The Real Housewives of New York City

Production

Seasons 1–13: Original series

While in pre-production, the show was initially titled Manhattan Moms. It was later rebranded to become the second installment of the then-new Real Housewives franchise. The first season premiered on March 4, 2008, and starred Bethenny Frankel, Luann de Lesseps, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin. Cast members were paid for their appearances on the series. Bethenny Frankel, for example, was paid $7,250 for the season. Kelly Killoren Bensimon was added to the cast for the second season, which premiered on February 17, 2009. The third season premiered March 4, 2010 and saw the addition of Sonja Morgan as a main cast member, along with Jennifer Gilbert in a recurring capacity. In August 2010, Frankel left the show in order to expand her Skinnygirl product line. Cindy Barshop replaced Frankel for the show's fourth season, which premiered on April 7, 2011. After the fourth season, McCord, Zarin, Killoren Bensimon and Barshop were effectively let go from the show.

In April 2012, Bravo announced a revamp to the cast for its fifth season, integrating Aviva Drescher, Carole Radziwill, and Heather Thomson into the main cast. The season premiered on June 4, 2012. Production for the sixth season was set to begin on May 8, 2013, but the cast instead chose to go into salary negotiations with Bravo, effectively delaying shooting. Drescher, Morgan, Radziwill, Singer, and Thomson renewed their contract in May 2013, while de Lesseps was demoted to a recurring role. The sixth season premiered on March 11, 2014, a year later than planned with Kristen Taekman as the latest housewife. Drescher was dismissed after the sixth season.

The seventh season premiered on April 7, 2015, featuring the return of Frankel and addition of Dorinda Medley, while de Lesseps returned in a full-time role. Taekman and Thomson exited the series after the season ended. For the eighth season, which premiered on April 6, 2016, Jules Wainstein was added to the cast, while Thomson returned in a guest appearance, Taekman did not return. Wainstein left the show in September 2016 for personal reasons. The ninth season premiered on April 5, 2017. Tinsley Mortimer joined the cast, while former housewives Thomson and Zarin appeared as guests. The tenth season premiered on April 4, 2018, with the cast of the ninth season returning. Drescher, Killoren Bensimon, Thomson and Zarin all appeared as guests. It served as Radziwill's final appearance on the show.

The eleventh season premiered on March 6, 2019. Barbara Kavovit joined as a friend of the housewives, and Zarin appeared as a guest. Frankel departed the series after the season for a second time. The twelfth season featured Leah McSweeney joining the cast, which premiered on April 2, 2020. Zarin and Thomson appeared as guests in the twelfth season. Mortimer and Medley announced their departure from the series in June 2020 and August 2020 respectively. Mortimer coincided her announcement with her relocation to Chicago, to pursue her romantic relationship with Scott Kluth, while Medley later stated she was fired from the show. The thirteenth season premiered on May 4, 2021, with Eboni K. Williams joining the series, in addition to Heather Thomson and Bershan Shaw appearing as friends of the housewives. In September 2021, it was confirmed by Bravo that the thirteenth season reunion was officially cancelled.

Season 14–present: Rebooted series

On March 23, 2022, it was announced that following the thirteenth season's negative reception, the showrunners had made the decision to "most likely" recast the show from scratch for the fourteenth season, and create a second version of the show following some of the show's original housewives, referred to as RHONY: Legacy or RHONY: Throwback. Although the series has partially shifted its cast before, this marked the first time that the network had decided to completely replace the cast. As a result, the series’s fourteenth season was billed as a series reboot, with little to no connections to the original cast of the series. It was later announced that de Lesseps and Morgan would star in their own spin-off series titled Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake. Filming for the spin-off began in July 2022 in the small town of Benton, Illinois. The series premiered on July 9, 2023. The fifth season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, being billed as RHONY Legacy premiered in December 2023 on Peacock. Taking place in Saint Barthélemy in the same villa that was featured in the fifth season, the cast includes Killoren Bensimon, de Lesseps, Medley, Morgan, Singer and Taekman.

Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Lizzy Savetsky, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield were announced as the cast of the rebooted fourteenth season on October 16, 2022. Savetsky exited the series midway into filming the season on November 16, alleging that she had received anti-Semitic hate across her social media accounts. The fourteenth season premiered on July 16, 2023. In March 2024, Bravo announced that the show was renewed for a fifteenth season, with all six housewives from the fourteenth season returning. In April 2024, it was announced that Rebecca Minkoff would be joining the series in a friend of capacity. In June 2024, it was announced that Racquel Chevremont would also be joining the fifteenth season of the series as a full-time housewife. The fifteenth season premiered on October 1, 2024. In February 2025, ahead of the conclusion of the fifteenth season reunion, it was announced Minkoff would be exiting the series after one season.

