The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

**The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills**(abbreviated **RHOBH**) is an American reality television series that premiered on October 14, 2010, on Bravo. The show was developed as the sixth installment of The Real Housewives franchise following The Real Housewives of Orange County, New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey and D.C. It has aired seven seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in Beverly Hills, California.

The series originally focused on Taylor Armstrong, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof, Kim Richards, Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump. The current season line-up consists of Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Eileen Davidson, Lisa Rinna, Erika Girardi and Dorit Kemsley. Of the original housewives, Grammer left after the second season, Armstrong and Maloof left after the third, and Kim Richards left after the fifth. The remaining housewives joined in later seasons, Davidson and Rinna in the fifth, Girardi in the sixth and Kemsley in the seventh. Other housewives include Brandi Glanville (Season 3-5), Yolanda Hadid (Season 3-6), Carlton Gebbia (Season 4), Joyce Giraud de Ohoven (Season 4) and Kathryn Edwards (Season 6).

## Overview and Casting

### **Season 1-4**

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was announced in March 2010 as the sixth installment in the network's The Real Housewives franchise. The cast was announced on August 31, 2010, with former child actresses (and Paris Hilton's aunts) Kim Richards and Kyle Richards, heiress/businesswoman Adrienne Maloof, restaurant owner/entrepreneur Lisa Vanderpump, actor Kelsey Grammer's former wife Camille Grammer, and (now widowed) investment banker's wife Taylor Armstrong. The first season premiered on October 14, 2010, scoring over 1.5 million viewers and the series' ratings continued to grow, attracting 3.7 million viewers between the 9pm and 10pm airings for the January 13, 2011 episode, making it the number one telecast among adults 18-49 versus all cable competition in the time slot.

The January 20, 2011 finale became the highest-rated episode of the season with 4.2 million viewers, when combined with multiple evening re-runs. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' first season ranked as the second highest rated first season series of the Real Housewives franchise ever in all demographics, averaging 2.42 million total viewers and 1.71 million adults 18-49. The series also received a 2011 Critics Choice Award for best reality series.

The series' second season renewal was announced in March 2011 and premiered on September 5, 2011. The entire season one cast returned, and Brandi Glanville and Dana Wilkey were each introduced to the series as friends of the housewives. Grammer left the main cast after season two, and the second season was re-edited after the death of Taylor Armstrong's husband, Russell Armstrong, who committed suicide on August 15, 2011.

The third season premiere aired on November 5, 2012. Brandi Glanville was upgraded to main housewife and Yolanda Foster (now Hadid) was added to the series. Marisa Zanuck was introduced as a friend of the housewives, and Camille Grammer held the same title. Faye Resnick officially joined the show was a friend of the housewives mid-season. Ratings for Season 3 decreased from previous seasons. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills hit a season high of 2.35 million viewers and a 1.1 rating (18-49 aged viewers) on November 26, 2012, then plunged by 34% to a two season low on March 11, 2013, with 1.56 million viewers and a 0.7 18-49 rating.

The series was officially renewed for a fourth season on April 2, 2013. Kyle Richards, Kim Richards, Brandi Glanville, Lisa Vanderpump and Yolanda Foster all returned. Adrienne Maloof did not return for the fourth season, nor did she attend the season three reunion that was filmed March 1, 2013. Camille Grammer and Faye Resnick did not appear at all. Marisa Zanuck later revealed that producers did not ask her to return for the fourth season. TMZ posted a video of musician Rod Stewart stating that his wife, Penny Lancaster, turned down an offer from Bravo to be a part of the cast for the fourth season. Speculation began in April 2013 that Lisa Rinna would be joining the series for the fourth season, but a representative for Bravo stated that, at the time, there was "no truth" to the story. E! News confirmed that Carlton Gebbia and Joyce Giraud de Ohoven had joined the main cast, while Taylor Armstrong had been demoted to a guest role. The fourth season premiered on November 4, 2013.

### **Season 5-Present**

The fifth season renewal of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was announced in April 2014. On May 28, 2014, it was reported that Joyce Giraud and Carlton Gebbia would not be returning for the upcoming season. The fifth season began filming on June 20, 2014, with Lisa Vanderpump, Brandi Glanville, Kim and Kyle Richards, and Yolanda Foster returning. By July 2014, it was reported that Rinna had signed on for the fifth season, together with another Days of Our Lives alumna, Eileen Davidson. In addition, original housewives Maloof, Grammer and Armstrong returned to the series for multiple appearances. The fifth season premiered on November 18, 2014.

In June 2015, it was confirmed that both Kim Richards and Brandi Glanville would not return as housewives for the sixth season. In August, E! News reported that singer Erika Girardi would be joining the series for the upcoming sixth season. In November, it was officially confirmed that Erika Girardi and Kathryn Edwards would join the show as housewives; former cast members, including Kim Richards, Grammer, Armstrong, Resnick, Maloof and Glanville would make guest appearances, alongside Bethenny Frankel from The Real Housewives of New York City.

In April 2016, Bravo announced that the series was renewed for a seventh season. On June 15, 2016, Foster (now using her previous husband's name, Hadid) announced that she would not be returning to the show for season seven. On July 7, 2016, Vanderpump confirmed that she would return for the show's seventh season while Edwards announced that she would be departing from the cast after one season. In August 2016, Davidson confirmed she would return for the third consecutive season. Also in August, Bravo officially confirmed the return of Vanderpump and Kyle Richards for season seven, while Richards revealed that filming for the season had begun by sharing footage of the camera crew in her kitchen.

In September 2016, Eden Sassoon, daughter of hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, confirmed she was filming for the upcoming season, but at that time, her role had yet to be determined, while original cast member Grammer confirmed she was also filming for the new season, describing a party that was filmed in Malibu, which Kyle Richards, Girardi and Davidson also attended. Later in September, Vanderpump confirmed her close friend, Dorit Kemsley, had been filming for the seventh season, and that Glanville would not be making any appearances. On September 19, 2016, during an interview with Access Hollywood, Kyle Richards confirmed that Eden Sassoon would appear in a recurring capacity. In the same interview, Rinna also confirmed Edeb Sassoon's arrival to the series, as well as confirming her own return.

On October 27, 2016, Bravo officially confirmed that the seventh season would feature six housewives; including the previously confirmed Vanderpump and Kyle Richards alongside newly confirmed Rinna. In the following days, Bravo also confirmed Davidson and Girardi's return. On November 1, 2016, Bravo announced that the seventh season would premiere on December 6, 2016, with Vanderpump, Kyle Richards, Davidson, Rinna and Girardi returning full-time with new cast member, Dorit Kemsley, along with Eden Sassoon in a recurring capacity. The release of the trailer for the seventh season confirmed that former cast members, Grammer and Kim Richards would make guest appearances.

In April 2017, the series was renewed for its eighth season. On May 3, 2017, Eden Sassoon announced she would not return to the series for its eighth season.