Producer gets real about the real housewives.

The creator of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" gets real.

By MARK EADES / The Orange County Register

Producer gets real about the real housewives.

can.neighbor.0112 01/12/07 Photo: Courtesy of Scott Dunlop - Scott Dunlop of Coto de Caza, executive producer and creator of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
can.neighbor.0112 01/12/07 Photo: Courtesy of Scott Dunlop - Scott Dunlop of Coto de Caza, executive producer and creator of "The Real Housewives of Orange County."


Residence: Coto de Caza

Age: 54

Family: Married 25 years, wife Gale; children Ryan, 21, and Lauren, 18.

Education: Bachelors in Business Administration from Bemidji State University, Minnesota.

Motto: Take a constructive contrarian point of view.

When Scott Dunlop created "The Real Housewives of Orange County," he originally set out to take a satirical look at life in affluent communities.

It turned into a "reality" show that sparked derision, laughter and concerned many people in south Orange County that others might think it showed how all people in the area really lived their lives.

Dunlop is more than a creator and executive producer of a reality show. He owns a production company, has worked in improvisation with "The Groundlings," still works in advertising and founded and co-owns an alternative energy company.

He has lived in Coto de Caza for 20 years and has heard all the criticisms and catty comments about the show from its residents and has one comment for them: Get a sense of humor.

Q: Why do you think people watch the show?

A: The whole country seems to be wrapped up in fame or faux fame. Though it's a form of entertainment I think the reason people watch it is that they want to judge other people more than anything else. People ask me "Why did you do the show?" Well all I tell them you can love it or hate it, but you can't ignore it.

Q: How did the show come into being?

A: The show was originally based on a treatment called "Behind the Gates" and was supposed to be a satirical look at life in affluent gated communities. When I moved out here I realized Los Angeles was a company town. Looking at the town, I had to ask, "Is California a state or a stage?" I wanted to open the show with time lapse footage of Coto as it was 40 to 50 years ago, a barren valley then show the suburbanization of it. My friend and I put together a trailer we shot in Coto de Caza with several of the ladies and sent it off to Bravo. We met with the head of programming and was asked if people in the community would be willing to do this. The ladies agreed and off it went.


A: Within Coto de Caza, people seem to think its defined what Coto de Caza life is really like. I don't think it does that. I think it's more of a "soap opera" then a reality show. Is Coto de Caza damaged because of the show? No, I don't think so. People should take it as entertainment, not about everyone's real lives in Coto de Caza. It was not done to reflect real life in Coto and it doesn't. I was once asked by a reporter, "How does it feel to be the catalyst for the decline of western civilization?" I don't think I am the catalyst for any decline and don't think there's any decline.

I feel like someone has vacuumed all the sense of humor out of Coto de Caza. The show holds up a mirror to certain people's ways of life. It does not represent all of life in Coto de Caza. People leap to the judgment that because that's what was shown, that's the way people are supposed to be in Coto. People moving into the community ask if that's the way they're supposed to behave, far from it. But I do think it's sparked a reexamination of people's lives in Coto de Caza.

When people judge all the women in Coto de Caza based on this show, people are being unfair to the women in Coto. The girls do work hard. They receive hundreds of e-mails from people around the world that they were inspired to run their own businesses, even from people who eviscerate the show.

Q: Why did the ladies agree to do the show?

A: The reason the show came about the way it did was because I knew the people and they decided to jump into the Petri dish and try it. I think what the ladies and others found is that reality television extracts a more heightened sense of reality, a mere sliver of real life. I think intended and unintended satire happened when the show turned into an "all reality" show.

Q: Why is the show so popular?

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