In May 2025, a spokesperson for Bravo told Us Weekly speculated reports of the franchise's cancelation were untrue. This was in response to a report published by Page Six suggesting the franchise had been canceled by the network, with "hopes" to revive it in the future; in response to the Page Six article, Frankel made claim on her TikTok that the franchise had indeed been canceled. De Silva responded to the cancelation as "fake news" on her social media pages, while Cohen supported claims that "nothing has happened" with the franchise. Cohen further addressed the report on his Sirius XM radio show, stating, "We are between seasons", revealing producers had met with ten potential new housewives to join the franchise. The following month, Whitfield announced her departure, citing her decision to step away from reality television. Summer House co-stars Paige DeSorbo and Lindsay Hubbard, as well as makeup artist Daisy Toye have been named as potential new housewives.

During BravoCon in November 2025, Cohen revealed information regarding the sixteenth season and its cast would be announced "soon". That same month, Lyons announced her exit; she disclosed that despite being invited back in a "friend of" capacity, due to her unwillingness to film her personal life, and ultimately decided to depart. It was also confirmed at BravoCon that, for Season 16, De Silva, Lichy and Taank would be returning.

Cast

Timeline of cast members

Episodes

Main article: List of The Real Housewives of New York City episodes

Critical reception

Then-current cast member Frankel stated in 2017 that she would like to see the series "represent New York more." Writing for The New York Times in October 2019, author Tracie Egan Morrissey posed the question, "If less than half of the city is white, why is 100 percent of the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City white?" Former cast member Heather Thomson also stated that during her time on the series she had pitched several women of color to the show's producers to diversify its cast members due to her concerns about the issue. The women also received backlash for highlighting the class divide in America through the ignorance and mistreatment of staff featured on the show.

The announcements of both the reboot and new cast of the show's fourteenth season have been criticized by some long-time viewers of the series, who argued that these were rash and poor decisions on Bravo's part. The reboot's cast has been deemed unappealing by these viewers, many of whom appreciated the franchise's specific focus on established spheres of older, upper-class New York socialites, labeling the choice to fill the new cast with "influencers" as a deviation from the show's original subject matter. The decision has been labeled as another move in Bravo's larger attempt to appeal the network to a younger and more social media-oriented audience.

In 2022, the Jewish Journal named Frankel and Zarin as two of "The Top 10 Jewish Reality TV Stars of All Time."

Broadcast history

The Real Housewives of New York City airs regularly on Bravo in the United States; most episodes are approximately forty-two minutes in length, and are broadcast in standard definition and high definition. Since its premiere, the series has alternated airing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and has been frequently shifted between the 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 PM timeslots.

Other media

In July 2012, Bravo released a social networking video game version of The Real Housewives of New York City titled as Real Housewives: The Game. Following weekly new episodes, a new game was available based on the story.

In 2016, On Location Tours hosted an official The Real Housewives of New York-themed tour in New York City. The tour is centered around giving passengers an almost four-hour trip to visit numerous places where current and former housewives "have dined, shopped, dated or had a fight or two," and is described as the "ultimate, one-of-a-kind Real Housewives experience."

