Original ‘RHONY’ cast not invited to party for the relaunch
Andy Cohen’s name was included, but Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin were not mentioned…
Neither were any of the other original cast members of “Real Housewives of New York City,” for that matter.
According to several sources, the long-serving stars of the Bravo show were not invited to the premiere party for the show’s relaunch, where the new stars would take over.
After the somewhat disastrous 13th season, the network took drastic action. They attempted to divide the show into two parts: relaunching the main show with a completely new cast, while also creating a second “Legacy” show that would feature fan-favorite stars from previous seasons (though the “Legacy” version never materialized due to contract issues).
However, Bravo held the Season 14 premiere party for the new stars at New York’s upscale Rainbow Room without extending an invitation to the old stars.
One insider described it as a “total snub” to the past cast members. “These women helped establish the franchise and were barely acknowledged,” they said.
“Every executive flew in,” they added, “They never threw parties like that for the old cast.”
A spokesperson for the network confirmed that other Bravo talent was not invited because “it was a party for the new season.” “The network is truly excited and confident about the new era,” they added.
New cast members Ubah Hassan, Jenna Lyons, Brynn Whitfield, Erin Dana Lichy, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank, and network executive-turned-host Cohen did attend the party.
As we previously reported, Taank fell ill and vomited multiple times throughout the evening.
Meanwhile, the new era of “Real Housewives of New York” premieres on Sunday, and there are already doubts. An insider who has seen the first few episodes said it’s shaping up to be a “disaster.”
“The cast members are all beautifully dressed [social media] influencers. It doesn’t feel authentic,” they said.
Cohen, on the other hand, is confident that they selected the right group of women for the reboot.
“Reinventing ‘RHONY.’ Wow. How do you do that? What a task,” he told the crowd at the party.
“How do you reboot a show with such a brilliant legacy like ‘RHONY’ and with a group of all-stars who truly made that show what it was,” he pondered. (Not that their “all-star” status earned them a place on the guest list, of course).
“And the answer seemed simple: just find a new group of women! No biggie!” he quipped. “And guess what? We found the right group of women,” he said.
In the meantime, skeptics can tune in to “Crappie Lake,” a new show starring Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan that airs on the same night, to get their fix of the original cast.
Andy Cohen’s name was on the list, but Ramona Singer’s wasn’t…
And neither was Jill Zarin’s. Or any of the rest of the original cast of the “Real Housewives of New York City,” for that matter.
Several sources told TheFantasyTimes the long serving stars of the Bravo show were not invited to the premiere party for the relaunch of the show to see the new stars take the reins.
After the somewhat catastrophic 13th season of the show, the network took dramatic action. It attempted to split the show in two, relaunching the main show with an entirely new cast while spinning off a second “Legacy” show featuring fan-favorite stars from previous seasons. (The “Legacy” version never got off the ground because of contract problems).
But Bravo held the Season 14 premiere party for the new stars at New York’s plush Rainbow Room without so much as inviting the old stars.
One insider described it as a “a total diss” to past cast members. “Those women helped create the franchise and were barely mentioned,” they said.
“Every executive flew in,” they said, adding, “They never threw parties like that for the old cast.”
A spokesperson for the network confirmed other Bravo talent weren’t invited because “it was a party for the new season.” “The network is really excited and very confident about the new era,” they added.
New cast members Ubah Hassan, Jenna Lyons, Brynn Whitfield, Erin Dana Lichy, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank and network-exec-turned-host Cohen did attend the bash.
As we previously reported, Taank fell ill and threw up several times throughout the evening.
Meanwhile, the new era of New York “Housewives” premieres on Sunday and there are already doubts. An insider, who has seen the first few episodes, said it’s shaping up to be a “disaster.”
“[The cast] are all beautifully dressed [social media] influencers. It doesn’t feel real,” they said.
Cohen, on the other hand, is confident they chose the right group of women for the reboot.
“Reinventing ‘RHONY.’ Wow. How do you do that? What a task,” he told the crowd at the party.
“How to reboot a show with a legacy as brilliant as ‘RHONY’ and with a group of all-stars who really made that show what it was,” he pondered. (Not that their “all-star” status got them on the guest list, of course).
“And the answer seemed simple: just find a new group of women! No biggie!” he quipped. “And guess what? We found the right group of women,” he said.
In the meantime, skeptics can tune in to “Crappie Lake,” a new show starring Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan that airs the same night, for their OG fix.
