The television network Bravo has made a name for itself by producing highly addictive reality fare like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Project Runway and the Real Housewives series. Like any successful reality programming these shows thrive on tension, backstabbing, a lot of melodrama and a smattering of fake tans (and other body parts).
Now Bravo, an NBC Universal property, is taking its finely tuned shtick to Silicon Valley – and has enlisted the help of none other than Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook founder Mark. The former marketing director for Facebook, Randi left the social network last year to launch her own startup, R to Z Studios.
If a preview of the show tells us anything, it looks a lot like a spinoff of Real Housewives, only with a higher geek factor. "Bravo's following these hot young professionals with big dreams on the road to becoming techie superstars!" says the voiceover. One of the pretty young stars says the valley "is high school, but it's only the smart kids. And everyone has a lot of money".
Unsurprisingly, the announcement drew some heat from the startup community. Pando Daily founder Sarah Lacey responded with "an open letter to Randi Zuckerberg: how could you do this to real entrepreneurs?"
She writes: "The show depicts people drinking, shirtless in clubs and standing in front of a walk-in closet of suits as some sort of 'insider look' at Silicon Valley. It is quite literally making us look like The Jersey Shore, only without the tans. Anyone who has spent a day here knows just how bastardized that is. It's ridiculous really."
In her defense, Zuckerberg weighed in with a lengthy note on her Facebook wall Friday night. "I think this show comes at an important time. Given the current economic climate, I think it's really positive that mainstream media is celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit and portraying people who pursue innovation and startups as being 'aspirational' for the general public", she wrote.
"Will there be drama? Of course! Silicon Valley is full of exciting drama. Will there be conflict? Of course! Entrepreneurs face conflict daily. Will we showcase every single painstaking detail of startup life? Of course not. This is reality TV, not a documentary."
Either way, if the current backlash to the show is at all indicative, there's plenty of drama to be had.