Survivor Bethenny Frankel, one of the original RHONY cast frankensteins, has weighed in on the shocking cancellation of the franchise. She’s both heartbroken and reflective on the closing of the show and era. The reality series debuted back in 2008. It was an electrifying cast to start—Luann, Jill, Ramona, and Alex. Page Six was the first to report the news of the show’s shelving. This could be a major change in the single-use plastic reality TV world.
Frankel described the cancellation as a “poetic” conclusion to a franchise that had become synonymous with New York City culture. “New York City was my playground and ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ has been canceled. It’s poetic. It is bittersweet,” she stated. From behind-the-scenes problems to forging a bold path, the series was beloved and prolific but self-destructed.
According to Frankel, the series failed because “the powers that be pandered to society and tried to fit 25 pounds in a five-pound bag.” Naturally, she was furious with the network’s choice to reboot the show in 2023. The fab new, diverse cast included Jenna Lyons, Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield. This reboot led Frankel to label the cast as a “glossy, curated version of what they thought people wanted New York City to be.”
“It is the end of an era, for me personally, and for that show which was an alchemy of disaster,” Frankel added. She reminisced about the original cast, stating, “It was a flawed group of women in a flawed city authentically being ourselves — unhinged, unmatched, shockwaves through the real socialite community in New York and the media.”
As Frankel says goodbye to New York City, she recently told the media about relocating full-time to Florida. The move followed an uncomfortable episode where she and daughter Bryn found themselves “really drowning” in their former residence. In fact, within the short span of five weeks, Frankel sold and bought homes in New York and Florida. Five weeks later, we had sold and bought a home in both cities. We’ll retain this co-op, but I sold my house and purchased one in Florida,” she shared.
If RHONY can cancel and be rebooted, perhaps there is still hope for the future of the franchise, insiders tell Page Six exclusively. “We want to figure it out. We think there’s still life in it,” an insider mentioned.
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