Is this one for REAL?
Real Housewives producers scout Houston for Texas Rancher Wives
As reality TV producers and Carrie Underwood know, cowgirls (or rancher wives asthe case may be) are all the rage.
CultureMap would like to nominate this handsome couple, John and KristiSchiller, for the proposed Texas Rancher Wives pilot.Photo by Patrick McMullen/New York
Sheridan and John Eddie Williams would make perfect subjects particularly withtheir major South Texas ranch.
When the successful LA producers of The Real Housewives of New York, Supernanny, Basketball Wives and NFL Wives e-mailed looking for subjects for a new Texas-based pilot, we figured that we had better take them seriously.
After a dozen or so casting calls from "producers" of all manner of reality shows, most of which have failed to turn up anything concrete, we've come to be skeptical of those random e-mails and "insider" phone calls. But, hey, these people have very real credentials. And they are in a serious hurry. They need to shoot the pilot the second week in December.
Roll out the welcome mat for Annette Ivy, casting producer for Shed Media US. The group is currently casting for a pilot called Texas Rancher Wives. Shades of that iconic Texas serial Dallas? Not exactly.
"We are looking for the glamorous wives of the men who own large ranches in Texas who have a passion for charity events, fashion shows, shopping, etc." she e-mailed. And if the women are ranching friends all the better. Candidates need not live on the ranch. (And who does these days?) Weekend visits and holidays in the suede and turquoise are sufficient.
Ivy asks that CultureMap spread the word. You don't have to be married to a rogue like J.R. Ewing and no personal scandals are necessary. But if you've got a ranch (and I don't think they're talking ranchettes in Brenham here) and a personality as big as all of Texas, drop Ivy a line at Shed Media.
Having been around a Texas ranch or two, we would like to nominate the glamorous Kristi Schiller, who has a gregarious intelligence that makes her one of the city's most entertaining dinner partners and therefore a great character for reality TV. And did I mention her tall, dark and handsome oilman husband, John Schiller? They've got the ranch, the looks and the charisma.
We also suggest Sheridan Williams, the beautiful and gracious wife of trial lawyer John Eddie Williams. She's served on more charity boards and has chaired more fundraisers than most women in the city. Plus their amazing South Texas ranch is definitely the stuff of Texas legend.
Fashion icon Lynn Wyatt could easily qualify. She and Oscar Wyatt have a great South Texas spread but somehow "rancher wife" just doesn't seem to fit.
Of course, the ultimate Texas rancher wife is the stunning Janelle Kleberg, wife of the King Ranch's Tio Kleberg. With her glam good looks, his cowboy persona and the historic King Ranch — what else do you need? This could be the stuff of great television.
We fear, however, that these gals won't go for it. And in that case which wives of Texas ranchers would you nominate for the program? And let's say that what the producers mean by "large" would be nothing less than 1,500 acres. Producing oil and gas wells welcome amenities.
