The Real Housewives of New York City

**The Real Housewives of New York City** (abbreviated **RHONY**) is an American reality television series. It is the second instalment in The Real Housewives franchise.

The series aired on Bravo from March 4, 2008 to present. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of women residing in New York City, U.S.

## Overview

### Seasons 1-4

While in pre-production, the show was initially titled Manhattan Moms. It was later rebranded to become the second instalment 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.

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.

### Seasons 5-8

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. Thomson and Taekman did not return. For the eighth season, which premiered on April 6, 2016, Jules Wainstein was added to the cast, while Thomson returned in a guest appearance. Wainstein left the show in September 2016 for personal reasons.

### Season 9-present

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. 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. Elyse Slaine joined as a friend of the housewives in the twelfth season.

## Casting

### Housewives

* Ramona Singer (Season 1-12)
* Luann de Lesseps (Season 1-5 and 7-12; friend in Season 6)
* Sonja Morgan (Season 3-12)
* Bethenny Frankel (Season 1-3 and 7-11)
* Carole Radziwill (Season 5-10)
* Dorinda Medley (Season 7-12; guest in Season 4)
* Alex McCord (Season 1-4)
* Jill Zarin (Season 1-4; guest in Season 9-11)
* 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)
* Aviva Drescher (Season 5-6)
* Kristen Taekman (Season 6-7)
* Cindy Barshop (Season 4)
* Jules Wainstein (Season 8)
* Leah McSweeney (Season 12)

### Friends of the Housewives

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

## Spin-offs

1. Bethenny Ever After (premiered June 10, 2010)
2. Bethenny & Fredrik (premiered February 6, 2018)

## Broadcast

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 10:00pm timeslots.

## Reception

### Critical Response

The Real Housewives of New York City has received criticism for the lack of diversity in its cast. 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 Thomson also stated that during her time on the series she had pitched several women of colour to the show's producers to diversify its cast members due to her concerns about the issue.