Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie turned heads in stylish ensembles while arriving to the Today show to promote their new Peacock series, Paris & Nicole: The Encore.
As the longtime best friends sat down with journalist, Hoda Kotb, on Monday, the duo spoke about celebrating the 20th anniversary of their hit show, The Simple Life, with an opera song and returning to Arkansas for their new reunion series.
When asked what inspired them to reboot The Simple Life after two decades, Richie, 43, explained she and Hilton, also 43, had been ‘talking about it over the phone’ for a long time.
‘We were talking about it over the phone and we just decided, you know what, it’s been 20 years, we are excited to do it and celebrate a reunion,’ the fashion designer explained.
After thinking long and hard what a reunion would involve and ‘look like’ for them, Richie said they settled on doing an opera together.
‘Nicole and I always like experiencing things that we have never experienced before. The opera world, obviously, is very new to us. But that’s what makes our shows funny,’ Hilton chimed in.
On Paris & Nicole: The Encore, the women attempt to produce an opera based on their iconic song, Sanasa, which they proudly wrote when they were both just seven.
Kotb went on to ask the duo if they could remember who said which famous lines from The Simple Life.
This included: ‘Do they sell Marc Jacobs or Chanel in this grocery store?’
This was famously uttered by Hilton while Richie admitted she once said: ‘I don’t like good looking guys. I like them be really skinny and pale and look like they’re dying.’
For their appearance, Hilton wore a white midi dress with a diamond silver bow at the neckline and Chanel purse.
Her other half stunned in a furry snow leopard coat over a matching skirt and black turtleneck.
The upcoming, three-part show will see the reality legends teaming up again to turn their Simple Life ditty, Sanasa, into an opera, more than 20 years after they first made it famous on their hit Y2K era series.
As the longtime best friends sat down with journalist, Hoda Kotb, on Monday, the duo spoke about celebrating the 20th anniversary of their hit show, The Simple Life, with an opera song and returning to Arkansas for their new reunion series
When asked what inspired them to reboot The Simple Life after two decades, Richie, 43, explained she and Hilton, also 43, had been ‘talking about it over the phone’ for a long time
‘We were talking about it over the phone and we just decided, you know what, it’s been 20 years, we are excited to do it and celebrate a reunion,’ the fashion designer explained
A glamorous trailer teasing all the hilarity was released earlier this month – and fans were left ‘screaming’ and ‘physically shaking’ in response to the trailer.
In the comments section of Peacock’s post promoting the trailer, one fan boldly declared, ‘This will heal America.’
‘i’m shaking. i’m PHYSICALLY SHAKING,’ another proclaimed.
‘The founding mothers are back,’ one fan wrote.
The new trailer captures the women transforming Sanasa, the song they sang on the original Simple Life series, into a full-blown opera and returning to the state where their show kicked off, Arkansas.
‘We decided to turn our famous song, Sanasa, into an opera,’ Nicole explains to Paris’ mother Kathy Hilton.
‘What?’ she bluntly replies.
‘Sanasa, sanasa,’ the women begin singing.
After thinking long and hard what a reunion would involve and ‘look like’ for them, Richie said they settled on doing an opera together.
‘Nicole and I always like experiencing things that we have never experienced before. The opera world, obviously, is very new to us. But that’s what makes our shows funny,’ Hilton chimed in
With the help of singing sensation Sia, the duo hold auditions and stage a full opera centered around their simple song.
The trailer even sees the duo returning to Arkansas on a private jet, where they stop by an intersection named after them.
They even return to some of their old Simple Life hijinks as they work at a Sonic drive-in.
The three-part reunion special will premiere on Peacock on December 12.
Recently the duo admitted their parents warned them against signing up for now iconic reality series The Simple Life.
The three-part series will see the duo turning their Simple Life ditty ‘Sanasa’ into a full-blown opera
A glamorous trailer teasing all the hilarity was released earlier this month – and fans were left ‘screaming’ and ‘physically shaking’ in response to the trailer
With the help of singing sensation Sia, the duo hold auditions and stage a full opera centered around their simple song
Launched in 2004, the show turned childhood friends Paris and Nicole into Y2K era icons with its depiction of the pair as hopelessly spoiled socialites who try their hand at a variety of low paying, menial and frequently thankless jobs – with hilarious results.
But a reported rift between its two principal stars led to the show’s cancellation in 2007, with season five – in which the girls take jobs as summer camp counsellors- their last, until now.
Seventeen years older and considerably wiser, the pair are set to revive the format for a surprise return – but it might never have happened at all had they heeded the advice of their concerned parents.
Reflecting on its original concept with the digital December edition of Glamour UK, Paris – the daughter of businessman Richard Hilton and his TV personality wife Kathy – and Nicole – legally adopted by Motown legend Lionel Richie as a baby – admit their respective families vetoed the idea as soon as they heard it.
Launched in 2004, the show turned childhood friends Paris and Nicole into Y2K era icons with its depiction of the pair as hopelessly spoiled socialites who try their hand at a variety of low paying, menial and frequently thankless jobs – with hilarious results
But a reported rift between its two principal stars led to the show’s cancellation in 2007, with season five – in which the girls take jobs as summer camp counsellors- their last, until now
‘Our parents did not want us to do it and told us not to,’ recalled Paris. ‘It was the first of its kind. They hear that we’re going to be sent somewhere and we don’t know where we’re going.
‘But after the first episode aired, my mom called me and she’s like, “This is the most hilarious show I’ve ever seen in my life. You and Nicole are incredible.” She’s like, “I was wrong for once.”
Thrust into a series unfamiliar working environments, the pair were routinely portrayed as airheaded brats with no real understanding of the world beyond their cossetted Beverly Hills surroundings.
‘For me, it’s definitely a character,’ Paris said of her onscreen persona. ‘When Nicole and I got approached to do this, they described it as Green Acres meets Clueless, so I knew what the audience wanted – that blonde-airhead type of character.
Seventeen years older and considerably wiser, the pair are set to revive the format for a surprise return; seen in 2004
‘So I really played into that with questions like, “What’s Walmart?” I always knew what I was doing because I’m not a dumb blonde. I’m just very good at pretending to be one.’
Now 43 years old, the pair will resurrect their ditzy alter-egos for a three-part reunion special, available to watch on Peacock and Amazon Prime.
And they hope to win a new, younger legion of fans when it finally streams.
‘The people that watched The Simple Life when it originally came out might know that we’ve been friends since we were two, but I don’t necessarily think everyone is as familiar with that now,’ said Nicole.
‘And so we take you around parts of LA where we used to hang out, what we used to do in our childhood.
‘So really just painting a picture of what our friendship and our life was before we even did the show so that you really understand why when the opportunity came up for us to do it, it was just an automatic yes.’