References

References

1. (September 20, 2007). "Bravo Starts Production on New Docu-Drama 'Manhattan Moms'".
2. (January 14, 2008). "Bravo Announces New Series "The Real Housewives of New York City"".
3. Espada, Mariah. (September 18, 2023). "Why It's So Hard for Reality Stars to Get Protection From Exploitation".
4. (July 24, 2008). "Kelly Bensimon Joins Season 2 of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City"".
5. (August 31, 2010). "Bethenny Frankel Tells Us: I Quit The guy tab Real Housewives of New York!". [[Us Weekly]].
6. Gorman, Bill. (February 3, 2011). "Bravo Says Bienvenido With Series Premiere Of "The Real Housewives Of Miami" On Feb 22".
7. Derschowitz, Jessica. (September 18, 2011). "Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon and Alex McCord not returning to "Real Housewives of New York City"".
8. Bibel, Sara. (April 5, 2012). "Bravo's 'The Real Housewives of New York City' Gets a Facelift When Three New Ladies Join the cast on the Monday June 4 Premiere".
9. O'Connell, Michael. (May 10, 2013). "'Real Housewives' Salary Standoff: Bravo Threatens to Cancel 'New York'". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
10. Patten, Dominic. (May 11, 2013). "UPDATE: 'Real Housewives Of NY' Sign Bravo Contracts; Season 6 Back On". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
11. Aviva Drescher. (May 23, 2013). "Hey @extratv ! U guys just aired that I am not signed on to #rhony season 6. 4r betr or worse signed on and filming! #masochist. Lol xoxo".
12. Nilles, Billy. (May 28, 2013). "'Real Housewives' contract dispute: LuAnn de Lesseps signs deal to return to 'New York City' for Season 6". Zap2it.
13. Bibel, Sara. (January 8, 2014). "'The Real Housewives of New York City' Season Six to Premiere Tuesday, March 11 on Bravo".
14. Harnick, Chris. (September 5, 2014). "Aviva Drescher Fired From The Real Housewives of New York City".
15. Sieczkowski, Cavan. (March 2, 2015). "Bethenny Frankel Returns To 'Real Housewives Of New York City'". [[The Huffington Post]].
16. Steiner, Amanda Michelle. (March 2, 2015). "Dorinda Medley Joins the Cast of The Real Housewives of New York City". People.
17. Upmalis, Jordan. (September 8, 2015). "Heather Thomson Says She Will Not Return to #RHONY".
18. Vena, Jocelyn. (October 26, 2015). "Kristen Taekman Says She Will Not Return to Real Housewives of New York".
19. (March 2016). "The Real Housewives of New York City Season 8 Trailer Is Full of Partying, Feuds and Fur Vests".
20. "The Real Housewives of New York City: Steel Calzones".
21. Vena, Jocelyn. (September 19, 2016). "One of the Real Housewives of New York City Confirms She Won't Return".
22. Quinn, Dave. (March 6, 2017). "Bethenny Frankel Streaks and Jill Zarin Returns in ''Real Housewives of New York City'' Season 9 Trailer". [[People (magazine).
23. Vena, Jocelyn. (March 6, 2017). "''The Real Housewives of New York City'' Returns This April: Get Your First Look at All the Fireworks". [[Bravo (American TV network).
24. Quinn, Dave. (March 1, 2018). "Big Drama in the Big Apple! ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' Return in Season 10 Trailer". [[People (magazine).
25. (January 15, 2018). "Jill Zarin, Bethenny Frankel, Dorinda Medley and More 'RHONY' Stars Attend Bobby Zarin's Funeral". [[Us Weekly]].
26. Vulpo, Mike. (July 25, 2018). "Carole Radziwill Leaving ''Real Housewives of New York City''". [[E! Online]].
27. Quinn, Dave. (January 28, 2019). "''The Real Housewives of New York City'' Returns with Explosive Season 11 Trailer". [[People (magazine).
28. Otterson, Joe. (August 21, 2019). "Bethenny Frankel to Exit ''Real Housewives of New York'' (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
29. (February 12, 2020). "New Friends, New Alliances, and New Beginnings as "The Real Housewives of New York City" Returns Thursday, April 2, at 9PM ET/PT". [[The Futon Critic]].
30. Murphy, Desiree. (August 25, 2020). "Dorinda Medley Announces She's Leaving ''RHONY'', Co-Stars React".
31. Drysdale, Jennifer. (June 11, 2020). "Tinsley Mortimer Confirms ''Real Housewives of New York City'' Exit".
32. O'Brien, Jennifer. (October 6, 2020). "RHONY: Dorinda Medley Finally Publicly Discusses Bravo Firing With Bethenny".
33. Guglielmi, Jodi. (March 23, 2021). "Eboni K. Williams Makes ''RHONY'' Debut in Season 13 Trailer — and She's Calling Out Ramona Singer". [[Meredith Corporation]].
34. /https://people.com/tv/rhony-will-not-film-a-season-13-reunion-due-to-scheduling-challenges/
