Husband and wife Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula have come a long way since season two of Bravo’s hit reality show Summer House when Cooke famously declared, “Summer should be fun. Amanda: not fun.”
Fans were introduced to the world of Summer House via Cooke and his antics in 2017 during a backdoor pilot that aired as part of an episode of Vanderpump Rules. Summer House chronicles a group of young professionals during the summer who rent and share a house in the Hamptons on the weekends, while living and working in New York City during the week.
Batula initially made cameos as Cooke’s girlfriend until season two when she became a regular cast member and cemented herself as a fan-favorite in the Bravo universe.
The couple and their co-stars — Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard — have been regulars on the popular reality series for summers for nine consecutive seasons, including during the pandemic when they operated under a quarantine instead of their usual back-and-forth from the city. Ahead of the Season 9 premiere on February 12, Cooke and Batula spoke with the Television Academy about their tenure as "Bravo-lebrities," as well as addressing the future of their series.
Television Academy: Kyle, you have an entrepreneurial and business background. Amanda, your focus is in graphic design and creative directing. What was it like for the two of you to step into the world of reality television, especially one with such a passionate fan base as Bravo's?
Kyle Cooke: I had no idea what to expect. I knew very little of the Bravo world at that time. Probably the only Bravo person I could name was Bethenny Frankel, and I knew her from her entrepreneurial endeavors. But the fact that it has this cult-like following and this incredible fan base does lend itself well to giving people a glimpse into your life. And if you are starting something, you're able to provide this cool little window into building a company from the ground up.
Amanda Batula: I grew up watching The Real Housewives and Bravo — still do today — so being on the other side of it, as a fan, was cool to meet some of the people that I've watched. I didn't know how my creative background would ever tie into being on reality TV at the time, but here we are nine years later, and it's all paying off.
Kyle: She's about to drop her swimsuit line.
Kyle, the themed parties have been legendary on the show. Do you have a favorite party from a past season, and is there a standout one from this upcoming season that you are excited about?
Kyle: We somehow continue to just outdo ourselves. The Boston Tea Party — [which was on] my 35th birthday — was one of our first big, themed parties. This upcoming season, there's a bunch of great parties. I think my favorite was the last one. I don't want to tease too much, but it basically looked like Halloween in the Hamptons.
Amanda: I'm laughing because that's literally what the theme was. He's like, “I don't want to give away too much, but this is the theme.”
Kyle: Well, there you have it.
Amanda, there was a moment during your confessional last season where you pulled out your phone to consult notes you took. Do you often do that while you're filming, since the confessionals are done after main filming wraps?
Amanda: I will if something big enough happens and I want to jot down my thoughts, because I have a terrible memory. I'll get asked about things, and I'll have no recollection of it, especially when I'm out drinking.
Kyle: I should start taking notes, that's for sure.
Amanda, you've expressed anxiety about seeing the trailer for a new season of the show. Do those anxieties ever come up for you during filming or hinder your ability to share things with the audience?
Amanda: No, I love filming. Filming is my favorite part of the whole show. I think that it's my favorite because I'm just myself the whole time. I'm just living my life, but on camera, and I'm not overthinking anything, which is what ends up backfiring and why I have anxiety once it airs. But filming is really my favorite part. It's something that we're so fortunate that we get to do.
Summer House features a lot of footage where we see cast members talk with producers, giving audiences a peek behind the curtain. Like, in the new season premiere, when we see Carl tell producers how nervous he is to face his ex, Lindsay, on his first day back. How do discussions go with producers if there's something that you would prefer not make it to air?
Amanda: There's a lot of returning people that have been on the show for years. So, we're very fortunate to get to build those bonds and relationships with our producers, with the crew and with everyone that works on our show. There is a level of respect and comfortability there. I've never personally had a conversation about something that I didn't want to air, because if it happened, I'm kind of screwed.
Kyle: Yeah, if you're talking to a producer about it…
Amanda: It's going to make it in. I think the bigger thing is having conversations with them to figure out the best way to show something. So even if it's a very difficult moment that you're going through and something that's hard to share, we have enough trust and a good relationship with our producers that we're able to talk through it. We are able to find a way to make it happen so that everyone feels a level of comfortability with it.
After nine seasons of the show, what does the future of Summer House look like for you both?
Kyle: I feel like we have to do a season 10. A nice, round 10. We’re all at different stages in our lives. Paige is recently single. There’s always something interesting going on, there's always something new. If we were standing in one place, I feel like that wouldn't be a good show, either. The fact that it has been able to evolve a little bit and follow us as we go through different stages in life, I think is kind of what people are [looking for]. They're along for the ride.
Amanda: We don't get to really make the decisions, but I would think, in my perfect world, one of two things would happen. It's either Summer House evolves with us and looks different in terms of people being married and having children, and it just becomes a different show. Or Summer House continues with the singles, and there's a The Valley-type breakout. But again, I don't make the decisions.
This article has been edited for length and clarity.
Summer House is now streaming on Peacock.
