The Real Housewives of New York has come a long way. In fact, the whole franchise has. The Real Housewives franchise does, after all, date back to 2006, when The Real Housewives of Orange County premiered. The series—which starred Vicki Gunvalson and four other Housewives—led to the creation of Housewives shows in nine other cities across the United States: New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey, D.C., Beverly Hills, Miami, Potomac, Dallas, and Salt Lake City. RHODC and RHOD have been canceled at this point, but the rest of the Housewives universe is still alive and kicking.
New York’s show premiered in 2008 and originally starred Bethenny Frankel, Luann de Lesseps, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin. After cast changes and dwindling reception, the show was canceled after the 13th season back in September 2021. On March 23, 2022, however, it was announced that the show would be returning for Season 14—with a brand-new cast.
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But with change comes criticism. Some fans of RHONY have taken to social media to demand the return of the original cast, and one of the people leading the charge is none other than former Housewife Bethenny Frankel, who in a since-deleted TikTok video said the show was “unwatchable” and called it “a piece of trash.”
So, what does that mean for RHONY? Is the RHONY original cast returning? Or are the changes going to stick?
Is the RHONY original cast returning?
The answer seems to be no, the original RHONY cast is not returning. “I really believe in this group of women,” Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen told Deadline in an interview published on Thursday, November 21. “I think they’re very aspirational. I think they’re fun to watch. I think the clothes and the window into a different kind of New York is all what we wanted it to be.”
Cohen, however, had nothing but good things to say about the old cast, seeming to indicate there’s no ill will towards what they created in the show for the first 13 seasons. “We had 13 great seasons, plus a girls’ trip with that group of women, which is an incredible accomplishment. A lot changed, a lot shifted in [their] world and in life — Sonja [Morgan] is now living in Florida, Ramona [Singer] basically lives in Florida. Things have shifted.”
Cohen expanded on what he liked and what could use some work in RHONY right now. “I think there are a lot of interesting personal stories with the women in the new New York,” he said. “I think the group dynamic is a little bit of a challenge this season. I think the rap on the group in season one was, ‘Oh, there’s not a lot of history there.’ The interesting thing about them this season is they hang out a lot and they are a cohesive group.”
“So with this group of RHONY, we’re kind of looking to the future with them. I loved the original, but this is a new group,” Cohen added, putting to rest the notion that we could be seeing the original cast again. This is a new RHONY and everyone involved seems happy about that.
The new cast of RHONY includes Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, Ubah Hassan, Brynn Whitfield, Sai De Silva, and Erin Lichy, all of whom joined the show in Season 14, and Racquel Chevremont, who joined the main cast in Season 15.
