At present, The Real Housewives of New York City is undergoing a major overhaul. It was revealed earlier this year that the upcoming fourteenth season of the Bravo reality TV series would essentially serve as a reboot. With that, the cast list was blown up completely, and EP Andy Cohen and co. sought to forge an entirely new roster of stars. That list of franchise newcomers was finally announced this past weekend at BravoCon, and one of the cast members sparked a response from GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
Real Housewives of New York City Season 14 is set to include a number of accomplished women, including Jenna Lyons. As noted by People, Lyons currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of LoveSeen, a beauty brand. She previously worked with J.Crew Group as the company’s president and executive creator director. And on top of that, in 2020, she also had a reality TV show on HBO Max. GLAAD Vice President of Communications & Talent Anthony Allen Ramos commented on the show’s decision to cast Lyons, who’s a member of the LGBTQ+ community. In his statement, Ramos praised Bravo for adding the socialite to the show:
Bravo has a long history of casting interesting, entertaining, and dynamic LGBTQ people in their highly popular programming and it’s exciting to see Jenna Lyons, a highly successful woman in business and a member of the LGBTQ community, join the newly rebooted The Real Housewives of New York City which is one of the network’s most beloved series.
The network has indeed featured a number of stars from the community across its wide slate of reality TV show offerings. In terms of Real Housewives, the sprawling franchise welcomed its first openly LGBTQ+ cast member in 2021 when Julia Lemigova joined the Miami spinoff. Additionally, fellow franchise alums Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Noella Bergener and Elizabeth Lyn Vargas have also come out since their tenures on their respective shows. So all in all, this latest casting builds on the progress that the network has been making.
Joining Jenna Lyons on the show will be publicist and brand consultant Jessel Taank, philanthropic Somalian model Ubah Hassan, lifestyle blogger Sai De Silva, longtime real estate agent Erin Dana Lichy and digital influencer Lizzy Savetsky. These ladies should help to inject some new life into the New York spinoff. And that’s something the producers are likely excited about following the series’ “doomed” thirteenth season.
Season 13 added Eboni K. Williams to the reality TV ranks and, upon her casting, the show began to feature some discussions regarding race and culture. These conversations received mixed reactions from viewers and some of the stars themselves. Before the reboot news was announced, Leah McSweeney expressed interest in returning. And after the reboot plans were confirmed, Luann De Lesseps left Bravo all together, as she signed a deal with E!.
This new season of RHONY is going to be pretty experimental, to say the least. However, Andy Cohen and the network as a whole seem confident that viewers will take to this new cast of dynamic women. The premiere will surely be an auspicious moment for Jenna Lyons, who will entertain the masses while also firmly representing the LGBTQ+ community.
The Real Housewives of New York City Season 14 is set to premiere in 2013 and, in the meantime, you can catch up on the show by streaming previous episodes using a Peacock subscription.
