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When Bravo announced their official viewing party for the first night of the three-part Summer House reunion, tickets sold out in seconds. Hundreds of fans showed up to fill three auditoriums at the AMC Theatre on 19th street in New York City on Tuesday night to watch the cast of the hit reality series discuss, for the first time, the relationship scandal that has rocked both their friend group and the Bravo-verse at large.

Josh Brown, vp of current production for the network, was in attendance at one of those live screenings, and in his decades of film and TV-making — including the last 10 years working on Summer House — he’s never seen anything like it. “I was expecting the fans to be engaged, but I was surprised at how engaged they were,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “There was either cheering or clapping or laughing or booing every 15 seconds. It just showed the incredible connection the fans have to the series and how meaningful it is to them.”

THR spoke with Brown after part one of the Summer House reunion aired on Tuesday night to go inside the taping, which he attended when the 10 hour-plus day was filmed back on April 23, to get all of the details from someone who was in the room when Ciara Miller confronted her former friend, Amanda Batula, and her ex, West Wilson, about their shock relationship, which has continued on after that taping. Below, Brown reveals where they are with the cast for season 11, which begins filming in July; if viewers will get clarity on the confusing Batula-West relationship timeline; and what to expect when the final two parts of the reunion air on June 2 and 9: “If you think you’ve seen twists and turns in Part 1, get ready.”

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Josh, how has your behind the scenes role evolved in your last decade working on Summer House up to this season?

I started when Summer House was still in development, when we got the green light. My role is executive in charge, along with other executives at NBC Universal, to represent the network. But production [Truly Original] is really driving the train. We collaborate closely with them. But they are the ones out in the field. I will visit from time to time every season. I attend the reunion and the control room. But I’m not at scenes. It’s important to give the creative team space to do what they do. They’re super talented.

So when an event like this happens, where you hear that two castmembers, Amanda Batula and West Wilson, are putting out a statement that they are in a surprise relationship, and production mobilizes to film the rest of cast reacting — which we saw in the reunion opener — what was the chain of events?

What makes Bravo so special, and Summer House extra special, is how real it is and how real these friendships are. This is a real friend group. Not everyone is friends with everyone, but it’s overlapping friend groups. It’s “a friend weave,” as I like to call it. So when something big like this happens, it is like suddenly we’re putting on our documentary filmmaker or news reporter hats and following what’s really happening just the way everybody else is. I’m grateful it did not occur in the middle of the night. We didn’t get the 2 a.m. phone call; this happened during the day.

We got word mere minutes before that there was going to be a statement released, and so we’re all scrambling to react to it just in the way I’m guessing the way a newsroom would. We are scrambling to follow what’s real — and it is a scramble.

Production was already filming Lindsay Hubbard for the Summer House spinoff In the City, so the timing worked out for the opener that we saw.

That’s correct. That was what was happening at the time. When you watch the reunion, Part 1, I think you really feel their real reactions. It was just by chance that we were filming these interviews at the time. They didn’t exactly pick cameras back up; the cameras just happened to be there for the interviews so they were able to adjust. A lot of the same creative team members who work on Summer House work on In the City, so they were able to pivot quickly.

You’ve worked across other reality shows on the Real Housewives and Below Deck franchises. Have you ever seen this kind of watch-party mobilization or online reaction before? Is this “Scandoval” x10?

I feel like the world has evolved since Scandoval [the Vanderpump Rules relationship scandal], even though it hasn’t been very long. So it is reminiscent, but social media and reactions to Bravo series, and reality series as a whole, have gone into hyperdrive. I’ve definitely not seen this level before.

There were so many watch parties across the country. It does feel like a communal experience. It feels like something you want to experience with your own friend group. This exact thing isn’t a common occurrence probably for most people, but it can remind them of things that have happened in their own group. It makes you want to turn to your friends and community to watch it together.

How much were you editing this Part 1 episode down to the wire?

