It’s official: the Real Housewives of New York reboot is in a sophomore slump. RHONY’s new era had a lot to prove from the jump. The reboot’s first season mostly exceeded expectations, though some never warmed to the new cast. And the second half of Season 14 faltered a bit, exposing the problems of trying to build a show with women who were essentially strangers.
However, any promise the reboot once showed started to evaporate as Season 15 disappointed from week to week. The cries to bring back to OGs got louder and louder. Still, others defended the new cast, insisting we needed to let the ladies find their own groove. But even the biggest, most stubborn reboot defenders threw up their hands after the November 12 episode.
Erin Lichy and Rebecca Minkoff’s pregnancy prank storyline is a new low, for so many different reasons. Can the RHONY reboot recover from this serious misstep? Or was this the final straw for viewers?
Why the RHONY reboot’s pregnancy prank was in such poor taste
This wasn’t RHONY Season 15’s first prank, or even the first misguided one that Erin pulled off (remember how last season’s phone prank backfired). But using pregnancy as a prank rubbed viewers the wrong way. Pregnancy is a delicate topic. Now more than ever, considering the current state of reproductive rights in the USA. Seriously, read the room!
Making the prank even more tone deaf is that Erin and Rebecca’s RHONY co-stars vulnerably shared their family planning struggles. Jessel Taank has been very open about her fertility journey. This season, her storyline centers around her hopes for a baby girl.
In the November 12 episode, Ubah Hassan also expressed concerns that potential health issues could impact her plans to start a family with boyfriend Oliver Daschel. Surely, there are a lot of viewers who relate to Jessel and Ubah. Ignoring how emotional and complicated this subject is, especially amongst the cast members who are supposed to be your friends, is tone deaf and short sighted.
A defense I’ve seen about the prank is that it was designed to expose Brynn Whitfield as a gossiper. But if that’s the goal, there was surely a different way to achieve it. Plus, Brynn is already facing serious backlash. In this very episode, fans were fed up by her attempts to drive a wedge between Jessel and Jenna Lyons. There was no need to potentially trigger or upset viewers and cast members with a pregnancy prank.
RHONY viewers feel duped by the trailer
Another reason the episode’s prank reveal felt like a major blow to RHONY’s chances of success is the Season 15 trailer. If you need a refresher, since the trailer did come out three months ago, the pregnancy reveal was framed as a major shocking scandal. So, that’s months of set up and anticipation, all for a silly prank? Anyone expecting a twist on the level of “it’s about Tom” is feeling ripped off.
The trailer’s major drama being revealed as a prank also doesn’t instill viewers with confidence in the rest of the season. Maybe editors will deliver an explosive midseason trailer. But you know what they say; fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice? I’m done with the RHONY reboot for good.
You know it’s bad when Andy Cohen disapproves
On the November 12 Watch What Happens Live episode, host Andy Cohen and guest Jeff Lewis spoke for many RHONY viewers. Unpacking the episode, Andy didn’t hold back.
“I’m not a fan of a prank, I gotta be honest,” he said in a very frank and fed up way. Usually, when Andy gets this exasperated, it’s a sign there’s a serious problem with the show. Jeff also deemed the prank a “bad move.” Calling out the RHONY reboot’s major issue of too much self-producing, he said, “I think that you lose trust in your audience.” Judging by online reactions, that audience is very inclined to agree!
Sharing a WWHL clip to her Instagram Story, Sai De Silva insisted she was as shocked by the prank as the rest of us. To paraphrase Taylor Swift, it felt like Sai desperately wanted to be excused from the narrative.
Is this the end result of the RHONY reboot’s fundamental flaws?
Much has been said about the new RHONY cast holding back on camera. Especially since Jenna and Ubah both insisted on keeping their significant others off the show. But if Housewives are going to keep out significant parts of their lives, there has to be something genuine in its place. For the most part, that’s not the case with the RHONY reboot. It’s such a stark contrast in comparison to the original cast, who never held back. Many OGs also had long histories with one another, and that’s sorely missing here.
All Real Housewives casts are manufactured friend groups to an extent. But viewers can tell when there are little to no genuine connections. Maybe producers hoped the new RHONY ladies would bond over the course of filming. Instead, they come across more and more like co-workers who can’t stand each other. Jessel teasing that the cast trip ended early because of fighting didn’t excite us. It made us preemptively exhausted.
This season, the RHONY cast’s self-producing is especially egregious. I’m still surprised editors kept in the clip of Brynn coaching Rebecca how to clap back. Before the season began, Rebecca admitted that she tried to convince Jenna to have a fake fight (thankfully, Jenna declined). When you don’t have anything real to offer, we end up with pranks, apparently.
Can the RHONY reboot course correct after the pregnancy prank backlash?
Right now, the backlash is overwhelming. But Bravo shows have come back from worse. It’s not unheard of for Housewives to have a late seasons renaissance. Hello, Real Housewives of Orange County!
RHONY Season 15 isn’t a total wash. Personally, I really like Racquel Chevremont, one of the recent impressive Real Housewives newbies. Her preexisting friendship with Jenna makes a notable difference. Sai also took notes from the backlash and comes across much better this season.
By contrast, it seems fair to deem Rebecca a poor casting choice. She is boring, and the controversial allegations against her family are too dark to overlook. Even before the pregnancy prank, fans were bothered by Rebecca and Erin’s Scientology conversation. Rebecca dismissively telling naysayers to “read a book” left a bad taste in people’s mouths. Especially those who have read books that portray Scientology as dangerous.
For all the cries to bring back the old cast, RHONY was rebooted for a reason. There are some OGs who crossed the line way too many times (*cough* Ramona Singer) and shouldn’t come back. But producers could try to mix in newbies with the most popular former RHONY stars, like Luann de Lesseps or Dorinda Medley.
Regardless, I think we should expect some major changes. It’s not just that outspoken online fans are fed up. RHONY is also struggling ratings-wise. Oddly enough, the November 12 episode was the most watched of the season. But it only had 350k viewers. That’s not a number Bravo will celebrate. Instead, it seems inevitable that Bravo puts RHONY on pause. Unless those streaming figures are blowing it out of the water.
The Real Housewives of New York is available to stream on Peacock.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH THE RHONY REBOOT PREGNANCY PRANK BACKLASH, OR IS IT OVERBLOWN? IS THERE STILL HOPE FOR THE RHONY REBOOT?
