The Real Housewives of New Jersey has always been praised for being reality TV gold, and rightfully so. I have always thought that New Jersey was the best in the franchise because of the combination of family, fun, and, of course, drama. There has never been anything short of entertainment throughout RHONJ, and that is why I swear to it being the best. With a cast including Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Melissa Gorga, and Dolores Catania, you are promised a great show.
Although there is never a shortage of drama, specifically the Giudice's vs. the Gorga's, that does not always mean great TV. In recent years, this show has become much darker than anything we have seen. I almost stopped watching Season 14 because the drama between the entire cast became unbearable. It is not fun to watch a real family being torn apart, watching grown women act like teenage girls, and friendships being torn apart. For Season 15 to succeed, there needs to be major changes.
Bring Back the Holiday Episodes
For starters, I am sick of watching every season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey take place during the summer. Nothing new ever happens - it is always Melissa hosting another themed party at her shore house or Teresa being excluded from an event. I cannot remember the last season that was filmed during the fall or winter. Although filming during the summer is fun once in a while, it gets old really fast when all I'm watching is the group going to the same parties down the shore. The best seasons take place during the holiday season, and I would love for Season 15 to get back to those days.
During Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cast always got to show the best moments with their families - holiday traditions, decorating, hosting, and the overall joy of celebrating the holidays together. The reason that the earlier seasons were a huge hit was because the show was focused more on each family just being a family and less on women hating each other. Maybe watching each cast member celebrate the holidays would heal at least part of the major toxicity that this show has created. Not only would watching a fall/winter in New Jersey be extremely nostalgic for the fans, but it might even save the show. I would love to watch Teresa run around town trying to host the perfect Christmas party, and maybe we could even watch a Gorga Christmas without the mention of the sprinkled cookies incident from Season 3. What we don't want to see is the same fight over and over again at the same type of party at Melissa's beach house. If Season 15 were filmed during the fall/winter, each family would be focused more on celebrating the holidays and less time gossiping about each other. It would be healing.
There Needs to Be Different Sides of the Ladies' Personalities Shown
If this cast is going to stay the same for Season 15, I want to see different sides of these women. I think it would be great to watch Margaret Josephs and Rachel Fuda spend more time with their family, and less time using their scenes to gossip about Teresa. Rachel is pregnant, so it would be adorable to focus more on their growing family in the new season. I want to see the other side of Margaret; the fun side that we see on social media. Most of Margaret's screen time during the recent seasons is her speaking ill of Teresa and her family. I think showing that Margaret has a life outside of Teresa would only benefit the show. Something I want more than anything for Season 15 is for Dolores to stop playing the role of Switzerland. She needs to speak her mind when she has something to say. We all know she is a tough woman, and it would be awesome to actually see Dolores involved in the drama.
There needs to be major changes in order for Season 15 to succeed. Maybe trading in the warm weather for the cold is just what this show needs. Watching families celebrate the holidays together is entertaining, and the fans miss it. There needs to be personality changes as well - if not, it's time for RHONJ to end.