Honestly, reunions are always down to the wire. We want to film them as late as possible so that the cast can see all the episodes, and so we can generate enough viewer questions for the reunion based on all of the episodes. It’s always a huge crunch to the finish line. This one is a little extra crunchy, but it’s finished a couple days in advance. We’re not down to the second.

You filmed more than 10 hours of footage that day. Did you consider a four-part reunion?

It was a big day. I think RHOA has done a four-part reunion before. We might have thought about it for a second. Obviously, when you shoot over 10 hours, you have the material. But I think when viewers see the full reunion, they’ll feel like this is the right length. It has a certain arc to it. I think it’ll feel really right. I don’t think people will feel like there’s something that went hugely missing.

Have you gotten any early ratings feedback, and how high are your expectations for viewership?

We haven’t gotten [the seven-day] ratings yet. It’s going to take a little bit. I expect it to be popular. We were trending No. 1 on Twitter and you see on all sorts of social how much people are talking about it. I’m just happy that viewers seem to be having a good reaction, because we felt like we had to do the fans right here by making a great reunion.

Veteran reunion host Andy Cohen said this was the most intense Bravo reunion he’s ever filmed. Since you were also on set, did this feel different — even from the first moments when Amanda and West and Ciara walked onto the stage?

Yes, absolutely. In this friend group, this was about as big of an earthquake as you could imagine. You could feel the tension in the air. As soon as you arrived in the morning, everything’s different. In the beginning of the reunion, you see West and Amanda were sharing a dressing room, and Kyle was in with the other guys. That says everything to me. That says: We are in for a big day. But this cast has always had something special, which is the ability to discuss big issues and also keep it a little bit loose and fun. So there’s a lot of fun to be had, too. But it was a big day. Off camera, the people working on the show behind the scenes really care about these people. Everyone was emotional.

What is that like navigating what the day was going to look like, for example, with the dressing rooms. Do certain people get to make requests? Or even with the seating chart, do people push back or request to be moved?

I don’t recall anyone ever pushing back on a seating chart, at least not on the series I work with. They might think it in their heads! But no one has ever expressed it. With the dressing rooms, if someone had a major issue, we would certainly switch them. But I don’t recall that ever happening either.

I think fans were surprised everyone showed up and faced this head on. There have been other casts where people haven’t wanted to film with others, or have walked off reunion sets. What makes this cast different?

I think it speaks to them being a real friendship group. These people hang out year round. They are not appointment shooters. They are here to be real friends in real life in New York City. Maybe it’s reflective of New York City. We’re all living on top of each other in New York City. You have to figure out a way to manage with other people. This cast is there for each other for the most part through the year, and I think you really feel that in this reunion. You feel like it’s really a friend group working out their issues and we just happened to be filming it.

Did anyone almost not show up?

No, not to my knowledge.

West got a text right before you started filming about his nude photos that circulated around. That hot mic conversation felt like a moment where, in the control room, you guys must be thinking that you couldn’t have even scripted that any better.

Obviously, that was very surprising. (Laughs.) Usually, when those conversations happen, we’re confused because it takes a minute for things to register [on audio]. Like “Wait, what did they just say?” A lot of it is us trying to keep up with what’s going on. There’s so many people involved. It’s a big cast. There are a lot of mics, so not everything will be heard as we’re filming it. Something someone whispered to someone else on the couch, we won’t pick that up on filming day. They’re only going to pick that up when they isolate each person’s mic during the editing process.

When Andy first greeted Amanda and West, even he was shocked by how calm they were. Do you know what the conversations were like with the two of them about how they approached the day? People have a lot of feelings about how they acted.

My general sense is that by the time of the reunion, they each felt like it was important to answer questions that the other cast had, and to be present and to try and do their best. I’ll leave it to the viewer to decide whether they feel like they did that, or that they did do their best. But I think their belief was that they should be there and that they owed it to their friends in the group.

Some bombshells were dropped by the cast — from West having a girlfriend; to Ciara and West’s sleepovers; to Amanda saying she and West didn’t sleep together before their statement; and Amanda and [estranged husband] Kyle Cooke not yet filing for divorce. Was all of this as new to you as it was to us watching at home, or were you in the know?

