The cast of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York are ‘devastated’ following reports that the show has been put on pause for a second time.
Just two years after revamping the long-running series with a fresh cast and substantial marketing efforts, Bravo is now reconsidering its strategy in an attempt to rescue RHONY from potential cancellation.
One insider tells DailyMail.com that the cast are reeling from the news and were naively hoping to start production on the next season soon.
Sources indicate that while the show has faced challenges, it seemed like the cast was beginning to gel as a team, leading to disappointment over the production delays.
‘The ratings were improving too, so they thought that would guarantee them a renewal by now.’
The cast of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York are ‘devastated’ following reports that the show has been put on pause for a second time
Producers are actively conducting extensive casting searches to find the ideal individuals who can ‘repair’ the reboot, aiming for a swift return of the show.
Some of the women have started pointing fingers at each other over the cause of the pause, with Brynn Whitfield and Jenna Lyons taking the brunt of the blame.
‘The women think Brynn is untrustworthy and toxic, and as for Jenna, they just think she’s boring,’ the source said.
‘They all like Jenna as a person, but there’s definitely some resentment about her shying away from drama and hiding her personal life from the cameras.’
Another source told DailyMail.com that producers have been doing extensive casting in a bid to find the right women to ‘fix’ the reboot so that they can bring the show back as soon as possible.
‘They’ve interviewed everybody, from celebrities like Julia Fox to affluent working New Yorkers, but the women they really want aren’t interested,’ the source said.
‘The bigger names see the show as a step down. It’s not like the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills which totally revived the careers of Lisa Rinna and Garcelle Beauvais,’ they continued.
‘Has anybody from the current RHONY cast gone on to do big things? Jenna is essentially in the same place that she was before the show, and Rebecca Minkoff almost ruined her reputation with all of her Scientology beliefs coming out and her brand being disparaged by Brynn.’
Some of the cast are quietly pointing fingers at ‘boring’ Jenna Lyons, who they feel didn’t bring enough juicy drama to the series
The source added, ‘All the storylines last season, like the fake pranks, attacking each other’s businesses, sexual assault, Scientology… it’s turned off a lot of potential cast members.’
Despite the casting problems, the Real Housewives of New York isn’t canceled just yet.
Bravo told Us Weekly that no ‘official’ decision has been made on the future of the series just yet, while Andy Cohen himself dispelled cancellation talk in a post on Threads.
‘It’s not canceled but it won’t be back until they get the casting and storylines right for next season, which could take a while,’ our source said.
‘Bravo has so many shows on the go right now that they don’t need to force something that isn’t working. They’d rather take their time and get it right like they did with Atlanta and Miami rather than rush out another bad season that fans hate.’
‘Rebecca Minkoff almost ruined her reputation with all of her Scientology beliefs coming out and her brand being disparaged by Brynn,’ said one source
The source added, ‘All the storylines last season, like the fake pranks, attacking each other’s businesses, sexual assault, Scientology… it’s turned off a lot of potential cast members’
RHONY first premiered in 2008 with Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Jill Zarin, Alex McCord and Bethenny Frankel.
The series went on hiatus after season 13 in 2021, before returning last year with an all-new cast for season 14.
While RHONY’s future looks murky, things are even worse for The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Not only is RHONJ still on pause for retooling, Bravo just announced the launch of the Real Housewives of Rhode Island – which will feature an all Italian cast, similar to New Jersey.
Speaking to Page Six about the ‘incredible’ Rhode Island women that the network found for the show, Cohen said that the women were even ‘more Italian’ than their New Jersey counterparts.
‘They are very Italian,’ he said. ‘Rhode Island is such a small state, and they all kind of know each other and overlap, and it’s an incredible group of women who have really interesting connections. I think it’s going to really surprise people.’
‘It does kind of remind you of early Jersey in a weird way,’ he gushed.’
RHONJ has been on pause since last year following the show’s divisive fourteenth season.
Last year, Cohen insisted that no official decisions had been made about the future of RHONJ, before shutting down reports that Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, and Dolores Catania were all confirmed to return.
‘We’ve made no decisions on the Real Housewives of New Jersey,’ he said on his SiriusXM show Radio Andy.
Bravo fans were sent into a tailspin on Wednesday following speculation that both RHONY and RHONY had been axed for good.
Not only is RHONJ still on pause for retooling, Bravo just announced the launch of the Real Housewives of Rhode Island – which will feature an all Italian cast, similar to New Jersey
The rumors were sparked after Bravo announced a slew of new and returning programs to the network.
New seasons of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Beverly Hills, Potomac, and Orange County were confirmed, along with Married to Medicine, Southern Charm, and its spin-off Southern Hospitality.
‘I’m a little surprised about RHONY but I think RHONJ is done,’ wrote one fan.
‘I think the Jersey craze is kinda over culturally, so it makes sense they’d move on from RHONJ,’ added another.
A third wrote, ‘What does it mean @BravoTV because you didn’t announce #RHONY or #RHONJ as being renewed!? Like what are you trying to tell us!?’
Another commented, ‘I would much rather them start a whole new city than try to beat a dead horse. STOKED for Rhode Island!!!!!’
However, other viewers believe that Bravo is still finalizing the casts for the next seasons of both shows and that’s why they weren’t included in the announcement.
‘They’re doing extensive casting for both which is why it wasn’t announced. The shows that were announced are the ones that they’ve finished casting for. Neither RHONY nor RHONJ have been confirmed cancelled,’ one fan explained.
‘There is no way they will cancel [RHONY]. They will at least try one more season,’ said another.
