The Real Housewives of New York City

**The Real Housewives of New York City** (abbreviated **RHONY**) is an American reality television series that premiered on March 4, 2008 on Bravo. It is the second installment of The Real Housewives franchise and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in New York City.

## Overview

### Season 1-4

While in pre-production, the show was initially titled Manhattan Moms. It was later re-branded 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.

The second season premiered on February 17, 2009 and Kelly Killoren Bensimon was added to the cast.

The third season premiered on March 4, 2010 and saw the addition of Sonja Morgan as a main cast member, along with Jennifer Gilbert ina recurring capacity. In August 2010, Frankel left the show in order to expand her Skinnygirl product line.

The fourth season premiered on April 7, 2011 and Frankel was replaced by Cindy Barshop. After the fourth season, McCord, Zarin, Killoren Bensimon and Barshop were effectively let go from the show.

### Season 5-8

In April 2012, Bravo announced a revamp to the cast for its fifth season, integrating Aviva Drescher, Carole Radziwill and Heather Thomosn 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.

The eighth season premiered on April 6, 2016 and 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.

### Season 9-12

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. Thomson and Zarin both appeared as guests again. It served as Radziwil'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.

### Season 13-present

On October 8, 2020, it was announced that Eboni K. Williams would be joining the show for the thirteenth season, as the franchise's first full-time black housewife.

## Timeline of Cast Members

### Main Cast

* Ramona Singer (Season 1-13)
* Luann de Lesseps (Season 1-5 and 7-13; friend in Season 6)
* Sonja Morgan (Season 3-13)
* Bethenny Frankel (Season 1-3 and 7-11)
* Carole Radziwill (Season 5-10)
* Dorinda Medley (Season 7-12)
* Alex McCord (Season 1-4)
* Jill Zarin (Season 1-4; guest in Season 9-12)
* Tinsley Mortimer (Season 9-12)
* Kelly Killoren Bensimon (Season 2-4; guest in Season 6-7)
* Heather Thomson (Season 5-7; guest in Season 8-10 and 12-13)
* Aviva Drescher (Season 5-6)
* Kristen Taekman (Season 6-7)
* Leah McSweeney (Season 12-13)
* Cindy Barshop (Season 4)
* Jules Wainstein (Season 8)
* Eboni K. Williams (Season 13)

### Friends of the Housewives

* Jennifer Gilbert (Friend in Season 3 and guest in Season 5)
* Barbara Kavovit (Guest in Season 3-6 and 8-9; friend in Season 11)
* Elyse Slaine (Guest in Season 9-10 and friend in Season 12)