There’s an old adage in television that advises if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That advice, however, is something that Andy Cohen is ignoring by completely recasting “The Real Housewives of New York”, bringing in an entirely new group of women for the hit reality show’s 14th season.
Gone are such OG “RHONY” stars as Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer. In their place, viewers will meet fashion content creator Sai De Silva, model Ubah Hassan, luxury real estate developer Erin Lichy, former executive creative director and president of J.Crew Jenna Lyons, publicist Jessel Taank and communications professional Brynn Whitfield.
READ MORE: Paula Abdul Reveals Why She Turned Down ‘The Real Housewives’ Offer (Exclusive)
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cohen explained why the time was right for such a massive cast shakeup.
“This is going back to the original formula in that it is a ‘Housewives’ show and it very much feels like that,” he said, admitting the strategy is not without risk.
“We’re rolling dice here and I think we’ve got a team of people between Bravo, myself and Shed Media who’ve been doing this for a very long time so, we did not take this lightly,” he explained.
READ MORE: ‘Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy’ Cast Announced For Fifth Season
“We painstakingly recast the show. We looked at so many people and we met people every way from Sunday before we wound up selecting this group. We took a lot of care in this, and I think it shows in who we actually chose,” he continued.
“What makes it the right group of women is they’re a cohesive group. We were looking for a group of friends, people who had existing relationships. Some of them know each other, some of them don’t. They’re funny, they’re fun, they’re aspirational, they’re fashionable. They live their lives. They’re opening up their lives in front of the camera. They’re all dynamic. They’re professionals. They, I think, represent a different New York than we’ve seen before. They are diverse. They live all over the city and it feels fresh and very vibrant,” Cohen added.
READ MORE: Kyle Richards Playfully Comments On Mauricio Umansky’s Shirtless Selfie Amid Separation Reports
During the conversation, the “Watch What Happens Live” host was also asked to address rumours that the marital problems between “Real Housewives of Beverly Hill” stalwart Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky are a made-up storyline aimed at building buzz for the next “RHOBH” season.
“That’s a new one,” Cohen said after being presented with the rumour.
“That’s really stupid, is what it is,” he added. “That’s too lame to even respond to, I think.”
