Jenna Lyons Leads ‘RHONY’ Reboot Cast As Bravo Looks To Reinvigorate Fading Franchise

The Real Housewives of New York City are welcoming some fresh faces into the long-running Bravo series. RHONY is injecting new life into the show with the addition of seven stars: Lizzy Savetsky, Jessel Taank, Ubah Hassan, Jenna Lyons, Erin Dana Lichy, Brynn Whitfield and Sai De Silva.

Andy Cohen revealed the news last night while taping his show, Watch What Happens Live, at BravoCon, a gathering of Bravo’s reality stars and the fans who know and love them. The seven new Housewives stepped onstage to join executive producer Cohen, where they carried on at least one classic tradition from the series by holding their very own apples.

If seven new stars sounds like a crowded mess for RHONY Season 14, it’s not as bad as you think — Bravo is splitting the show to divide the OG cast and the newbies, effectively rebooting RHONY with a younger and more diverse group while sending the original women off into their own series, RHONY Legacy.

As promised, the new RHONY group better represents New York City, with Lyons — who identifies as gay — and Taank — who is the first Indian Housewife, according to Variety. Cohen previously said the new iteration of RHONY would feature “a multicultural group of friends who really best reflect the most exciting city in the country,” per Page Six.

This isn’t Lyons’ first foray into reality TV. Before joining RHONY, she led a short-lived HBO Max show, Stylish with Jenna Lyons, that was canceled after one season. Decider’s Joel Keller panned the show in his review, writing, “There are far better home design shows out there than Stylish With Jenna Lyons.”

While Lyons’ time as a TV interior designer wasn’t so successful, RHONY just might be the perfect fit. We’re rooting for you, Jenna!

As for who will star in RHONY Legacy, it’s still TBA, but Variety says the show is “essentially fully cast.” According to a Variety source, Dorinda Medley and Sonja Morgan have joined the cast, but when asked about Legacy at BravoCon, Medley refused to confirm or deny her involvement.

“I’ve heard more about the new girls [on the rebooted RHONY] than I have about Legacy,” she told Variety. “Listen, if you hear something, call me! I’ll be at Blue Stone Manor waiting, decorating for Halloween.”

Production on RHONY Season 14 starts this fall. The show is expected to premiere on Bravo next year.