Andy Cohen is getting ready to do more crazy things on New Year’s Eve.
Cohen is the chatty host and producer of Bravo’s CMCSA -0.14% “Real Housewives” series. He is also the brains behind the late-night talk show “Watch What Happens Live” on the same network. But on December 31, he also co-anchors CNN’sWBD +1.67% New Year’s Eve coverage from Times Square in New York City with his friend Anderson Cooper. It’s become a wild, wooly, and sometimes drunk event. Cohen has made fun of famous people over the years—his attack on former New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is one of his most famous examples—and has always tried to make things fun.
Cohen, who was born in St. Louis and is 56 years old, has built a huge television empire in other ways as well. It’s called Radio Andy and it’s on SiriusXM SIRI -0.46%. He’s written books. “The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up,” his most recent, was a New York Times bestseller. He also works as a salesman for Fresca Mixed, the canned drink that is linked to the soda brand.
BourseWatch caught up with Cohen at a Fresca Mixed event in New York before his New Year’s Eve show. He told them what he thought about the big night and some things that had to do with money. Here are parts of the chat that have been edited.
Should you not be on CNN with Anderson Cooper on New Year’s Eve, how would you spend your time?
Cohen: And some friends. When I do it with Anderson, I’m with one of my best friends, which is great. We’ve spent New Year’s Eve together off-air as many times as we have on-air. I’m fine with a quiet New Year’s with friends or a party at my house.
BourseWatch: What are you going to serve?
Cohen: I believe I should serve Fresca and tequila, just like I always do. Before Fresca asked me about Fresca Mixed, I drank that for years.
BourseWatch: Will this year’s New Year’s Eve show be a surprise?
Now that Anderson has been hit by debris while covering Hurricane Milton, I agree that people feel like he’s really been through it this year. It’s been a long year for all of us. And I think the people deserve to see him really let go while I watch over him. That’s what the law says. I just want to make him laugh and feel better.
BourseWatch: Why are we still interested in the “Real Housewives” series, even though it’s been going on for almost 20 years?
Cohen: I think it’s taken the place of the soap operas, which aren’t on TV much anymore. It’s also an unscripted soap series. True stories are more interesting than made up stories these days, which is why people love reality TV. I also think it’s funny. The women are interesting to watch, and we change things up by adding and removing people. It changes all the time, but in a comfortable way, it stays the same.
BourseWatch: This show has been set in a lot of different places thanks to your direction. Where in the world wouldn’t “Real Housewives” work?
Cohen: Yeah, I think it wouldn’t work in a lot of places. That is, a place where nothing is going on. There is no “Real Housewives of the Prairie” in this. That’s not what we’ve done yet. That would be cool. The show would be different.
When it comes to money, what’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Cohen: My mom just told me, “Be careful with your money.” To make my mom mad, I would have to make her believe that I was wasting my money. I think that’s why, once I started making money, the only thing I ever really spent it on was travel. As well as homes.
When you spent your money, did you buy something that made your mom really mad?
Cohen: I’d go to camp and learn how to shoot a gun. “We got these bills for your bullets,” she would write in letters to me. How many guns do you need?”
BourseWatch: What was the worst thing you did with your money?
Cohen: Scammers took money from me a few years ago. It proves how simple it is to be ripped off. They got me to agree to let them move money out of my account.
What is something you hate spending money on?
Cohen: I hate having to pay silly fees. It’s fine that this event or ticket costs this much, but the extra fees at hotels or for tickets bother me.
BourseWatch: What is your best thing that you own?
CNN host Jimmy Fallon and his wife made my shotski for my locker.
BSE: Do you think you’ll ever be able to retire?
Cohen: Things will go away or stop happening on their own. There’s no doubt that I’ll always be working on something, even if it’s just writing.