Mostly new. I think there’s the perception out there that Bravo is either pulling the strings or aware of everything going on way in advance, and that there’s this chess strategy to map it out. But it’s really much more like we’re trying to keep up with real life and follow what’s really going on. We are mostly in the dark. We’re behind in the way viewers are behind. I think you feel that in great episodes of Bravo television. That the cast, the people on the show, are the ones leading the way, and everybody from the producers to the camera people to the sound people are just trying to keep up and capture what they are seeing in front of them.

Well, no one on that stage or watching at home seems to fully believe Amanda and West’s timeline. Would you say that there’s more clarity by the end of part three?

Yeah, I do feel like there’s more clarity, for sure. I will leave it to the viewer to decide if it’s enough clarity. But there is more clarity.

There was a moment in the audio that leaked ahead of the reunion that we didn’t see last night, where Amanda and West cited an alleged video of them together as prompting their statement. Do you know if that was cut, because of what happened with the leak?

The leaked audio was raw footage, to my understanding. We filmed for 10 hours. We’re never going to play the whole 10 hours. Choices need to be made. We didn’t really pay attention to what was in the leaked audio versus what we would normally do. We just made the episodes utilizing the normal creative process. I don’t feel like there was anything left out, and I’m not even talking about the leaked audio, but I don’t feel like there was anything big that the viewer missed.

There was so much to go over just with this scandal, but several other moments are also getting big reactions, including KJ [Dillard] opening up about his borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis, and people being surprised at what Bailey [Taylor] said to Ben [Waddell]. Some of your cast is getting a lot of love, some are getting the opposite. How in this online era do you to support them through that, or brace them for what they’re about to face?

Generally, there’s absolutely support both in terms of reactions on social media and also mental health resources. Everyone’s mental health and physical health is top priority, for sure. We care about their well being; that’s always the priority and the most important thing to us at Bravo.

Are there other moments coming up in Parts 2 and 3 that are as unexpected?

Yes. The short answer is yes. (Laughs.) The reunion takes twists and turns. If you think you’ve seen the twists and turns in Part 1, get ready for parts 2 and 3.

It sounded like you could hear a pin drop when Ciara made her comment about burying Amanda and West; same goes for the final moment where Kyle defended Amanda after Ciara called her weak. Were those some of the most intense moments on set?

I’m not sure if we let out a breath the entire day. It’s nerve-wracking. When you work with cast, you like them and you care about them. And you don’t like when they don’t get along. You want everyone to be able to work through their issues. So, it was tough to be there and to watch. When someone says something as strong as that, you do notice, and it does give you pause.

Does Kyle continue to defend Amanda throughout the reunion, and even through In the City? Does this feel like a moment of redemption for Kyle?

What you see from Kyle, I think it’s so clear in the reunion, and on In the City as well, that even though their marriage is not working out, Kyle has a lot of love for Amanda and really cares about her. I do see that. And I think the same is true for Amanda. I can see that she has love for Kyle in some way and really cares about him. It’s sad and unfortunate to see what happened in their marriage, but it feels like they do care about each other on some level, for sure. [The pair announced they were separating on Jan. 19.]

There’s been a lot of talk about this Kyle and West filmed segment. What can you tell us about that? When will we see it?

I can’t say where or if we will see that. But it’s so interesting because this is such a real friend group. Life goes on. It’s not like they film the reunion and that’s it. These are people whose real friendships and real lives need to continue and are continuing. Things have evolved since the reunion.

Amanda and West flew to Rome on the day of reunion Part 1 airing. Have you heard from them, or do you know how they’re doing?

We at Bravo have not heard from them, but that’s normal. We wouldn’t usually hear from them. I’m following along on social media just like everyone else. I know it seems silly, maybe compared to hard news, but we’re following along like news. We see it on social media. We hear reports about things people have seen on the street; we’re trying to get out what’s real.

You start filming Summer House season 11 soon.

Yes.

But we don’t know who is coming back yet. Are you able to share where cast talks are at this moment, or when you’ll have the cast confirmed?

