Bravo has finally announced the stars of the Real Housewives reboot. The seven new cast members were announced Sunday at a taping of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at this year’s BravoCon. This announcement fulfills long-time RHONY executive producer Andy Cohen’s promise that the franchise would be moving in a new direction after an unenthusiastic fan response to the reality show’s latest season. This past spring, Variety reported that the series would launch two new shows: a complete reboot with new cast members and a legacy season with former stars.
RHONY season 13 wrapped in 2021 and notably didn’t include a reunion of the cast. The low-rated season faced trouble from the beginning due to city COVID restrictions and starred a smaller team than usual with only five cast members. Fans criticized the season for problematic conversations about race and religion between the show’s first black cast member (Eboni K. Williams) and the predominantly white cast. The low ratings, pandemic restrictions, allegations of racism, and generally poor fan reaction influenced Bravo to scrap the traditional reunion.
Bravo hopes to inject new life into the reality franchise by launching both the reboot and legacy series. The reboot intends to start fresh with an inclusive cast that reflects the diversity of one of the world’s biggest cities and casting specifically looked for “fun, opinionated, successful, aspirational women”. Real Housewives premiered in 2008 and quickly became on of network television’s most popular reality shows. Cohen is hoping that the two spin-off series will help capture the magic of earlier seasons.
Who will be in the ‘RHONY’ reboot cast?
Season 14 of Real Housewives of New York will showcase seven new women as they balance busy social, career, and family lives in New York City. The most notable name is Jenna Lyons, former President and Executive Creator Director of J.Crew. She will be joined by Sai De Silva, creative director of Scout the City; Ubah Hassan, a philanthropist, model, and founder of her own hot sauce brand; Erin Lichy, owner of home renovation and design firm Homegirl; Lizzy Savetsky, a digital influencer; Jessel Taank, fashion publicist and brand consultant; and Brynn Whitfield, a brand marketing and communications professional who refers to herself as a “trophy wife in training”.
Production for the Real Housewives reboot is set to begin soon and Season 14 will premiere in 2023.