Andy Cohen: 'The Housewives Have Replaced the Modern Soap Opera in a Way for a Lot of People'

Watch What Happens: Live host and Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen appeared on CBS This Morning yesterday to promote his latest book, "The Andy Cohen Diaries."

Working as a programming executive at Bravo, Cohen became the brainchild behind one of the most talked-about reality shows on television, The Real Housewives franchise. Inspired by scripted soap operas of yesteryear, the Housewives series has become the modern-day serial broadcast drama.

"I think the Housewives have replaced the modern soap opera in a way for a lot of people," Cohen said. "Scripted soap operas, there's only a couple on the air now, and truth is stranger than fiction, which is part of the reason that I love my book, actually."

There's a grain of truth in what he says but "a couple" of soaps left? Eileen Davidson and Wally Kurth star in a couple of daytime soaps, each.

Daytime dramas have become too reliant on cliched stories from the past, like "Who's the Daddy?" tales that can also be found on trashy talk shows like Maury Povich or Bill Cunningham. There is a unique and fascinating level of depth that can be achieved with five dramatic hours a week but daytime writers mostly just scratch the surface of stories these days, taking away what makes the genre unique, and it's most powerful tool to draw in viewers.

Speaking of Davidson, she finally makes her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills debut tonight. Will there be more drama in this hour than Ashley Abbott has seen on The Young and the Restless since her full-time return in September? Sadly for Y&R fans, that's possible.

Check out a RHOBH sneak peek below of Davidson's lunch with former Days of our Lives co-star Lisa Rinna. There's a Peter Barton reference (without mentioning his name) and a brief but great 1994 Days flashback.