This RHONY Alum Shared Her True Feelings About The Show's New Cast

Season 14 of The Real Housewives of New York City made history as it was the first Real Housewives franchise to be completely rebooted. Every single woman from the previous season was ultimately fired and was replaced.

The season introduced fans to a group of somewhat younger women living and working in and around the city—model and hot sauce company owner Ubah Hassan, real estate agent Erin Lichy, former president of J. Crew Jenna Lyons, fashion publicist Jessel Taank, brand marketing professional Brynn Whitfield, and content creator Sai De Silva. In Season 15, fans were introduced to art curator Raquel Chevremont, and "friend" of the group, fashion designer, Rebecca Minkoff.

The reboot has had mixed reactions from fans. While some viewers miss the RHONY veterans, others are happy to see a diverse group of women living in the bustling Big Apple. In fact, RHONY alums have come forward to speak their minds about the total overhaul.

RHONY Alum Dorinda Medley Thinks That An Entire Cast Shakeup Was "A Tremendous Jump"

The Real Housewives of New York City alum Dorinda Medley had a lot of thoughts about the complete reboot of the show she starred in for six seasons. Dorinda came onto the series in Season 7 and left after Season 12. The following season would be the last time fans would get to see OG's Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, and Sonja Morgan.

During an interview with Bravo's Hot Mic podcast, Dorinda expressed that the producers deciding to fire the entire cast was a "huge jump." However, she acknowledged that her OG cast didn't represent the city today.

"I think they (Bravo) made an executive decision. Get rid of one and replace with the other. I personally think that was a tremendous jump and it was tricky because we have such deeply loyal, committed fans that grew up with these women that it was a lot for them. All of the sudden, ‘now you see them, now you don’t’ and present these new girls who are beautiful and talented and really, the new New York," she told host Alex Baskin.

"New York’s a different place now than it was when we were raising children in New York.”

In her interview, Dorinda didn't trash talk the new cast, but she did share that fans have had a difficult time getting used to such a drastic change. "The crown is heavy. There’s a lot of people in middle America that still can’t quite let go of the old girls. It’s not a matter of them being good, us being better, us being worse, them being good. It’s just change is hard for the audience."

In addition, the RHONY alum also touched upon just how "glamorous" the new women looked compared to her time on the show.

"We just weren’t that glamorous in that way. Half the time we were filming in our apartments, and we really didn’t get hair and makeup and all that. So, it’s totally a different game," Dorinda said.

"I think that these girls have a lot to follow up on. But I like them. I’ve met most of them. … It’s just different. It’s like saying, ‘Do you like the beach or do you like skiing?’ You know what I mean?"

Bethenny Frankel Called The RHONY Reboot A "Piece Of Trash"

RHONY alum Bethenny Frankel was not as kind as Dorinda when she shared her thoughts on the Bravo show's reboot. According to a report by Life&Style, Bethenny shared in a since-deleted TikTok that the reboot was a "piece of trash."

Bethenny, who admitted that she didn't even watch the reboot, further slammed the show as "unwatchable." It seemed that Bethenny wasn't necessarily saying bad things about the new women, but frustrated that the executive producers made such a huge decision to remove all the OG's from the show. "But these women, as they got older, just got dropped off at the side of the road," she explained.

"Justice for Sonja [Morgan], Dorinda [Medley], Luann [de Lesseps], Ramona [Singer]," the reality TV star also said. "They were ride or die. That show was on their back and all of a sudden they all got replaced. They were all sitting on the shelf like Toy Story, hoping someone was gonna come play with them."

Bethenny was an OG RHONY cast member from Seasons 1-3 and again from Seasons 7-11.

In addition, Bethenny, who has had a complicated relationship with Bravo since her departure from RHONY, shared with her TikTok followers that the low viewership was due to the fact that there were no original cast members hanging out with the new ladies.

"You got like 200,000 viewers watching this piece of trash. So, go get the old girls and dust them off and mix them in. Humble pie is coming in hot."

The RHONY Reboot Saw Significantly Poor Ratings

Bethenny was right about the fact that the new RHONY reboot did see significantly low viewership. According to TV Deets, Season 15, in particular, saw a record new low when it came to Real Housewives shows. The series premiere saw over 300,000 viewers tuning in, which is nothing compared to the nearly one million that watched the Season 13 premiere, which was the last season with the OGs. Season 15, Episode 6 saw an all-time low, with only 281,000 viewers.

The reboot has been heavily criticized by viewers and critics alike. The Huffington Post called the reboot "boring" and added that what makes the show lackluster is the women withholding their personal lives, like those of Jenna Lyons and Ubah Hassan, who refuse to show their partners.

Other reasons for the show not working for fans are that the friendships feel forced and are not genuine.

"Ultimately, the biggest issue plaguing the new RHONY is that it remains obvious that they are co-workers cosplaying as friends."

Season 15 also lost a lot of credibility when it showcased a prank in which Erin and Rebecca fake a pregnancy for an entire episode. Fans felt scammed as the trailer for the season made it out to be as if a bomb was about to be dropped on the women. There were other issues too. Including Jessel Taank not really living in New York and the women simply not being entertaining.