The camera moves across a huge swath of desert before swerving toward a manmade island in the Persian Gulf lined with opulent residences. As if to warn viewers, eerie notes ring out, as if to say, "This is not your "Real Housewives of Orange County."

ABC News reported that the American series that has become a reality television institution will take its splendour and soap opera abroad for the first time in its 16-year history — particularly, to the skyscraper-studded sheikhdom of Dubai. While the series has sold a slew of international spinoffs from Lagos to Vancouver, none have ever been created by Bravo.

On Wednesday, "The Real Housewives of Dubai" premieres, bringing six new women into the network's crown jewel of catfights and marital meltdowns, which is cherished, binge-watched, and hate-watched all over the world.

It turns out that Dubai's "housewives" aren't that different from Orange County after all, as they gab over lavish lunches, bicker while sipping from stem glasses, and arrive at casual events covered in designer logos.

That is the message the women wish to send. Members of the cast claim that portraying their lavish, party-hard lives on TV dispels preconceptions about the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf Arab federation where Islam is the official religion.