2008–2021: Original series While in pre-production, the show was initially titled
Manhattan Moms. It was later rebranded to become the second installment of the then-new
Real Housewives franchise. The
first season premiered on March 4, 2008, and starred
Bethenny Frankel,
Luann de Lesseps,
Alex McCord,
Ramona Singer and
Jill Zarin. Cast members were paid for their appearances on the series. Bethenny Frankel, for example, was paid $7,250 for the season.
Kelly Killoren Bensimon was added to the cast for the
second season, which premiered on February 17, 2009. The
third season premiered March 4, 2010 and saw the addition of
Sonja Morgan as a main cast member, along with Jennifer Gilbert in a recurring capacity. In August 2010, Frankel left the show in order to expand her Skinnygirl product line. Cindy Barshop replaced Frankel for the show's
fourth season, which premiered on April 7, 2011. After the fourth season, McCord, Zarin, Killoren Bensimon and Barshop were effectively let go from the show. In April 2012, Bravo announced a revamp to the cast for its
fifth season, integrating Aviva Drescher,
Carole Radziwill, and Heather Thomson into the main cast. The season premiered on June 4, 2012. Production for the
sixth season was set to begin on May 8, 2013, but the cast instead chose to go into salary negotiations with Bravo, effectively delaying shooting. Drescher, Morgan, Radziwill, Singer, and Thomson renewed their contract in May 2013, while de Lesseps was demoted to a recurring role. The sixth season premiered on March 11, 2014, a year later than planned with Kristen Taekman as the latest housewife. Drescher was dismissed after the sixth season. The
seventh season premiered on April 7, 2015, featuring the return of Frankel and addition of
Dorinda Medley, while de Lesseps returned in a full-time role. Taekman and Thomson exited the series after the season ended. For the
eighth season, which premiered on April 6, 2016, Jules Wainstein was added to the cast, while Thomson returned in a guest appearance, Taekman did not return. Wainstein left the show in September 2016 for personal reasons. The
ninth season premiered on April 5, 2017.
Tinsley Mortimer joined the cast, while former housewives Thomson and Zarin appeared as guests. The
tenth season premiered on April 4, 2018, with the cast of the ninth season returning. Drescher, Killoren Bensimon, Thomson and Zarin all appeared as guests. It served as Radziwill's final appearance on the show. The
eleventh season premiered on March 6, 2019.
Barbara Kavovit joined as a friend of the housewives, and Zarin appeared as a guest. Frankel departed the series after the season for a second time. The
twelfth season featured
Leah McSweeney joining the cast, which premiered on April 2, 2020. Zarin and Thomson appeared as guests in the twelfth season. Mortimer and Medley announced their departure from the series in June 2020 and August 2020 respectively. Mortimer coincided her announcement with her relocation to Chicago, to pursue her romantic relationship with Scott Kluth, while Medley later stated she was fired from the show. The
thirteenth season premiered on May 4, 2021, with
Eboni K. Williams joining the series, in addition to Heather Thomson and Bershan Shaw appearing as friends of the housewives. In September 2021, it was confirmed by Bravo that the thirteenth season reunion was officially cancelled.
2022–present: Rebooted series On March 23, 2022, it was announced that following the thirteenth season's negative reception, the showrunners had made the decision to "most likely" recast the show from scratch for the fourteenth season, and create a second version of the show following some of the show's original housewives, referred to as
RHONY: Legacy or
RHONY: Throwback. Although the series has partially shifted its cast before, It was later announced that de Lesseps and Morgan would star in their own spin-off series titled
Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake. Filming for the spin-off began in July 2022 in the small town of
Benton, Illinois. The series premiered on July 9, 2023. The fifth season of
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women from
The Real Housewives franchise, being billed as
RHONY Legacy premiered in December 2023 on
Peacock. Taking place in
Saint Barthélemy in the same villa that was featured in the fifth season, the cast includes Killoren Bensimon, de Lesseps, Medley, Morgan, Singer and Taekman. Savetsky exited the series midway into filming the season on November 16, alleging that she had received anti-Semitic hate across her social media accounts. The
fourteenth season premiered on July 16, 2023. In March 2024, Bravo announced that the show was renewed for a fifteenth season, with all six housewives from the fourteenth season returning. In April 2024, it was announced that
Rebecca Minkoff would be joining the series in a friend of capacity. In June 2024, it was announced that
Racquel Chevremont would also be joining the fifteenth season of the series as a full-time housewife. The
fifteenth season premiered on October 1, 2024. In February 2025, ahead of the conclusion of the fifteenth season reunion, it was announced Minkoff would be exiting the series after one season. In May 2025, a spokesperson for Bravo told
Us Weekly speculated reports of the franchise's cancelation were untrue. This was in response to a report published by
Page Six suggesting the franchise had been canceled by the network, with "hopes" to revive it in the future; in response to the Page Six article, Frankel made claim on her
TikTok that the franchise had indeed been canceled. De Silva responded to the cancelation as "fake news" on her social media pages, Cohen further addressed the report on his
Sirius XM radio show, stating, "We are between seasons", revealing producers had met with ten potential new housewives to join the franchise. The following month, Whitfield announced her departure, citing her decision to step away from reality television.
Summer House co-stars
Paige DeSorbo and Lindsay Hubbard, as well as makeup artist Daisy Toye were named as potential new housewives. During BravoCon in November 2025, Cohen revealed information regarding the sixteenth season and its cast would be announced "soon". That same month, Lyons announced her exit; she disclosed that despite being invited back in a "friend of" capacity, due to her unwillingness to film her personal life, and ultimately decided to depart. On March 2, 2026, Bravo revealed the cast for the sixteenth season. Returning housewives from the previous season include Lichy, De Silva, and Taank. New housewives joining the show are Hailey Glassman, Erika Hammond, and Toye, while Radziwill will return in a "friend of" role. Production was set to begin the week of March 2. ==Cast==