Fandango, which became part of Versant Media when NBCUniversal split off most of its cable and digital offerings at the start of the year, is getting into the original programming business — starting with a revival of “Bad Girls Club.”
As part of Fandango’s AVOD streaming platform, the service has ordered two episodes of the unscripted special “Bad Girls Club: Unfinished Business.” “Bad Girls” vet Tanisha Thomas is set to host.
Several “Bad Girls” stars from Season 7 — which Fandango said is the most-watched season of the series available on its service — will be included in the reunion. Among those participating: Stasi Townsend, Shelly Hickman, Judi Jackson, Tiara Hodge, Angie Castillo and Priscilla Mennella. They’ll be split into groups of three for each episode.
“As we continue to evolve Fandango’s free, ad-supported streaming service, we want to deliver programming that fans are passionate about, and Bad Girls Club has consistently over-indexed with our viewers,” said Versant entertainment president Val Boreland in a statement. “We’re excited to bring these unforgettable women back into fans’ living rooms and give longtime viewers a front-row seat as they revisit the moments that made the franchise so iconic.”
“Bad Girls Club” originally ran for 17 seasons on Oxygen, from 2006 to 2017. It also spawned several spinoffs: “Bad Girls Road Trip,” “Tanisha Gets Married,” “Love Game: Bad Girls Need Love Too” and “Bad Girls All-Star Battle.” The final season was dubbed “Bad Girls Club: East Meets West.” After that, the show was displaced when Oxygen morphed into a true-crime cable outlet.
According to Versant, the special will include memories of the original show, and its “most iconic fights and confrontations. Each episode brings the women face-to-face to share their sides of the story and unpack what really happened. With years of life experience between them, the Bad Girls will confront old tensions and determine if these chapters can finally be closed, or if some rivalries are simply too deep to leave in the past.”
Bunim/Murray Productions, part of Banijay Entertainment, will produce the special (having been the company behind the original as well). Julie Pizzi, Steve Ezell, Brad Tiemann and Tanisha Thomas are executive producers.