Joel Kim Booster went from being a Bravo super fan to the host of Bravo’s Love Hotel, the network’s Real Housewives-centric dating series that follows Shannon Beador, Ashley Darby, Gizelle Bryant, and Luann de Lesseps as they try to find love in paradise. For Booster, it was finally time for him to “stop watching from the couch” and “dive head-first” into the Bravo universe by accepting the gig as the show’s “Love Concierge.”
Bravoholics have certainly been invested in the women and their respective love interests leading up to the season finale, which airs tonight. But the conversation about who else from the Bravo universe would be a good fit for the show has also been a topic of conversation. If the dating series gets renewed for a second season, Booster told DECIDER that he’d like to see Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay, Real Housewives of Miami star Adriana de Moura, and Summer House stars Paige DeSorbo and Lindsay Hubbard search for their Mr. Right.
However, Booster doesn’t think a version of Bravo’s Love Hotel that features male Bravolebrities would be as big of a hit. “I think it would grossly misunderstand what people want to see from this show, if we put too many men on the show,” he said. “It’s tough because you don’t watch any of the shows where the men are on and, like, love them, right?”
But if he absolutely had to choose which men he would cast, Booster named Southern Charm star Shep Rose since he went “through the wringer” with his most recent relationship and, “for chaos sake,” he would suggest Vanderpump Rules alum Tom Sandoval. “I would just love to see him, like more of what we got on Traitors, singing into dolls. Just delusion from top to bottom would be really fun to see on the show,” Booster said.
When Booster visited our studio last week, he teased many “twists” to come in the Bravo’s Love Hotel season finale, his work on Loot Season 3, and whether there will ever be a sequel to Fire Island. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I’m loving you as host of Bravo’s Love Hotel. How did Bravo approach you with this opportunity?
JOEL KIM BOOSTER: I was looking for a new experience. I’ve done a lot in this industry. I’ve written, I’ve acted, I’ve produced. And so, this was just the next frontier for me. I’ve had a really good relationship with Andy [Cohen] and the network for a while. I’ve been a guest on Watch What Happens Live many times. They know I’m a super-fan. And this sort of came about. And I had some time, and I was like, why not? Let’s just dive in and stop watching from the couch and dive head-first into it.
What was your reaction when you found out the four Housewives who would be joining you at the Love Hotel?
I mean, pretty iconic, honestly. Shannon’s not an OG, but might as well be. They’re all vets. They’ve all been on TV for the better part of a decade. So it was really exciting. It was really, really exciting.
Let’s talk about Shannon. In one of the first episodes, you and Shannon had a really touching moment. What changed between the two of you that made you write that scathing post about her, which I know you have since apologized for?
To be honest, nothing really changed. All that stuff happened after the cameras were down. That’s a question I’ve gotten before and they’re looking for signs or clues for it and you’re not going to see it because it was all after we wrapped. And where we are at now, I think, quite honestly, I don’t think either of us really wants to relitigate or revisit that moment. I think we’re fine. I don’t know if we’re ever going to be super best friends, close or anything like that, but I can certainly appreciate the work she’s done on the show. I think she’s great on the show.
This week’s episode ended on a cliffhanger between Earl and Shannon, with Earl upset that Shannon didn’t check on him when Hurricane Helene was heading toward his house. Whose side were you on in that situation and why?
It’s hard to take sides on the show, because I am obviously very protective of everyone. I wanted everyone to have a positive experience on that show. I think initially when we were filming, it seemed pretty cut and dry that I was definitely a little more Team Shannon, I think, in the moment. I think watching some of this stuff back, I think it was a more complicated scenario than I think any of us really understood in the moment. It’s interesting. That’s the most fun part about watching the show back as the host is that I felt like I was involved in everything. And then you watch back and I was like, wow, there was so much going on. It was like coming home and watching the nanny cam, seeing what your kids were up to while you were away.
I feel like there’s more to find out about those two.
