The future of The Real Housewives of New York City is seriously in question, as ratings drop, rumors of a cast shakeup swirl, and the reunion is pushed.
I have long said the Real Housewives of New York is the best of the housewives franchise. This season is kind of making me eat my words. I never thought I would say I prefer Beverly Hills over New York, but hell hath officially frozen over. Kathy Hilton gives me life, the Erika Jayne drama is beyond, and the Sutton versus Krystal drama is sending me. Also, I have to say, I too thought Krystal’s leather pants were not cute. Anyways, this is supposed to be about RHONY, so let us get into it.
Who is staying on the cast?
A few weeks ago, rumors of a cast shakeup hit the newsstands and sent fans spiraling. The rumor is that the OG of the franchise, Ramona Singer, will not be asked back for the next season. They claimed producers think that while Ramona makes for good television, her presence on the show no longer represents the world we live in. Honestly, we have known Ramona is a stuck up rich white woman for the past 13 seasons. I’m not a Ramona stan, but I don’t understand why this is suddenly a big problem.
While I do agree, she should have talked to Eboni about race issues at least once, I also wouldn’t want to constantly talk about it. Her reactions could be better though, not a fan of the constant deflections. Although the source claims to be close to the cast, Ramona’s team claims these rumors are not true. Nothing is certain right now, but if they fire Ramona it would truly be the end of an era.
What is going on with the reunion?
The housewives reunions are usually filmed when before the last episodes of the season air on Bravo. That would mean, the RHONY reunion should already be filmed, or be filmed soon. Well, amid all the drama with the cast, filming has been pushed both on the reunion and the new season. Production hasn’t given any reasons why filming has been pushed, but it for sure has something to do with the casting rumors.
When news of her firing came out, Ramona supposedly refused to participate in filming the reunion. According to sources, Ramona knows the cast is going to drag her for her behavior, and her desire to not speak about race issues on camera. She doesn’t want to be called a racist on television, and be put down for her political beliefs. I understand the world has changed, and at the time this was filmed, race was a big topic of discussion. Ramona should have given in a little, but if I were to play devil’s advocate, I could see her side a little.
Thirteen years ago, Ramona signed onto a show about women in New York drinking and getting into dumb arguments. She is used to that format, and knows she can do it well. This is not what she signed up for. She knows her views probably don’t match up to those of the viewers, so why would she engage, and expose herself like that. She doesn’t realize by not speaking on it, she exposed herself even more.
What is the cause of the low ratings?
Longtime fans of the show, are blaming new housewife Eboni for the all time low ratings this season. This is just one theory, but it’s the strongest and loudest. Fans claim they are bored by Eboni’s constant race talk. Like the other RHONY cast members, they feel like Eboni is preaching to them, and they don’t like it. It seems like the only reason they hired Eboni, was not to add diversity, but to shame the other women about the privileges they have as white women.
Fans appreciate the conversations she is starting, but feel like maybe it is a bit much. They say they don’t watch any housewives show to hear about the problems in the world, but rather to escape them. Eboni says, rather than blaming her, fans should blame production for the direction they chose to take the show in this season. In her eyes, they edited it all wrong and are scapegoating her for their poor choices. I personally am enjoying this season, and my issues with it lie not with Eboni, but with another cast member.
What do the fans want?
The fans want both Leah and Eboni off the show. I agree with them when it comes to Leah. She was fine last season, but that was probably because she was always drunk and doing something crazy. This season, she is just yelling at everyone, and is acting superior to everyone else, because she is so woke. Plus, the way she reacted to the minor miscommunication with Heather Thomson, awful. She called Heather a Karen, but I think Leah would ask to speak to the manager before the Real Housewives of New York alum would.
Fans want Eboni and Leah gone because they don’t have genuine relationships with the rest of the cast. I agree with this. The reason RHONY was good for so long was because the women had relationships that went back 20 plus years. Due to this history, no matter how much they argued, they didn’t take anything too serious. Eboni and Leah don’t have that history, so it just feels off. Plus, they are way younger than the other women and live in completely different worlds.
What fans want, and what I agree with, is for those two to leave, and for Bethenny and Dorinda to come back. I was down for Dorinda to take a season off, maybe take some anger management classes, then come back. She is needed on this show. I started watching housewives, because of Bethenny, so I always want her back on the show. She saved it once, I believe only she can save it again this time. Her dynamic between all the women is insane and I love her. I would also really like to see her put Leah in her place though so maybe Leah can stay.
What’s to come?
This subpar season of the Real Housewives of New York is almost over I think, so it’s only a matter of time before we know what’s really going on. Eboni is the first black housewife to appear in the New York franchise, so it will be interesting to see if they will actually go through with firing her. Would that even make it better at this point? I guess we all have to wait and see.