes players Riley Rose Critchlow, Elizabeth Ho, Liz Jenkins, Kosha Patel, and Nicole Wyland. The newly christened Dungeon Masters are Valen Shore and Alison Zatta. Unlike most actual-play shows, the cast members are either totally new to TTRPGs or have minimal experience.

Available in podcast format or in video, the story introduces us to Saxpira, a strange land brimming with magic and hostile creatures — the place where the fictional cast ends up after a Real Housewives of Anaheim reunion taping goes terribly wrong (or right, if you’re one of the sneaky producer characters).

The cast built their characters around Real Housewives tropes, tailoring spells, backstories, and abilities to match. For example, the party’s charisma-based character Cassandra is a bard who uses her multi-level-marketing experience to win over non-player characters (NPCs) and talk her way out of hairy situations. Meanwhile, Anaheim’s young trophy wife, Keke, cares for little other than furs and jewelry, yearning for the luxurious life she left behind. Zatta and Shore set the stage with a mystery: did a portal really just open up on stage, whisking the ladies away to Saxpira, or was this all set in motion by an exploitive network?

While the players and DMs might be DnD newbies with an excitingly chaotic play style as a result, they’re not new to reality TV. So, the setup isn’t quickly forgotten. Instead, recognizable group dynamics and the genre’s crafty editing are baked into the campaign.

The party’s most grounded character, Anya, evokes long-running pillar castmates from the Real Housewives franchise. And the more intellectual member, Cristina, slowly pulls away from the spotlight-addicted Cassandra during RHoDnD’s first season, mimicking the ups and downs of ‘frenemies’ on TV. It’s fascinating to have two starkly opposed things you’re into combined like this. I’m happy to pay for this kind of entertainment and desperate for more.

An ideal entry point

RHoDnD is beginner-friendly, especially for a female audience who may be less likely to stumble across DnD in their social lives (plenty of women play TTRPGs now, but DnD long had a reputation for being primarily for men, especially for those of us who are older). RHoDnD has an all-women cast, with guest stars regularly invited by the DMs to spice things up.

The cast is open about their lack of experience, so provide a funny and self-aware access point for people who’d like to explore DnD but find it intimidating. You don’t need to know any rules to enjoy RHoDnD — you’ll pick things up in tandem with the players. The game’s mechanics are simplified, and combat is efficient, with more focus on exploration and role-play.

Unlike actual-play behemoths with a decade of lore like Critical Role, or Dimension 20’s campaigns, RHoDnD episodes clock in shorter and are tightly edited. That’s a plus for listeners who don’t plan to play themselves or commit to hundreds of hours of turn-based combat. Conversely, if you’re a rules-lawyer or backseat gamer, this podcast won’t appeal to you — you’ll enjoy RHoDnD if you can put the small text aside and go with the flow. Zatta and Shore’s rulings are loosey-goosey to facilitate an impulsive and encouraging environment.

Sometimes, that means the party ends up in dire situations through bad decision-making and inefficient action economy — not the best thing for the party’s hit points, but a lot of fun for us to listen to. This table chemistry also sparks a healthy amount of creativity. When you don’t know the rules, you’re more likely to impulsively problem-solve in ways more seasoned players might not think of. Patel’s player character (PC) will occasionally interrupt a ‘scene’ to randomly shoot an arrow at an innocent NPC because Keke is bored or finds them irritating. At a serious table, this could be frowned upon, but it’s a blast in RHoDnD’s largely consequence-free and comedic atmosphere.

Reality TV is an awesome setting. Yes, really

Unique settings are one of the best ways to introduce fresh meat to DnD. The magic of ‘theater of the mind’ games is the ability to adapt them. Your friends are into horror? There’s no rulebook that says you can’t create a deep space setting with a Xenomorph-esque creature hunting them. Stranger Things fans? Let them create high schooler PCs who get stuck in The Upside Down. Most people think of DnD and the usual high-fantasy settings come to mind, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can inject any flavor.

Real Housewives works wonderfully. The meta-quality of recent seasons lends itself to the franchise being used in fiction. And the fact that long-time fans are familiar with different housewife archetypes (villain, comedic relief, normie, etc.) makes creating our own out-of-touch ladies intuitive. It also makes dramatic interparty conflict possible — after all, what’s Real Housewives without ridiculous, hilarious bickering?

Zatta and Shore cleverly customize the in-game lore to make this crossover work. Fabulous guest star Misha Reeves arrives mid-way through season 1 and channels ‘booted housewife making dramatic return’ — much to the horror of the other women. Reeves plays Sasha Sinclair, a fallen-from-grace former star with a hint of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Lisa Vanderpump. There’s also connective tissue between the manipulative producer NPCs and how reality TV is constructed in the real world, with reputations and relationships becoming cannon fodder in the quest for higher ratings.

Jump on board

RHoDnD has since grown outside the confines of Real Housewives. The podcast has branched out into other reality settings. Additions include Traitors: Saxpira, based on the strategy game show, Below Deck: Saxpira, which borrows the format of Bravo’s yacht-set series, and takes on The Bachelor. These spin-offs, set in the same universe, are as enjoyable as the flagship show and further demonstrate how reality TV is a brilliant DnD mixer.

With RHoDnD season 3 premiering in July 2025 with several new cast members and Sasha joining as a full-time housewife, it’s still early days for this endearing adventure. There are three campaigns to dive into, with more minis (Survivor, please!) hopefully on the way. If you’re confident you could earn a Real Housewives PhD (we exist), this show will scratch an itch you might not know you had.