Of all the couples on the show, [they] go through the biggest sort of arc and journey. I think the ending is really exciting for a lot of reasons. I think people are going to be really invested to see what happens with that couple especially.
Moving onto Luann. At this point in time, she’s very much so into James. Do you think she’s ignoring some red flags with him?
I mean, would she be a Housewife if she didn’t? That’s the bigger question. James checks a lot of boxes for Luann in a way that, initially, I don’t think any of us really…I think we went in thinking Luann wanted a certain kind of guy. And I think James surprised not only Luann, but all of us a little bit in how much he sort of complimented her in a lot of ways. That’s another relationship that I think people are going to be really surprised to see sort of what the arc is there.
You were sitting right there when Mitch and Mark were threatening to punch James for his treatment of Luann. What were you thinking at that moment?
This was close to the end, right? And I was a little bit like, “Wow, thank you for waking up, gentlemen. This is sort of what I wanted to be feeling the entire time.” But no, I think it’s a testament to how chill everybody was until that point. I don’t think any of those guys saw James initially as a threat to any of their games. And then for James to come in and sort of swoop Luann off her feet, I think it was not only surprising for them, but deeply frustrating for them because they were sort of like, “This dork?” And listen, he’s a vibe, so you can’t deny.
He is. He doesn’t wear a shirt. He listens to her when she says go put on one.
And the music, I mean, you cannot deny the musical connection.
What about Ashley? What do you think about Wale’s hard-to-get approach? Do you think it’s just pushing her more toward Ralph?
Yeah, it’s frustrating. I really like Wale a lot. I think he’s such a catch for a lot of people. I don’t know that he fully understood what he signed up for by the end of it. Because as much as I understand where he’s coming from and how frustrating it must be to be in his position, to really be into one person on that show and have her be doing what she came there to do, which is date around and experiment and make connections with lots of people, I can understand where both of them are coming from. And I think it’s a really frustrating situation. I wouldn’t want to be in either of their shoes, quite honestly.
Do you think Ralph has what it takes to fix her daddy issues?
I don’t know. I think it’s going to require a full team to fix Ashley’s daddy issues. Said with love. She would be the first to admit, I think.
Gizelle definitely seemed less excited about the men there. Do you think she could’ve been a little more open to the process? Or was she just not vibing with them as much?
No, you know what? This got cut, but we had a nice sit down, Gizelle and I, where we talked a little bit about why she was sort of resistant to the process in a lot of ways. And I think it’s because Gizelle, her dad was an icon and this incredibly powerful, intelligent man who I think set the bar really high for Gizelle. And so Gizelle is not one to throw her heart out willy-nilly. Gizelle also goes on a bit of a journey. I think we’re starting to see that with some of the new guys that have come in, and I think people will, again, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, be kind of surprised about where Gizelle ends up at the end of the season.
Which couple are you shipping the most, or even non-couple, people who aren’t together?
Yeah, I guess for me, it is weirdly, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, Gizelle and James a little bit. I think especially getting to see a lot of their interactions on their dates and stuff like that. I was a little confused too, I’m not going to lie, when we were shooting and Luann was showing interest there. But I think being able to see the full context of it, it’s really actually quite sweet.
Yeah, I agree. Well, which Housewives or Bravolebrities would you want to see on future seasons?
Oh, this is the question to end all questions. I think my go-to Housewivey answers are Heather Gay. She’s given us so much. She is sort of the centerpiece of every finale on Salt Lake. And so why not give her a little bit of a reward? Send her off to an island with a bunch of men. Adriana de Moura from Miami, which is back now, I think, also, would be an incredible pick. She ticks a lot of the boxes to be a star on that show. And then, I think some young blood would be cool. I would love to see Paige [DeSorbo]. She’s free now. She has a clean schedule. So we’d love to see her. And then also from Summer House too, I think someone who would benefit greatly from the show, and we would benefit greatly from seeing her, is Lindsay [Hubbard]. She has so much more to give on reality TV and I would love to see more of her for sure.
What about if it was a guys version?
