The future of Real Housewives of New York City isn’t looking bright at the moment. For the first time in 13 seasons, the show’s reunion special has been put on “hold” amid low ratings and fan backlash, Hollywood Life has confirmed. Page Six was first to report the news on July 14, and our sources are saying the same.
Sonja Morgan, Leah McSweeney, Ramona Singer, Eboni K. Williams and Luann de Lesseps were “supposed to tape” the Season 13 reunion special on August 17, but that’s no longer happening. More specifically, Hollywood Life has EXCLUSIVELY learned that “as of right now, the reunion for Season 13 isn’t happening”, and “no future date has been set”.
“This has never happened before,” one of our sources said. “The reunion is supposed to be the exclamation point [of the season] and [serve as a time for] wrapping everything with a bow, but this season is just not working, so they’re figuring all possibilities out right now.”
So what does this mean for the show’s future? According to various reports, everyone’s on the chopping block, including Ramona — even though she recently took to Instagram to say she has not been fired. And to be fair, she has not yet been fired. Another source told us, “The producers and network haven’t made any casting decisions for Season 14 yet.” But that also doesn’t mean Ramona’s safe. And from what we hear, she’s feeling “nervous” — all of the OG stars are, actually.
“Ramona has turned her phone off a lot this week,” the source said. “Friends have been calling her and oftentimes, it goes straight to voicemail. Sonja and Luann are nervous about being let go, too. All of the ladies are nervous they’re going to be axed from the show. They see what the fans are saying and it’s bothersome.”
Luann even took to Instagram on July 15 to say, “#OGs are hard to come by…#RHONY #NYCStrong”. It seems pretty apparent that she’s sending a message to Bravo.
It’s not yet clear what’s truly prompting the delay in filming the reunion, but ratings are at an all-time low — last week’s episode was the lowest-rated one ever with 764,000 live viewers — and fans aren’t happy with the way this season’s been playing out.
“Leah and Eboni are not a good fit for this show. #Rhony used to be my favorite franchise. Now all they do is bickering and talking about race. It sucks. I miss the old days with Bethenny or Carol or even f***ing Jill Zarin…,” one fan tweeted, while another wrote, “@BravoTV There is a time and a place for discussions of race & racism and, I’m sorry, ‘Real Housewives’ just ain’t one of ‘em. Don’t be dumb; stick to the formula. Keep it fun.”
“Another season is never promised to anyone, but all of this is new territory for them, and Ramona isn’t going to go quietly. Bravo is her main source of income,” our source added. Meanwhile, RHONY alum Dorinda Medley would “be open to returning if she’s offered a full-time role”, we’re told. “Nobody else has been approached about returning though.” So those current rumors about Bethenny Frankel making another comeback aren’t true. At least not yet…