Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie Say Turning 'Sanasa' Song into an Opera Started as a 'Joke' Then Got 'Very Serious Very Fast' (Exclusive)
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12/19/2024 09:23 AM
"We'd be on the phone at 9:00, 10:00 at night being like, 'How are we going to do this?'" Richie tells PEOPLE
Amy Sussman/Getty
(L-R) Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie attend New York Magazine's Vulture Festival at NYA EAST on November 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Longtime best friends Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are back!
17 years after their iconic 2000s reality show The Simple Life ended, the duo reunited onscreen in the three-part series, Paris & Nicole: The Encore, which premiered on Peacock on Dec. 12.
Richie tells PEOPLE they had multiple request over the years to reunite, but now, "the time was right."
When they planned what their comeback would look like, they knew a traditional sit-down reunion wouldn't do. "We wanted to throw ourselves into a world that we are completely unfamiliar with as a nod to The Simple Life," Richie says. "We definitely wanted to be on our feet and we wanted to laugh."
Peacock
(L-R) Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton in Paris & Nicole: The Encore.In their new Peacock series, the pair, both 43-year-old moms of two, go far outside their comfort zones by staging an opera based on the nonsensical song "Sanasa," which they made up as childhood friends.
Richie admits the idea to transform "Sanasa" into an opera "started out as a joke and then, became very serious, very fast."
"We definitely had moments throughout shooting where just the clock was ticking and we were doing all the things that we wanted to do on the show and going to Arkansas and going here and going there," she explains. "But the clock was ticking and time was running out, and we definitely had some real sit-down moments where we'd be on the phone at 9:00, 10:00 at night being like, 'How are we going to do this?'"
During the new series, the duo return to Arkansas, where they lived during a stint on The Simple Life which sent the Los Angelenos to the Midwest to live on a farm and try their hands at blue-collar work.
The experience proved to be very rewarding.
Michael Yarish/Fox/20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising/Everett Collection
(L-R) Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in The Simple Life 2."It was so much fun just to go on this adventure together again, going back to Arkansas and visiting the family that we stayed with and just all of the people that we worked different jobs for," Hilton shares. "It was just really great to go back and see how much we touched that little town and how much it meant to them. It was really cool to feel that energy. It was really nice."
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Though The Simple Life ran on Fox (and later E!) from 2004 to 2007 for five seasons, the series still resonates with fans — both old and new — on social media. This continued love and appreciation for the show hasn't gone unnoticed by Hilton and Richie, either.
Related: Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's Parents 'Told Us Not to' Make The Simple Life Originally
"It's so fun just watching all of the videos, especially on TikTok, of people recreating different scenes from the show and using different sounds from it," Hilton says. "It's always fun every Halloween to see everybody dressing up as Nicole and I and their different takes on all of our different looks.
"It's just been really special to be in contact with so many of the fans as well on social media and hear from them how much The Simple Life meant to them, how it really shaped their personality and who they are, and just how much they really love Nicole and I's friendship," she adds. "It's been really, really cool to connect with so many fans about it."
All three episodes of Paris & Nicole: The Encore are now available to stream on Peacock.
