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According to a report, the original stars of Real Housewives of New York City have jumped ship to a new network — nearly four years after Bravo completely rebooted the show. Bethenny Frankel then shared her reaction.
Years ago, fans were seemingly promised that the original castmates would return to Bravo for RHONY: Legacy. Unfortunately, it never happened. And the younger cast who replaced them has continually had lower ratings.
According to sources speaking to Page Six, Sonja Morgan, Luann de Lesseps, Jill Zarin, Ramona Singer and Kelly Bensimon signed a new deal with E!, and their show is expected to premiere by the close of 2026.
Like Bravo, E! once belonged to NBCUniversal. In recent weeks, however, E! switched to Versant, its new media company.
“This [original] cast really represented the golden years of ‘RHONY,’” a source expressed. “After Bravo fired Jill, Kelly, Alex McCord and Cindy [Barshop], the ratings dropping like 40% and never really recovered. Meanwhile, the viewers just don’t like the new crop, and they’ve been begging for the old cast to come back.”
Now, Bethenny and Alex McCord are apparently the only castmates from the early seasons who aren’t a part of the new show.
Meanwhile, Bethenny shared her reaction to the big news.
“What do I think about the Housewives going to E! in a new reboot, OG style? I’m glad you asked. I think it’s fan-f**king-tastic,” she said on Instagram. “E! came in savage, barracuda-style, and said, ‘These bitches aren’t expired, so you know what? Let’s put them back up on the f**king shelf.'”
“And Ramona is going to come out of hibernation like a bear, ready to eat something,” she added. “Jill, the machinations, she’s been turning the wheels, making this happen. Jill had something to do with this ending up in the end zone. And I am happy for all of them. Go. And you know what? With all due respect to that [Bravo] reboot, when that was announced, I said, ‘boring!’ And it was, respectfully to those beautiful women. But you know what? E! came in and said, ‘Watch what mother-f**king happens.'”