First Desperate Housewives, then Real Housewives (of Orange County, New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, Vancouver and Miami respectively), and now Real Housewives of Benning Road. Clearly, the world is fascinated with the concept of houses and wives in the same vicinity.

The Real Housewives of Benning Road pokes fun by showcasing the less glamorous life at the poorer end of housewifery in Washington D.C., and by doing so has garnered a very impressive 1 million+ views since launching in April 2013. The second season launched on YouTube on Tuesday 23^rd June.

The show plays off a rather stereotypical depiction of trash talking black humour to such an extent that you can virtually see the finger snaps and ‘you go girl!’ attitude broadcasting through. Regardless, it’s always fun in an embarrassingly voyeuristic way to laugh at the deluded snobbishness of those lacking in the funds or common sense to see their own ridiculousness, and by contrasting this cheap-ass attitude against the privileged and spoilt ‘stars’ that exists in the ‘real’ reality shows, it’s easy to see why Real Housewives of Benning Road has hit a nerve.

The show is the brainchild of D.C. native and comedian, Mike Brooks. ‘First of all I thought the title would be hilarious: The Housewives of Benning Road. A lot of the urban neighborhoods in the city, the stereotype can be hoodrats and ghetto fabulous and all of that, so I thought the title would be real creative,’ Brooks told the Washington Post. The show began life purely as a short trailer but due to the popularity, Brookes developed it into a 5 part series which launched in April this year on YouTube

The show is certainly a little rough around the edges. It has rather slapdash editing that seems to want to show us random mini-vignettes but often has the downside of cutting off a scene before it really gets going. When you add to that a general reliance on fixed camera and the often incomprehensible dialogue (Brooks found the actors after posting an ad on Facebook) you get a show that is somewhat of a chore to watch. I didn’t find it enamouring itself to me but, perhaps as a person with little interest in reality shows or in-your-face street characters, I suspect it was never going to be something I was going to fall in love with.

That said, there is clearly a fun tint towards the ridiculous that occasionally flashes up moments of silly laughs. I found myself tittering with the absurdity of one character, Ree Ree, going to get ‘eyelash extensions’ in Episode 1 and ending up with huge batting monstrosities glues to her face. Or when in Episode 4 an overweight and henpecked guy straps cling film over himself and goes for a topless run in an effort to lose weight, only to end up running on the spot and ordering at the McDonalds drive-thru. I find these parts tickle my ‘daft-o-meter’ more than any smack-talking dialogue could do.

With Episode 1 of Series 2 just launched it will be interesting to see if lighting will strike twice for this low-budget spoof, or whether the pointing and laughing will die down to an embarrassed occasional snort. You can follow Brooks’ Hard Head Films YouTube channel to be kept updated on new episodes.

What are your thoughts? Is Mike being rather unfair in his view of Real Housewives of Benning Road? Or does it deserve far stronger criticism? Give us your views below!

Episode One – Real Housewives Of Benning Road