Over the last decade and change, Bravo's Real Housewives has become a behemoth reality TV empire. Throughout much of this time, The Real Housewives of New York City was a fan favorite, largely thanks to its iconic cast of women. But Season 13 failed to impress, and Bravo decided to reboot RHONY with an entirely new cast. It was also announced that the original cast was getting a legacy show its own, which pleased hardcore fans who weren't ready to part with the likes of Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan. But the legacy show has actually turned into a season of Ultimate Girls Trip, and fans are sounding off online.
Real Housewives Ultimate Girls trip is basically like Housewives All-Stars, with iconic characters crossing over and creating quality TV. The show is available with a Peacock subscription, and Season 4 is already in the can. But the Peacock Twitter announced that the the following season will feature the ladies of RHONY, posting:
. oxoo oox ooo oo oxoxoooo xxo ooo ooxo o oxxo xoxxo oxo xoooo o ox o\oo\ /o/o \ \/ / 🍎 | / | 0 | | | 🍎 / \Kelly🍎 Luann🍎 Dorinda🍎 Sonja🍎 Ramona🍎 Kristen🍎#RHUGT S5May 15, 2023
Well, there you have it. The cast of RHUGT Season 5 is made exclusively out of cast members of New York, and seemingly grew from the original concept of RHONY: Legacy. And this change of plans is getting a strong response online, including a fair amount of criticism.
Some of this backlash was shared with memes and GIFs, while other fans while more specific about exactly why they disappointed with this turn of events. That includes superfan/ writer Danny Pellegrino's twitter, where he shared his thoughts on the manner:
I'm THRILLED we're getting the original RHONY women back on screen (!), but it does feel like they just snatched the main show away after 1 flop season & now we have to settle for scraps.
Some points were made. Bravo totally revamped RHONY after just one season that didn't work (and only featured a handful of women). Plenty of the shows have had flop seasons without this extreme overhaul. And now those OGs who helped make the show what it is are being regulated to a quick spinoff season, rather than their own full series.
While some of the long-running RHONY ladies are problematic, many Housewives superfans hold a place in their hearts for them. With RHONY: Legacy seemingly scrapped in favor of an Ultimate Girls Trip season, we'll presumably be getting way less of characters like Dorinda Medley and Ramona Singer. Another disappointed fan posted simply:
so no full legacy season? tragic
Ever since Bravo announced the development of RHONY: Legacy, the fandom has been debating which of the women could/should make up the cast. There were a number of rumors about the show's development and negotiations, specifically around former Housewives like Jill Zarin. And while she's repeatedly spoken about how she's no longer interest in being a Housewife, some fans were hoping to see Bethenny Frankel (who is always making headlines for social media) return to the franchise once again. One fan posted on Twitter about the cast of RHUGT 5, saying:
RHONY legacy just becoming an ultimate girls trip, no Jill or Bethenny, the majority of the women being from the stale season 12 cast, and Kristen on the cast???? pic.twitter.com/o38HNJMwQ4May 15, 2023
While there's definitely some backlash online by Bravohaulics who were unhappy with how the Real Housewives of New York franchise has been switched around, there are also others who are all too happy to take in all the content. We are still getting a new season of RHONY coming with a new cast, as well as the upcoming season of Ultimate Girls Trip. Another fan used a classic clip of Tiffany "New York" Pollard to express their sentiment, sharing:
The OG rhony fans are maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. See you guys on premiere day! 07/16. 🍎 pic.twitter.com/l3jdYuezwDMay 15, 2023
Still, there seems to be plenty of hangups regarding the cast of women that are there for Season 5 of Ultimate Girls Trip. While we'll see the return of both Kelly Bensimon and Kristen Taekman, the cast is made up of just six women. RHONY has had a total of 17 full-time Housewives prior to the recent reboot, in addition to the friends that have also joined in on the fun. So it seems like a missed opportunity to not bring back some of the other ladies that have created such iconic TV over the years. Another tweet about the cast reads:
I need to know that Bravo called *everybody* for RHONY UGT because 6 girls doesn't feel like a lot at all considering it's the last hurrah of the OG show pic.twitter.com/u0GLc1RWyiMay 15, 2023
Another popular response to Peacock's Twitter announcement about RHUGT came from content creator Petshopboy's Twitter, whose popular social media outlets often comment on the Housewives franchise. He seemingly stood in defense of the two shows coming down the line for RHONY fans, saying:
Y'all are miserable in these comments just be happy y'all are getting something!
This type of discourse shows why the Real Housewives franchise continues to be such a powerful force in the entertainment industry. The fandom is large, but most of all they're passionate about the stories of the reality TV franchise. So smart money say there will be plenty of eyes on both the new season of RHONY and the upcoming Ultimate Girls Trip.
The Real Housewives of New York City will debut Season 14 with a new cast on July 16th. In the meantime, check out the TV premiere list to plan your next movie experience.
