Bravo’s “The Real Housewives” has gotten a bad rap over the years. There’s no denying that since the franchise has expanded, its quality has withered. All these Bravo series spin-off series sometimes seem to blend together. Too many nip/tucked, rich, clueless women continuously complaining about things that aren’t real problems. No one can tell the difference between the “Beverly Hills” cast from the ladies on “Orange County.” Or whether it’s “Atlanta” or “Potomac,” cast. It’s all the same glorified modern version of “How the Rich and Famous Live” with zero plot, right? Wrong.
So wrong.
When it comes to “The Real Housewives of New York City,” we have a series which has established itself as a must-sit-down-and-watch show. Merely having it play in the background, you’ll miss what makes this show so incredibly addicting. Venturing into Season 8 of the Big Apple franchise, we are presented with a slew of long-time cast mates whose transformation over the years make for fascinating entertainment.
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Bethenny Frankel
We’ve seen Frankel go from the single, she’s-not-rich-enough-to-be-featured-on-this-show girl, to the wealthiest, happily married mother of Bryn. Then almost as quickly as all the fame and fortune came, the Skinnygirl CEO began plowing through one of the most awful and drawn out divorces.
After crying through every episode last season, Frankel’s emotional stability has mostly returned, and she’s without question the spitfire star of the show. While her solo series spin-off a few years ago wasn’t great, she absolutely shines in this ensemble cast with her new attitude: “This is the summer of no fucks given.”
Frankel winning the award for worst divorce is quite a feat considering the company she’s in.
Ramona Singer
Singer recently divorced her husband Mario of over 20 years after he got caught cheating. Ramona is the trainwreck we love to watch. Sure, she may subsist on drink a lot of Pinot Grigio — enough so that she started her own line of white stuff — but she has managed to raise a beautiful daughter, Avery, who audiences have watched grow up on the show.
Jaws dropped upon seeing Avery sit next Ramona at the bar in the Season 8 premiere. When did she turn 21?! How has the woman who coined the term “Turtle time” raised such a lovely young woman? There’s so much more to Ramona than meets the “Crazy Eyes.”
Sonja Morgan
Another original cast members with serious divorce issues is Queen of the Toaster Oven, Miss Sonja Morgan. After a few business investment mistakes, her billionaire ex-husband wanted to leave her homeless, even though they still share custody of their daughter, 16-year-old Quinn.
It should be noted that Quinn has never once been featured on the show. These women deal with their nasty divorce battles, bankruptcy issues, cheating husbands, and embarrassing drunk tirades, all while always putting their children first and totally separate.
Luanne De Lesseps
But now, here we are at Season 8, and all their kid have grown up!
Ever since Luanne De Lesseps became an empty-nester, she threw away the hoity-toity and utterly obnoxious “Countess” title she so desperately held on to for so many years, sold her house and now bunks with Sonja every time she wants to stay in the City. The show’s two favorite floozies love to go out, pick up men, complain about menopause – it’s quite an entertaining scene.
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Carole Radzwille
Radzwille is the quiet dark horse of the series An extremely intelligent novelist, once married to a Kennedy, she is now dating Luanne’s twenty-something-year-old ex chef. This situation has caused quite a riff between the two ladies. However, it’s been over a year, and the May-December relationship everyone thought was just a fling for good TV is the exact opposite. Adam and Carole are shockingly still going strong.
Carole stands out from these loud and rambunctious women for she has such an authentically unique and chill personality. She is the only one who can match Bethenny when it comes to witty camera confessionals. Her trip with Dorinda Medley overseas when she had to go pick up deceased ex-husband’s ashes last season was one of the most heart-wrenching moments in all the “Housewives” history.
Dorinda Medley
Oh, Dorinda. Not only is she dating the skeeziest man alive, John, the dry cleaner king of New York, but she transforms into a full-on bizarro gangster version of herself after she’s had a few too many martinis.
This is Dorinda after a night of drinking.
Julianne Wainstein
Lastly, there’s one newbie this season. If you’re thinking, “Oh my God, she’s too skinny” — you’re not alone. This is an instance in which actually sitting down to watch the show will affect viewers. The camera will zoom in to show Jules cutting up one tiny piece of tuna sashimi into 4 pieces. You can see the yearning in her eyes while she watches other people eat. While the mother of two may seem to have it all, Jules couldn’t be more insecure about herself which is both mind-blowing and devastating to watch first-hand.
Overall, “RHONY” make for captivating TV not just because it’s fun to see their couture outfits, the fancy restaurants they dine at, tour their summer homes and first-class means of travel. These women are fascinating because they are still just human. After watching them for so many years, any fake persona that they were once trying to pull off is long gone. What they say, how they act, they are all unapologetically and authentically being themselves, a true rarity in reality TV.
“The Real Housewives of New York City” airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
