‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Superfan Anya Taylor-Joy Receives Epic Surprise From Lisa Barlow

Anya Taylor-Joy’s wildest Real Housewives dreams just came true during an appearance on the Today show. While promoting her new movie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Taylor-Joy, 28, was asked about her love for reality TV.

“Here’s the sitch,” she told Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Friday, May 24. “[Real Housewives of] Salt Lake City exclusively. So this is the situation. I never understood reality TV. I wanted to and a lot of people find a lot of comfort in it. Someone showed me the season finale and I was like, ‘I need to know what possessed all of these people to behave in this way.’”

After starting from season 1, Taylor-Joy said she is now “so in” and cannot wait until new episodes return.

Following her TV confession, The Queen’s Gambit actress was asked by Today to look at the screen. What came next was a surprise taped message from RHOSLC cast member Lisa Barlow.

“Hey Anya. I’ve heard you love our show. We love you so much,” she said. “Thanks so much for watching baby gorgeous.”

While Taylor-Joy may not have been shaking – like, physically shaking – she couldn’t hide her excitement about receiving a personal message from one of the original cast members. “Shut up! I’m so dead. I’m not ok,” she explained. “My team back there is going to lose [it].”

When asked if Barlow, 49, is her favorite, Taylor-Joy said “I can’t pick” before sharing a request to the cast. “Get back to filming,” she pleaded. “You got me completely blushing.”

Season 5 of RHOSLC reportedly began filming in February with familiar faces including Barlow, Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose, Heather Gay, Mary Cosby and Angie Katsanevas.

Although story lines have been kept under wraps, Barlow previously teased that the upcoming season is “very, very real.”

“I think that we raised the bar every single season,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in February. “I think because we really do have conflict still and there’s still things being resolved, our franchise is one where we don’t have to fake anything.”

One cast member who won’t be returning is Monica Garcia. After it was revealed that she had a role in the anonymous troll account Reality Von Tease, which had been antagonizing the women of RHOSLC since March 2021, Andy Cohen confirmed she would be taking a break from the show.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is streaming now on Peacock. A premiere date for season 5 has yet to be announced.