Andy Cohen Reveals Plans to Split ‘RHONY’ Into 2 Shows: What We Know
Double the apples! After a controversial season 13, Andy Cohen announced that The Real Housewives of New York City will be split into two shows.
“We talked about everything. There were people who really wanted: ‘Let’s just totally start over.’ And then there were people who were like, ‘Wait a minute, but what about this group that we’ve invested 13 years in?’ I think that’s why this is really listening to everybody,” the 53-year-old producer told Variety on March 23. “We have a pretty active research department at Bravo. So I will say when research comes to the programming execs, it’s usually not that surprising given what we’re already hearing.”
The most recent cast of RHONY included Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer, Leah McSweeney and Eboni K. Williams with Bershan Shaw in a “friend” role.
“I think that we’ve put last season of RHONY under so much scrutiny and trial that I hate to rehash. When we were shooting, we only had five Housewives, we were shooting during COVID, we were tremendously limited as to where we could shoot. And this was a show that was really shot differently than all the other cities, because New York City is very much a huge character in the show,” he said. “That all aside, I think that if you look at any series, where the ratings are declining week to week as the series goes on, and the viewer feedback is growing disenchanted on social media, etc. — I think that was a big red flag for us. Because this is a beloved show. And that’s part of the reason why it’s taken a bit for us to just sit with this and figure out how we want to make this right, and make it a gift to the fans, which I think this will wind up being.”
After delays, the reunion was canceled in September 2021, with the network citing scheduling conflicts. News broke the next month that Bravo was investigating alleged racism on the set after Eboni, the first Black Housewife, filed a report about Ramona, one of the OG stars.
“Eboni filed a complaint over an alleged racial comment Ramona made [toward] Eboni weeks before the [season 13] reunion was supposed to take place,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “It was filed internally through human resources. … The findings were not corroborated.”
Cohen spoke to the outlet about the successful — and not-so-successful — attempts at diversity on the network and RHONY specifically.
“One of the things that makes these shows such a success is that they’re about real people with real connections, and their interactions,” he said. “The thing we always come back to is that our greatest successes — and certainly one of the things that resonated with RHONY in the past — is featuring women who had relationships before joining the show, and we’re going to focus on that going forward.”
Cohen concluded: “People call me Bravo Andy, and they either blame me or applaud me for everything that happens on Bravo, whether I have something to do with it or not. So I feel especially connected to the audience. I do a Q&A with the Watch What Happens Live audience every night before the show, and I hear opinions every night. I feel like a walking focus group that I’m listening to, just based on what’s coming at me all day long.”
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“Part of why we really wanted to announce this before it happened is that we want to hear from people. This is a major casting search,” Cohen told Variety. “We’re going to be casting all over Manhattan and the boroughs — part of the search is spreading the word. And when you start from scratch, Beverly Hills was a really successful season 1 cast, Jersey was a really successful season 1 cast, Salt Lake City was a really successful season 1 cast. Those were people who were in each other’s lives, who knew each other, who were relatives. That’s one of the things that is going to be fun about this. Because when we find people that we love, we can say, ‘Who are your friends? Who else is in your life?’” When asked whether he’s considering asking around Eboni, the producer noted, “We are interviewing multiple groups of friends,” Cohen said. “So certainly if Eboni is interested and has friends that would meet our casting goals, then of course they would be considered.” Michele Eve Sandberg/Shutterstock
Cohen noted that the second RHONY show is being referred to as “legacy” or “throwback” as production works on casting. While acknowledging that he has an ideal cast “in mind,” nothing is official. “I don’t really want to get into specifics about specific women. Because then it’s like, ‘Oh, well, he said yes to these two …’ The answer is: Sonja and Luann have been a part of the show — for Luann, from the beginning, and Sonja since season 3. So I think, in theory, sure!” he said when asked about Sonja and Luann specifically. “I could talk to you about hypothetical situations involving a lot of people that used to be on the show. I think the good news is, that’s a group that’s all still in each other’s lives." He also joked that OG Jill Zarin will be the first to call him after the news breaks. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
While the reboot of RHONY will seemingly air on Bravo, the second series with the OGs could end up on Peacock. “Ultimate Girls Trip was really a smash hit. And it allowed us to see, ‘Oh, we can have this other universe going. And it’s not going to cannibalize the original.’ It made the pitch of doing this throwback version — like you could see it,” he said. “In another year, it might have seemed gluttonous or odd about whether there was an appetite for The Real Housewives of New York and Real Housewives of New York: Throwback. But I think this just gives us more options and more places to put it, the throwback version.” Heidi Gutman/Bravo
According to Cohen, there is no set schedule for filming the rebooted show — which is taking priority over the throwback series. “I feel like we want to get the cast right. We just want to get it right,” he said. “So that’s the focus right now. I don’t want to back into a production date. Because I want this to succeed; it’s too important to too many people.” Heidi Gutman/Bravo
When asked about OG Bethenny Frankel’s potential involvement, Cohen replied, “Listen, I go back with Bethenny since the beginning. She’s moved to Connecticut, but she’s still in the Hamptons. Her life is now evolved to another place, so I can’t imagine her wanting to do it. But of course, you know, I never turn down a conversation with Bethenny about coming back.” Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
In March 2022, Luann told Us that she only learned about the new format right before Cohen told the world. "I found out literally almost at the same time as [fans] did," she said. "[Andy and I] had a scheduled call, and then it broke right after." The "Girl Code" singer said she's since spoken to Ramona and Sonja, who were both "kind of surprised" by the news. "If they'll have me back, I'm totally on board, because I think it's a lot of fun to be back with all our old friends," Luann added. "I did not see that coming, but after learning about it, I was really happy about it. I think it's very cool to see a diverse group of women in New York, a different generation. I'm thrilled about them bringing back the OG cast, because, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole. I say that because sometimes you bring new girls on and they don't really fit in into your group, and I think it feels awkward. I feel like an all-new cast and the OG cast is the perfect solution." Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
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