The Real Housewives of New York City is nearing the end of Season 12 on Bravo, but if you're expecting more of the same ol', same ol' when the hit series returns for Season 13, a surprise is coming. While fans probably know by now that two of the cast members have already stepped down for the upcoming season, it now looks like producers are trying to fill at least one of those recently vacated spots with someone who's a little less rich and white.
That's right RHONY fans, after 12 seasons of following wealthy white women as they jaunt around New York City in glittery dresses, argue over, well, pretty much everything, and have unfortunate pooping accidents every time they take any kind of trip outside of the city limits, we might actually be able to see some black or brown ladies do the same in the new season. Yay! (Yay?) According to TMZ, the producers are already actively looking to cast outside of the show's typical type, and are currently in talks with some potential new cast members who would help to diversify the series.
As we've seen recently, a lot of showrunners are realizing that they can no longer continue to keep their casts all-white. While many scripted and reality shows have sought out diverse casts for many years now, for some reason, several of the Real Housewives franchise shows have not been among those series, at least not until recently.
The wide-reaching franchise, which still has American branches in Orange County, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, New Jersey, Potomac, Dallas, and a new show set in Salt Lake City (which is expected sometime this year), only recently added African-American actress Garcelle Beauvais to the Beverly Hills cast, for instance. After 14 seasons, the Orange County cast hasn't had any leads who fit in the BIPOC category, and the same can be said for the New Jersey cast after 10 seasons, and the Dallas cast after four seasons. Meanwhile, the casts for the Potomac and Atlanta franchises have been mostly or all black for their entire runs.
And, now that I think about it, the women of these shows tend to at least travel in the same social circles before getting cast, if not actually being friends / acquaintances beforehand. So, basically, it sounds like special effort needs to be made by the producers to seek out more diverse casts for several of their shows.
It was just in mid-June that Tinsley Mortimer, who joined the cast in Season 9, announced that she would be leaving the show so that she could continue to pursue her romance with Scott Kluth by relocating to Chicago, which made for some solid storylines on camera for her. And, earlier this week, Dorinda Medley, who'd been on RHONY since Season 7, decided to call it quits. You can see part of her statement on the departure, below:
What a journey this has been. I have laughed and cried and tried to Make it Nice...But all things must come to an end...I have met so many interesting people and learned so much about myself, about life and about women along the way...I wish you all health, happiness and success.
Well, Season 13 of The Real Housewives of New York City is slated to begin shooting this fall, and the producers should have their new, more diverse cast in place before too much longer, so be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest. In the meantime, check out our guide to fall TV to see what you can watch in the coming weeks!
