Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Bravo
Looking back, it feels strange that it has only been two years since we saw The Real Housewives of New York bow its head in shame, and putter off our television screens for a then-indeterminate amount of time. Up until Season 13, RHONY had arguably been Bravo’s most consistent franchise; it produced the most drama, the most memes, and the most memorable faces.
But when the show’s guiding light Bethenny Frankel departed the series for a second time ahead of Season 12, it was as if the wheels that had kept the show moving drove over a tack. Devoted audiences spent the next two seasons watching the show slowly deflate, until it was no more than a rubber shell of what it once was. Sure, it was still better than most reality television, but the drunken, middle-aged women we knew and loved were now filled with both rage and hyperawareness, a far cry from the starry-eyed, naive ladies who lunched from the show’s beginnings.
Truth be told, it’s not worth looking over our shoulders anymore. I’ve done it for too long, and my neck is starting to get a crick in it. We’ll always have the RHONY that was. Now, we must forge forward with the RHONY that is: an entirely new cast, composed of plucky, determined career women. Only God and Andy Cohen know whether or not Bravo’s big swing to revitalize this franchise will pay off, but we can gorilla glue our fingers crossed and see what happens together.