Definitely not yet. We don’t have anything confirmed yet. But this is sort of par for the course for Summer House. We don’t usually figure out our cast until just before we start filming. Just because it’s a real friend group, and things evolve. We’re trying to make sure that all the pieces of the puzzle that feel right in the house are there. So it’s actually pretty early right now in terms of our process for who’s going be there for season 11.

Vanderpump Rules went through something similar with Scandoval. They went on to have one more season after their viral scandal, and then the cast/friend group fractured, and the show rebooted with a new cast. Do you feel like this cast can survive this moment?

Well, let’s put it this way. Every series is unique, and I don’t think you can really compare. I think this series is very specific in that the cast is living together. We always say on the show: No matter what happens on a night, you have to wake up the next morning, and you are really there. You are really sleeping in the house and you have to really go downstairs to a real kitchen and make your breakfast and eat it with the people on the cast. That has to feel organic — it has to feel like these people can really be eating breakfast together. So we need to find our right breakfast combination.

Overall, I really believe in this cast and their ability to keep pushing forward. Who would have thought that some of the same people who were with us in season one are still with us in season 10? It’s absolutely incredible, and they are incredible. But the show is always evolving. And so, we’ll have to see from here.

How many seasons do you see Summer House going?

Television is so hard. I’m surprised when any series gets a season two. It was so exciting to get a season two on Summer House; every season since has felt like an amazing bonus. I would never bet against this this show. I think there’s something magical about this show.

What are your hopes for its spinoff, In the City? What are you making of the reaction, and is the plan that Amanda and Kyle would continue to juggle both shows?

The reaction to In the City has been great. We’re really happy so far, and really excited about the fan reaction. I think it’s too soon to say about the future of In the City — we just premiered. But there is something very natural about how on Summer House, we’re only capturing two months of these peoples’ lives during the year. They live a whole other life back in the city, as the title says, the rest of the year. The fandom has increased and I think people are very curious about their lives back in the city. There is a natural future for the series, but it’s too early to say. We just have to see how it goes.

Fans are wondering if Amanda would be able to film with this group again, and are also pulling for Ciara to return. Do you hope Ciara comes back for season 11?

I have known Ciara for a while. Even before this whole craziness of the last few months, I have been a huge fan of hers as a person. I can’t really comment on her coming back, but she’s someone whose story I want to follow for a very long time, on the show or not. She was an intensive care nurse during COVID, sometimes people forget that. She’s a very unique person and I think that’s why so many people out there have connected with her. She’s unique and special. But at the end of the day, we want Ciara to be happy. We want what’s best for her and what she wants to do.

Is the silver lining of all of this that exes Carl Radke and Lindsay have mended, and are friends again?

Well, it’s wonderful as someone who really cares about each of them. They started as friends. So to see them back heading towards friendship is really special, and I think the fans are loving it.

Before I let you go, I want to give props to the editors for this reunion cut. Does this feel like an Emmy-worthy push for Summer House with how you’ve handled this moment?

Yes. The team who makes the show is just unbelievably talented. I absolutely think they’re deserving of an Emmy. It’s a really complicated show to put together. It’s obviously a show with a lot of cast. We have casts who’ve been on the series for 10 seasons. We have some in between who’ve been on for a few seasons. We had a lot of new cast this season, and to juggle them all and make it into a great series was really impressive. There’s so much footage — there’s surveillance cameras in the house, as everybody knows. It’s a lot to put together, a lot to shoot, and they do an incredible job.

If you can leave us on a tease for what’s to come… we heard Andy Cohen ask Amanda and West if they’re in love, and they didn’t answer. Do you feel like viewers will have their own answer by the end of the reunion?

Yes, I do feel like they’ll have an answer. It’s not a one-word answer, but it is a very clear answer.

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The Summer House reunion Part 2 airs June 2 at 8 p.m. on Bravo; Part 3 airs June 9 at 8 p.m. on Bravo. All reunions stream next day on Peacock, with extended, uncensored cuts.