NBCU has officially shifted its The Real Housewives of New York: Legacy series to an Ultimate Girls Trip format that will stream on Peacock, featuring former Housewives Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kristen Taekman as its cast.
After a low-rated 13th season and an influx of conflict, Variety broke the news that the RHONY would be revamping its format in a two-part strategy. First, Andy Cohen revealed that Bravo was focused on rebooting the flagship show with a brand-new cast, and the network would eventually launch a spin-off Legacy series that would cast original and former New York Housewives.
However, the network was unable to come to a financial agreement with several of the projected Legacy housewives and put the series on pause which apparently led to a shift in strategy: revamping the series in an Ultimate Girl Trips style, not to air on Bravo, but to stream on Peacock.
Season 5 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy will feature Bensimon, de Lesseps, Medley, Morgan, Singer and Taekman. They will all travel to the infamous house on Saline Beach in Saint Barthlemythat the RHONY cast visited in the shows fifth season.
Jill Zarin, an OG RHONY Housewife who was expected to join the Legacy series, is noticeably missing from the Girls Trip cast. Zarin revealed that when in talks with Bravo for the series, all cast members were not going to be paid the same amount, something she wasnt comfortable with.
I just wanted everyone to get paid the same, said Zarin on Jeff Lewis Live. We started together. In fact, I cast the show. I brought on Bethenny [Frankel], I brought on Luann [de Lesseps], I brought on Ramona [Singer]. So, for nothing else, I should definitely get paid the same as everybody else, or Im not doing it.
One of the most notable castings for The Real Housewives of New York: Legacy is Singer one of the most polarizing Housewives in the Bravoverse. During the 13th season of RHONY, Bravo launched an internal investigation to look into formal complaints made about Singer by fellow Season 13 Housewife Eboni K. Williams and an additional crew member.
Singer has been a source of controversy throughout the years, she appeared to be done with the franchise, which was confirmed by Andy Cohen last year.Nonetheless, Singer has now joined the cast for Legacy despite her contentious past.
Announcing the shift to Peacock and the cast of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy wasnt the only RHONY news on Monday. The wait is finally over Bravo has released the first official look at The Real Housewives of New York City Season 14.
Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield all join the cast in a fresh, revamped look at the RHONY franchise.
The first official trailer gives audiences a tease at whats to come with the cast of new women. In true Real Housewives fashion, the Season 14 ladies are in for a spew of marital problems, lavish trips and discord amongst one another.
The cast is visibly more diverse than its preceding seasons, something that Cohen previously told Variety that Bravo was looking for amid the reboot. The list of housewives noticeably omits Lizzy Savetsky who was originally announced as part of the cast at BravoCon 2022. However, a little over one month after Savetsky joined the cast, she revealed she would be parting ways with the show after facing the brunt of several antisemitic attacks since her casting.
Unfortunately, from the time of my announcement in the cast, I was on the receiving end of a torrent of antisemitic attacks. As this continued, I realized that this path was no longer right for me and my family, read Savetskys official statement.
Watch the full trailer for RHONY Season 14 below.