The Real Housewives of Orange County

### Producers

Douglas Ross, Alex Baskin, Thomas Kelly, Brian McCarthy, Dave Rupel, Scott Dunlop and Andy Cohen

### Followed By

The Real Housewives of New York City

**The Real Housewives of Orange County** (abbreviated **RHOC**) is an American reality television series. It is the first instalment in The Real Housewives franchise.

The series aired on Bravo from March 21, 2006 to present. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in Orange County, California, U.S.

## Overview

### Season 1-3

In April 2005, The Real Housewives was ordered by American television network Bravo. It was renamed as The Real Housewives of Orange County in January 2006. Producer Scott Dunlop said that it was originally planned to be set in a single gated community in Coto de Caza, California. The show was inspired by scripted soap operas Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place, and would document the lives of upper-class women who "lead glamorous lives in a Southern California gated community where the average home has a $1.6 million price tag and residents include CEOs and retired professional athletes."

The first season premiered on March 21, 2006, and starred Kimberly Bryant, Jo De La Rosa, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeana Keough and Lauri Waring. Bryant left after the first season. Tammy Knickerbocker joined the cast for the second season which premiered on January 16, 2007. Bryant appeared as a guest. After the second season, De La Rosa exited the series as a regular cast member. The third season premiered on November 6, 2007, which featured Tamra Judge (then Barney) as the latest housewife. While Quinn Fry joined the cast in the sixth episode. Bryant and De La Rosa returned as guests. Knickerbocker and Fry left the main cast after the third season.

### Season 4-8

Gretchen Rossi was introduced in the fourth season premiere on November 25, 2008. Peterson made her final appearance as a main cast member in the third episode. While Lynne Curtin joined the cast in the fourth episode. Bryant and De La Rosa made their final guest appearance during the season finale. While Knickerbocker returned as a guest. Keough's final season as a full-time cast member, season five premiered on November 5, 2009. After Keough left the show as a full-time cast member, Alexis Bellino was added to the main cast. Fry, Knickerbocker and Peterson returned as a guest. Curtin left after the fifth season.

The sixth season which premiered on March 6, 2011 introduced Peggy Tanous as the newest housewife and friend of the housewives Fernanda Rocha. Keough returned in a friend of the housewives status, while Curtin, Fry and Knickerbocker appeared as guests. Heather Dubrow joined the cast in the seventh season which premiered on February 7, 2012. Keough and Tanous appeared as a guest, while Sarah Winchester was featured as a friend of the housewives. On April 1, 2013, the eighth season premiered and the cast was joined by Lydia McLaughlin. Peterson also appeared as a friend of the housewives in the eighth season. Bellino, McLaughlin, Rossi and Peterson departed after the season.

### Season 9-13

The ninth season premiered on April 14, 2014 and introduced Shannon Beador and Lizzie Rovsek as the new housewives. While Danielle Gregorio joined as friend of the housewives. The tenth season which premiered on June 8, 2015, saw Rovsek as a friend of the housewives and Meghan King Edmonds joining the cast. Curtin, Keough and Knickerbocker made guest appearances in the season.

The eleventh season premiered on June 20, 2016. It featured Kelly Dodd joining the cast and Keough making a guest appearance. The season served as Dubrow's final season. McLaughlin returned for the show's twelfth season which premiered on July 10, 2017. Peggy Sulahian joined as the latest housewife. While Keough, Rossi and Rovsek made guest appearances. After the season concluded, King Edmonds, McLaughlin and Sulahian left the show.

Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson joined the cast for the thirteenth season, which premiered on July 16, 2018.

### Season 14-present

The fourteenth season premiered on August 6, 2019. Braunwyn Windham-Burke joined as a cast member, while Gunvalson was demoted to a "friend of the housewives" status. King Edmonds and Bellino both appeared in a guest capacity. Gunvalson and Judge both left the series in January 2020. Filming for the show was paused in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Casting

### Housewives

* Vicki Gunvalson (Season 1-3; friend in Season 14)
* Tamra Judge (Season 3-14)
* Shannon Beador (Season 9-15)
* Jeana Keough (Season 1-5); friend in Season 6 and guest in Season 7 and 10-12)
* Gretchen Rossi (Season 4-8; guest in Season 12)
* Heather Dubrow (Season 7-11)
* Kelly Dodd (Season 11-15)
* Lauri Peterson (Season 1-4; guest in Season 5 and friend in Season 8)
* Alexis Bellino (Season 5-8; guest in Season 14)
* Meghan King Edmonds (Season 10-12; guest in Season 9 and 14)
* Emily Simpson (Season 13-15; guest in Season 10)
* Gina Kirschenheiter (Season 13-15)
* Jo De La Rosa (Season 1-2; guest in Season 3-4)
* Tammy Knickerbocker (Season 2-3; guest in Season 4-6 and 10)
* Lynne Curtin (Season 4-5; guest in Season 6 and 10)
* Lydia McLaughlin (Season 8 and 12)
* Braunwyn Windham-Burke (Season 14-15)
* Kimberly Bryant (Season 1; guest in Season 2-4)
* Lizzie Rovsek (Season 9; friend in Season 10 and guest in Season 12)
* Quinn Fry (Season 3; guest in Season 5-6)
* Peggy Tanous (Season 6; guest in Season 7)
* Peggy Sulahian (Season 12)

### Friends of the Housewives

* Fernanda Rocha (Guest in Season 5 and friend in Season 6)
* Sarah Winchester (Guest in Season 5-6 and friend in Season 7)
* Danielle Gregorio (Friend in Season 9)

## Spin-offs

1. Date My Ex: Jo & Slade (premiered June 30, 2008)
2. Tamra's OC Wedding (premiered September 2, 2013)

## Broadcast

The Real Housewives of Orange County 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, Thursday and Sunday evenings and has been frequently shifted between the 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00pm timeslots.