Bethenny Frankel chats finding a Skinnygirl VP on her new HBO Max competition

Skinnygirl CEO Bethenny Frankel hunts for a new vice president of operations in her eight-episode reality competition The Big Shot with Bethenny, which premieres Thursday on HBO Max.

‘This is such an authentic need for me. So why would I not capture this as a great show? I lucked out that this is a pandemic and a time where people are really struggling for employment opportunities,’ the 50-year-old RHONY alum told Us Weekly on Thursday.

‘It really matters how you set yourself apart and that you have the tools and the takeaway to be nimble and versatile in the workplace. So to go through this authentic job interview process, that was as valuable for me, because I need to find people that can really do what I need vs. just hiring the first people that I meet.’

Bethenny understands what it’s like to be on the other side, having competed and placed second on NBC’s The Apprentice: Martha Stewart back in 2005.

Frankel admitted: ‘I was a nobody and I was, like, fanning out, but I don’t know what that means. I couldn’t have done the job.’

‘Nothing is off limits’ in The Big Shot where Bethenny models $35 Skinnygirl Shapewear and argues with the photographer who wants her to go ‘topless’ during the shoot.

‘We’re marketing shapewear and not my tatas,’ Frankel claps back in the trailer.

The 50-year-old RHONY alum (pictured Wednesday) told Us Weekly on Thursday: ‘This is such an authentic need for me. So why would I not capture this as a great show? I lucked out that this is a pandemic and a time where people are really struggling for employment opportunities’

‘I couldn’t have done the job!’ Bethenny (2-R) understands what it’s like to be on the other side, having competed and placed second on NBC’s The Apprentice: Martha Stewart back in 2005

‘Do you want to be bottomless?’

Variety called it a ‘strangely conceived series is rooted in the idea that the protagonist of a show full of ambitious people seeking a chance should be the rich person who mocks them.’

‘The way Frankel runs things off-camera clearly works for her, but — especially in the present cultural moment — “surprisingly demanding boss” is a label that’s hard to wear while keeping the audience on your side,’ writes critic Daniel D’Addario.

‘In one early episode, Frankel walks out of the room in order to call her 10-year-old daughter and ask for advice as to which competitor she should kick out. Frankel often discredits or outright derides contestants to the camera, as if she and we are all in on a joke together.

‘Nothing is off limits’: In The Big Shot trailer, Frankel models $35 Skinnygirl Shapewear and argues with the photographer who wants her to go ‘topless’ during the shoot

The Manhattan socialite claps back in the trailer: ‘We’re marketing shapewear and not my tatas. Do you want to be bottomless?’

Reviews are in! Variety called it a ‘strangely conceived series is rooted in the idea that the protagonist of a show full of ambitious people seeking a chance should be the rich person who mocks them’

‘One strange early episode sees Frankel refusing to engage with one potential hire who’s made a mistake, waiting until she’s only footsteps away to roast her for the error. Later, a challenge asking the group to write recipes prompts Bethenny to mirthlessly mock one bilingual woman’s English, exclaiming “This is a crisis” and “Were you drunk?”‘

On May 8, the Manhattan socialite celebrate the 11th birthday of her daughter Bryn Casey.

It’s Bethenny’s only child from her three-year marriage to pharmaceutical sales executive Jason Hoppy, which finally ended in January after a nine-year legal separation.

Despite two divorces, Frankel is excited to marry her fiancé – Good on Paper producer Paul Bernon – whom she met through a dating app in the fall of 2018.   

Love of her life: On May 8, Bethenny will celebrate the 11th birthday of her daughter Bryn Casey (R, pictured November 27) from her three-year marriage to Jason Hoppy

Bride-to-be: Despite two divorces, Frankel is excited to marry her fiancé – Good on Paper producer Paul Bernon (L, pictured March 14) – whom she met through a dating app in the fall of 2018