35. (23 March 2022). "Bravo to Reboot 'Real Housewives of New York City' With New Cast — and Launch Second 'RHONY' With Ex-Stars".
36. (16 November 2022). "Let Andy Cohen Introduce You to the Ladies of the RHONY Reboot".
37. Trainor, Daniel. (October 15, 2022). "Bravo Announces Luann de Lesseps & Sonja Morgan's Simple Life-Style Spin-Off".
38. Melvin, Katie. (July 15, 2022). "Benton is buzzing as reality television comes to town".
39. Tinoco, Armando. (May 22, 2023). "'RHONY' Stars Sonja Morgan & Luann De Lesseps Return To Bravo In 'Welcome To Crappie Lake' Trailer Giving 'Simple Life' Vibes".
40. Franklin, McKinley. (2023-08-02). "'Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy' Swaps Dates With 'Ex-Wives Club'".
41. Tinoco, Armando. (October 16, 2022). "'RHONY' Season 14 Reboot Cast Confirmed With 7 New Housewives Including Jenna Lyons – BravoCon".
42. Aurthur, Kate. (November 16, 2022). "Lizzy Savetsky Quits Bravo's Rebooted 'Real Housewives of New York City' After a 'Torrent of Antisemitic Attacks'".
43. Tinoco, Armando. (May 1, 2023). "'The Real Housewives Of New York City' Reboot Gets Season 14 Premiere Date Post 'RHOA' In New Teaser".
44. Aurthur, Kate. (March 28, 2024). "All Six 'RHONY' Reboot Cast Members Will Return for Season 15 — Yes, That Includes Jenna Lyons".
45. (April 16, 2024). "Rebecca Minkoff Is Joining ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' for Season 15".
46. Tinoco, Armando. (June 27, 2024). "Bravo's 'The Real Housewives Of New York City' Adds Racquel Chevremont To Season 15 Cast".
47. Tinoco, Armando. (August 13, 2024). "'The Real Housewives Of New York City' Season 15 Cast Photos, Trailer & Premiere Date Set At Bravo".
48. (February 5, 2025). "Rebecca Minkoff Exits Bravo's 'The Real Housewives of New York City' After 1 Season".
49. (May 9, 2025). "Bravo Addresses Report That ''RHONY'' Was 'Canceled'". [[A360media]].
50. (May 9, 2025). "Bravo Clarifies Status of ''Real Housewives of New York'' Series amid Cancelation Rumors". [[Dotdash Meredith]].
51. (May 9, 2025). "Exclusive {{!}} Bravo flagship ''RHONY'' going off the air, network 'hopes' to revive it". [[News Corp]].
52. (May 9, 2025). "Bye-Bye, ''RHONY''". [[Vox Media]].
53. (May 10, 2025). "Bethenny Frankel Says ''Real Housewives of New York'' Has Been Canceled". [[Fandom, Inc.]].
54. (May 10, 2025). "Bravo Confirms Status of ''Real Housewives'' Franchise Amid Cancelation Report". [[Heavy.com]].
55. (May 13, 2025). "Andy Cohen Addresses ''Real Housewives of New York City'' Cancellation Rumors: "We Are Between Seasons"". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
56. (May 13, 2025). "Andy Cohen Reveals Casting Is 'Heavily Underway' for ''RHONY'', Execs Met with '10 Potential New' Housewives Last Week".
57. (June 9, 2025). "Brynn Whitfield Confirms ''RHONY'' Exit After Two Seasons". [[A360media]].
58. (August 17, 2025). "''RHONY'' Considering Casting Makeup Artist Daisy Toye: Report". [[Fandom, Inc.]].
59. (November 15, 2025). "Andy Cohen says 'we're close' on ''RHONY'' season 16 cast and calls ''Real Housewives of Rhode Island'' Cast “'outrageously fun'".
60. (November 21, 2025). "Jenna Lyons leaving Bravo's ''Real Housewives of New York City'' after two seasons".
61. https://www.instagram.com/p/DRIbyTGjnkj/
62. Jeryl Brunner. (2017-07-06). "Bethenny Frankel on Finding Success, Shark Tank and the Newest Addition to the Skinnygirl Family". Parade.
63. Tracie Egan Morrissey. (2019-10-29). "Race and 'The Real Housewives'". The New York Times.
64. ""RHONY" Treats the Help like Props".
65. Makhija, Sukriti. (2023-05-16). ""Completely disinterested": Netizens criticize RHONY season 14 reboot trailer and new cast announcement".
66. (2022-10-19). "Why Fans Are Already Criticizing The New RHONY Season 14 Cast".
67. Finkel, Lena. (2022-10-18). "Bravo Announces New 'RHONY' Cast, Proves It Doesn't Understand Its Audience At All".
68. (December 23, 2022). "The Top 10 Jewish Reality TV Stars of All Time".
69. (August 27, 2020). "The Real Housewives of New York City". [[The Futon Critic]].
70. (4 March 2008). "iTunes – TV Shows – The Real Housewives of New York City, Season 1". [[iTunes Store]] (US). [[Apple Inc.]].
71. (4 March 2008). "iTunes – TV Shows – The Real Housewives of New York City, Season 5". [[iTunes Store]] (US). [[Apple Inc.]].
72. "Real Housewives: The Game on Facebook | Facebook".
73. "Real Housewives: The Game".
74. "The Real Housewives of New York City Tour".