The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast is reportedly “in danger” of a full reboot.
After the cast divide led by Teresa Giudice, 52, and Melissa Gorga, 45, resulted in “catastrophic” ratings on season 14, a new report claims producers are “in panic mode” as they consider getting rid of the entire cast and welcoming a new set of women for the series’ upcoming 15th season.
“The ratings decline has been catastrophic. Most shows have been in steady decline, but there is hope that things will turn around,” an insider told The U.S. Sun on October 21. “On one end, there is a sense of panic within the network but that’s the state of TV right now. It’s not just Bravo, viewership for any linear network is down.”
According to data from Nielsen, 1.1 million viewers tuned into the RHONJ season 12 premiere in February 2022, but only 830,000 tuned into the debut episode of season 14 in May of this year. That’s down nearly 20% drop in just two years.
While streaming services have certainly impacted live viewership in recent years, which is good for Bravo’s sister company, Peacock, it has hurt the network.
“Peacock really started to take off in 2022 and that’s when a decrease in network viewership and an increase in streaming viewership was really noticed by [Bravo],” the source explained. “It’s difficult to navigate because it’s all the same company, so at the top it’s a win, but they also are two totally different entities. So different people feel different ways about it sucking the traffic. It’s complicated.”
“[Higher ups] at the network are not happy and having constant discussions about the numbers. Then it trickles down to them wanting producers to get creative with adapting to what will keep eyeballs watching, which then results in enormous shifts like we’ve seen with the [Real Housewives of New York City] reboot and recastings on basically every show,” the insider continued.
Although RHONJ is said to be “the main point of discussion” for Bravo at the moment, it was also noted that The Real Housewives of Orange County cast will “most likely be shaken up slightly but not completely rebooted.”
“They’re happy overall with the drama those women brought,” the source shared. “They’re waiting to see how [The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills] and [The Real Housewives of Potomac] plays out but [RHONJ] and [RHOC] are in discussions now the most.”
As for the “most stable casting-wise of all the shows,” that honor went to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Still, the insider continued, “no one is safe” when it comes to future seasons.
“Any cast member on any franchise could be on the chopping block at any point and they’re not afraid to make the cuts when they need to,” the source stated. “If a total overhaul will save the day, that’s what they’ll do but everyone is working overtime to save what’s still good at the network – and there are still shows pulling their weight in ratings. They’ve got a plan and the people there believe in what they’re doing, a lot have been there [for] years so the spirit isn’t lost. There is still so many successful aspects within the company. It’s an uphill battle but they’re fighting.”
Years ago, the 12th season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta pulled an average of 1.8 million viewers per episode. But the series’ most recent season, season 15, brought the network just 816,000 each week. Meanwhile, the latest season of RHONJ, season 14, averaged 732,000 viewers.
The report went on to say that while RHOC season 15 received more than 1 million weekly, on average, it was down to 600,000 amid its currently airing 18th season. That said, added to the streaming views, it was still the most-watched season in five years.
