Andy Cohen shared a sneak peek at the new WWHL through an exclusive first look at the space over at Entertainment Weekly.
The new Clubhouse is double the size of the original 22-seat studio and includes a larger bar, a fireplace, "a secret door for guests," and access to a roof deck. The best seats in the house will be the new original audience seats from The Oprah Winfrey Show, which "are going to be our VIP special audience seats," Andy told EW. A new Lite Brite screen of one of the Grateful Dead's dancing bears (Andy is a big Deadhead) will also be added to the Clubhouse.
The new WWHL set (Credit: Bravo)
Andy pays homage to one of his favorite bands, the Grateful Dead,
with this new Lite Brite screen. (Credit: Bravo)
Andy and the WWHL team have also added a new performance space to the studio. "We want more Housewives performances but also more performances in general," Andy said. "We’ve had the Scissor Sisters perform, John Mayer, and Bob Weir performed this year, so we’ve had more low-key unplugged performances, and we’d love to amp that up a little bit."
But don't worry; even with all of these new and exciting additions, the space will still look and feel like the Clubhouse we know and love. The Clubhouse will continue to be filled with eclectic, funky furnishings and decor, including shelves filled with iconic tchotchkes like the Justin Bieber doll wearing a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, a framed photo of Giggy Vanderpump, and the shotski gifted by Jimmy Fallon.
The new space is filled with beloved tcotchkes from the old Clubhouse.
(Credit: Bravo)
Credit: Bravo
Andy also promised that the beloved intimacy and comfort of the Clubhouse will always be there. "People are starting to tweet me to say they’re really freaked out, like, 'Oh no, we love the clubhouse, what are you doing,' but the integrity of the clubhouse will remain; it’s just going to be a little bit bigger," Andy told EW. "For me, I remember when we didn’t even have an audience, and then we added an audience. Even though it was only 22 people, the energy of those people in the room, it was so exciting for me to have them there and to have people to perform for, so now the idea that we’re going to double that room and have 50 people is really cool. But no, it will still be really intimate. We’re bringing all of our little tchotchkes upstairs. The show is the show, and at this point, we can’t bail on it."
Be sure to tune in to see Kenya Moore and Erika Girardi be the first guests Andy welcomes to the new Clubhouse on Tuesday, January 3 at 11/10c.
Source/Photo Credit: Bravo