RHONY sucks now, here’s even more RHONY. This is the baffling strategy Bravo has cooked up following a truly dismal 13th season of Real Housewives of New York City. Seriously, it was so bad it didn’t even get a reunion. In an interview with Variety, Andy Cohen revealed that the mothership series will be recast and rebooted with an all-new “group of women who are real friends, and who are of diverse backgrounds, races and religions.” That really doesn’t sound like a bad idea, considering the two biggest problems with the show: an extremely white cast who feel more like a group of co-workers politely tolerating each other than an organic friend group, and the continued presence of Certified Monster Ramona Singer.
But alongside this much-needed shakeup, Cohen said there will also be a second RHONY series made up of former cast members. Your first question might be, “Who’s coming back?” (Cohen wouldn’t say, but he joked that Jill Zarin would be the first to call.) My first question is, “Why?????” We already have an avenue for former Housewives to come back into the fold. It’s called Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip and it’s actually really good. We know Dorinda Medley will be hosting the next season of RHUGT at Blue Stone Manor, with Jill Zarin along for the ride. That’s where I want to see my former Housewives: a fourth-wall-breaking bacchanal. This new show — which Cohen says doesn’t have a title yet but is being referred to as “RHONY: Throwback” or “RHONY: Legacy” — sounds more like RHONY’s own version of the Malignant murder tumor.
Still, hopefully this at least means Ramona Singer will be sent back to hell Mar-a-Lago where she belongs.