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. Developed as the second installment of The Real Housewives franchise, following The Real Housewives of Orange County,it is currently in its ninth season and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in New York City.

The series originally focused on LuAnn de Lesseps (now D'Agostino), Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin. The cast currently consists of D'Agostino, Frankel, Singer, Sonja Morgan, Carole Radziwill, Dorinda Medley and Tinsley Mortimer. Of the original housewives, Frankel initially left after the third season before returning for the seventh; McCord and Zarin left after the fourth season; and D'Agostino was reduced to a recurring capacity during the sixth season and returned to being a full-time cast member the following season. The remaining housewives joined in later seasons, Morgan in the third, Radziwill in the fifth, Medley in the seventh and Mortimer in the ninth. Other housewives include Kelly Killoren Bensimon (Season 2-4), Cindy Barshop (Season 4), Aviva Drescher (Season 5-6), Heather Thomson (Season 5-7), Kristen Taekman (Season 6-7) and Jules Wainstein (Season 8).

## Overview and Casting

### **Season 1-4**

While in pre-production, the show was initially titled Manhattan Moms, but it was eventually re-branded to become the second installment of the then-new Real Housewives franchise. The first season premiered on March 4, 2008 and starred LuAnn de Lesseps, Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin. Despite the series title, most of the women featured were not housewives. Frankel and Singer owned their own businesses; McCord and Zarin also had careers outside their home.

Kelly Killoren Bensimon was added to the cast for the second season, which premiered on February 17, 2009. Sonja Morgan was added to the cast during the third season, along with Jennifer Gilbert in a recurring capacity. On August 31, 2010, Frankel announced that she would not be returning to The Real Housewives of New York City for its fourth season, becoming the first woman to do so, in order to expand a burgeoning career in spin-offs, books and her Skinnygirl business.

In September 2010, the fourth season began filming with entrepreneur Cindy Barshop as Frankel's replacement. Citing production issues, Bravo pushed the Season 4 premiere back until April 7, 2011, and instead premiered The Real Housewives of Miami. While the sans-Frankel ensemble held steady in the ratings, the network had grown unhappy with much of the cast. Original stars Alex McCord and Jill Zarin, as well as Kelly Bensimon and brand-new recruit Cindy Barshop, were effectively fired from the cast.

### **Season 5-Present**

In April 2012, Bravo announced that the show would be revamped for the upcoming fifth season. The Real Housewives of New York City returned on June 4, 2012, with original cast members Singer and de Lesseps, as well as season three recruit Sonja Morgan, as the veteran cast members. Stay-at-home mum Aviva Drescher, journalist/author Carole Radziwill, and entrepreneur Heather Thomson were introduced as the new Housewives, rounding out the six-women ensemble.

The series was officially renewed for a sixth season on April 2, 2013. Production was set to begin on May 8, 2013, but the housewives instead chose to go into salary negotiations with Bravo. Morgan, Radziwill, Thomson and Singer rejoined the series on May 9, 2013, while Drescher signed her contract on May 24, 2013. LuAnn de Lesseps agreed to the new contract on May 28, 2013. It was announced that model Kristen Taekman would join the cast. It was announced in January 2014 that The Real Housewives of New York City would return for its sixth season on March 11, 2014, a year later than planned. Kristen Taekman ended up being a replacement for de Lesseps, who was demoted to a recurring role.

After two years, Drescher was dismissed from the series after the conclusion of the sixth season. In October 2014, it was announced that Bethenny Frankel was filming with the cast and would return to The Real Housewives of New York City after a three-season hiatus. Dorinda Medley was hired to appear full-time, in replacement of Drescher, while LuAnn de Lesseps also regained her full-time status, joining Singer, Morgan, Radziwill, Thomson and Taekman, all returning from season six. This brought the cast to eight full-time Housewives, becoming the largest ensemble in the history of the franchise. The seventh season premiered on April 7, 2015.

On September 8, 2015, Thomson announced, after three years in the cast, that she would not return for season eight, while on October 26, 2015, Taekman confirmed that she too would not return for the upcoming season. In March 2016, Bravo announced that Singer, Frankel, de Lesseps, Morgan, Radziwill and Medley would all be returning for an eighth season alongside stay-at-home mum and aspiring entrepreneur Jules Wainstein. As former housewive Kelly Killoren Bensimon had done in seasons six and seven, it was announced Heather Thomson would make a guest appearance. The eighth season premiered on April 6, 2016.

On September 19, 2016, Wainstein confirmed that she would not be returning for the ninth season to focus on her children amidst her divorce proceedings. Filming for season nine began in October 2016, with de Lesseps, Singer and Medley confirming their return for the ninth season. On March 6, 2017, the ninth season of The Real Housewives of New York City was announced, with all of the season eight housewives returning, with Tinsley Mortimer joining the cast, replacing the previously-confirmed departure of Wainstein. Former housewives Jill Zarin and Thomson were also confirmed for appearances during the season. The ninth season premiered April 5, 2017.

## The Game

In July 2012, Bravo released a social networking video game version of The Real Housewives of New York City which is titled Real Housewives: The Game. Following weekly new episodes, a new game was available based on the story. It has been discontinued since October 2012.

## Bus Tour

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 4 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." The bus tour is endorsed by Bravo and is featured on their official website.