We were just talking about this off-camera. I understand the impulse. I think it would grossly misunderstand what people want to see from this show, if we put too many men on the show. It’s tough because you don’t watch any of the shows where the men are on and, like, love them, right? So I guess, I don’t know, I guess Shep [Rose] would be interesting to see. He’s definitely been through the wringer this last season. When it comes to love, he could use a win, for sure. And then I guess, who else? I’m trying to think of a good man on Bravo right now who’s not already married or in a relationship. I guess for chaos sake, [Tom] Sandoval would be really fun to see. I would just love to see him, like more of what we got on Traitors singing into dolls. Just delusion from top to bottom would be really fun to see on the show.
We need delusion.
Absolutely. That’s what Bravo runs on.
Is there anything else you can tease about the finale episode?
The finale episode is my least favorite suit that I wear in the whole show. We ran out of wardrobe. I look like I’m going to a prom in 2017. I’m trying to think of what I can get away with teasing without getting in trouble as my Bravo PR rep is sitting just off-camera. It’s very dramatic. There’s a lot of tears and a lot of twists that I don’t think anybody is going to see coming.
I can’t let you go without bringing up Fire Island, which you wrote and starred in. It’s not a secret your script was inspired by Pride and Prejudice. Did you look at any other Jane Austen novels first, or did you always have Elizabeth Bennet vibes?
There’s definitely thematic throughlines throughout a lot of her books with regard to class and things like that that I definitely considered and definitely parallels in other stories that she’s read, but it was always Pride and Prejudice for me, really from the beginning.
We’re big Las Culturistas fans here, so we loved seeing the boys in Fire Island. Why did you choose to make Matt Rogers your Lydia? Why did you choose to make Bowen Yang your Jane?
Well, I mean, look at the material. I think it just makes a lot of sense. I think Lydia is a bit of a brat and a big personality, and that is Matt Rogers to a T. And it’s sort of Elizabeth-Charlotte in a lot of regards to, it’s sort of a combo character. But I don’t know. I think Jane is sort of well-liked and well-respected and sort of the one that everybody looks to to keep a calm head. And I think that is, when you have Bowen and I next to each other, definitely the one that people would go to as more level-headed. So yeah, it just made more sense, because again, we’re sisters, we’re best friends.
Have there been any conversations about a potential sequel?
There have been plenty of conversations. I think people think they want a sequel. I don’t know that they understand what that would actually look like. There’s not a lot of great rom-com sequels out there, I will say that, without throwing anyone under the bus. I don’t think they’re always super successful. So, if I had a great idea for it, I would definitely consider it, but I don ‘t want to reverse engineer it and say, “I need to make a sequel, what’s the story?” So, until the reverse happens, I don’t think there’s gonna be a sequel anytime soon. But I just wanna keep making movies and casting the same people in it. So I think that’ll scratch the itch for people.
We also need to ask you about Loot, which we also love. Have you finished filming Season 3?
We finished season 3. It’s in the can. They’re currently editing it, and it will be soon. I think that’s the safest, as my publicist is off-screen right now too, that’s the safest answer I can give is that people will be able to see it soon.
Very exciting. Is there anything you can share about Maya Rudolph that people may not know?
I’ve talked about this in the press before, but my favorite thing about Maya truly is what a dedicated and great mom she is. It’s so nice to have a boss that cares and loves her family because it makes the entire working environment so much easier. But she’s still driving her kids to dance class. She’s going to the dance competitions down at the Hyatt by the airport. She is in it. It’s not a five-nanny situation at the Rudolph-Anderson household by any means. So I’m always really, really impressed and happy that she has found such a great balance in her life.
You’re an actor, a comedian, a podcaster, a dating reality TV show host. What’s next for you? Do you have any other projects you can tease?
Nothing that I can tease officially, professionally. I mean, I guess I’m going to be a husband soon. That’s the next big project for me is planning my wedding at the end of the year. So yeah, that is bigger than any other sort of career thing I have going on right now is preparing for that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Bravo’s Love Hotel airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on Bravo.
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