Prison? No problem. Reality boosts 'Housewives'

Crimes and misdemeanors make for compelling reality TV -- to a point.

As Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta returns for its seventh season Sunday (8 p.m. ET/PT),​half of the show's most high-profile couple is behind bars: Phaedra Parks' estranged husband Apollo Nida is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud.

Meanwhile, stars of the New Jersey installment of Housewives, Joe and Teresa Giudice (she of the infamous table-flip), are set to begin serving back-to-back prison sentences, also for fraud; she is slated to go behind bars in January 2015, while Joe will begin his prison term once his spouse is released.

Sometimes, things go too far, even by reality's admittedly low standards. TLC last month pulled the plug on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo after family matriarch and mother of four "Mama" June Shannon was said to be dating a convicted sex offender, something that not even ratings-hungry reality producers can seemingly stomach. And last year, Phil Robertson of A&E's Duck Dynasty was suspended (briefly) after making anti-gay comments in a GQ interview.

But for the most part, off-screen headlines only generate buzz about and interest in their respective shows. Taylor Armstrong's estranged husband committed suicide in 2011 while she was starring in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which led to increased coverage of the series. Her second marriage was covered by People, and she wrote a book about her experiences.

Even Lisa Kudrow, who plays the fame-hungry Valerie Cherish on HBO's The Comeback, can't turn away.

"I watch New Jersey, New York, Beverly Hills, because I really am fascinated, I can't help it. Is it worth it, after the divorce and your family breaks up, and there's real human pain happening? I turned off Beverly Hills after Russell Armstrong killed himself," said Kudrow.

"Someone died, and that wasn't enough to stop it. "

Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen, who hosts the drama-filled reunion specials, says that the women know what they're signing on for when they agree to be filmed. As for their often-imploding personal lives, he doesn't believe being on camera has much of an effect.

"I think the marriages that have fallen apart under our microscope, they were headed that way anyway. I think the women on our show become empowered, for better or worse. In most cases, when they have wound up falling apart, it's for the better," he told us earlier this year.

Contributing: Gary Levin