There is an undeniable charm to having the original cast ofThe Real Housewives of New Yorkback together again onUltimate Girls Trip. They galavant around their island villa, reminisce about previous times vacationing with one another, and get stirred up by the “new” girl just like old times.The vacation “share house” format excelsat gathering a group together, outside their usual haunts, and putting them in a “relaxing” vacation setting.Insert shady games like rolling dice for room choice and provocative questions hidden under dinner plates, and viewers have more than ample evidence that the OG ladies of New York still have what it takes to entertain us. However, there are cracks in the veneer of the easy-going vacation vibes that demonstrate all is not cohesive with the once close group of friends.
The ladies have made clear there are certain things from their busy lives that they will not share onreality TV, which begs the question: can they still sustain audience interest over an entire season of a regular housewives franchise?The reboot ofRHONYearlier this year was a resounding success, with many of the women having break-out moments by sharing their authentic family life, careers, and friendships. Each woman endeared themselves to their audience in different ways.Jenna Lyonshas a vulnerabilitythat seems to suggestshe doesn’t quite know how to do this housewife thing, all while carrying herself confidently through the season.Breakout starBrynn’scoquettish ways immediately entranced audiences, as did supermodel and entrepreneurUbah Hussan. AndJessel Taank’striumphantRolling Stoneprofilehas cemented her as an immediate icon.These women have created an allure that will bring viewers back for seasons to come, where theRHONY:Legacycast has confirmed that spin-off projects with limited camera time might be more suitable after all.
The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip
Iconic members of the “Real Housewives” franchise from coast-to-coast unite on a luxurious getaway filled with unexpected friendships, fun in the sun and plenty of drama.
The Legacy Housewives Of New York Still Entertain
It is nice to see the ladies together again in St. Barths. Although they admit to having grown apart, one-time bestiesRamona SingerandSonja Morganshare breakfast in bed, and get ready together in a flurry of activity that ensures they are almost always late to the party. Just like old times. Sonja is still full of double entenders and jazzy one-liners like: “I always dress for the girls. And I undress for the guys.“Luann de Lessepsmanages to flirt with every man in her orbit, while showing off her linguistic and cooking skills along the way. She also reveals that she has come to a place in her sobriety where she has transitioned to a lifestyle of having an occasional cocktail.Since ladies tend to have a strict itinerary on their vacations, there is also ample opportunity for them to blow off steam at one another when someone is inevitably late to one function or another, as Luann and Ramona prove time after time.
Eboni K. Williams' Firing From ‘RHONY’ Didn’t Slow Her Down - Here’s Where to Watch Her New Show
The lawyer by trade was the first Black housewife on the show and don’t fare well with viewers or her co-stars but has bounced back.
Dorinda Medley is eagle-eyed in her observations about the group. When she is not obsessing over the difference between being fired or being put on “pause”, she is often delightfully acute in her ability to assess the motives of the other women and put them under the microscope.Group “newcomer"Kristen Taekmanruffles feathers on multiple occasions with her inquisition about seasons past. Although she appeared onRHONYseason six and seven with many of the other legacy ladies, the group consistently forget that they know her. But the viewers benefit from her inquiries, as her questions often lead to conversations that ultimately seem to bond the less sensitive wives with the curious “newbie.”
A vacation share house is an excellent way to reintroduce the ladies to each other and new viewers. It forces moments that range from light fun to downright feuding as the women size one another up after having lost touch over the years.In taking the women out of their normal daily routine, the format allows the audience to consider them a unit, the housewives of New York we once saw together on our screens.However, as the vacation progresses, the ladies reveal that the once tight-knit group of New Yorkers has grown apart. Several of them are not even centered in the city any longer. Kristen and her family now live in a well-known “suburb” near Los Angeles. Sonja has continued her slide into hard times and is “bouncing from couch to couch.” She is also reported to havea “Viking” boyfriend living in Virginia, who she is opting to leave nameless for now. While Countess Luann still has her apartment in New York, she continues to jet set around the country with her cabaret and other filming obligations.
The Friendships Are Strained On ‘RHONY:Legacy’
The group has grown apart in other ways that have nothing to do with geography. Ramona is up to her usual antics of forgetting peoples' names and whether she has even met them before. When Ramona and Dorinda are first chatting on the phone before they leave for St. Barths, Ramona “slips” and forgets Kristen’s name.This mean-girl method of making another person seem forgettable may have worked for her in earlier seasons, but it’s unfortunately now added up to a character flaw.Dorinda starts to gently tease Ramona about this bad habit and Ramona completely shuts down the conversation. She firmly states: “You know what, Dorinda? Don’t start like Sonja. I absolutely remember her. So change the subject right now.” She then immediately hangs up on her “friend.”
While such behavior might delight Ramona’s usual fan base, it does not sit well in light of her unceremonious ouster from BravoCon 2023 over herpattern of racially insensitive behavior.Ramona has been flippant in her bad treatment of other people for so long that she does not seem to see the problem in her harmful actions.
The women also accuse Sonja of not returning their attempts to reach her, and she admits to being a negligent friend.However, she pleads for the other women to understand that they don’t have to hustle for work the same way that she does. When the ladies are discussing Ramona’s claim that Dorinda’s exit fromRHONYwas “the best scenario” for her, Sonja quips: “Best scenario, except you don’t get twenty-three episodes in the mail. Check, check, check, check.” The group teases her that if it weren’t for the paycheck she wouldn’t be spending time with them at all.
This spursKelly Bensimonto console Sonja, saying she is also someone who often feels the need to prioritize work obligations over social ones. But she does also use the moment to subtly brag that her work involves showing “a hundred million dollar” properties, in true housewife fashion. Sonja laments her troubles since the cast reshuffle onRHONY, stating in a scandalous tone: “I’m on OnlyFans. Things have gone down hill, okay.” And indeed, we do see her performing her very un-scandalous cameo obligations while on vacation in St. Barths. The details of her struggles certainly inspire empathy. What is more interesting to watch, however, is Sonja in her element, entertaining rather than commiserating. Her entrepreneurial spirit, demonstrated by her live showSonja In Your Cityand also with her OnlyFans account, is admirable.However, her persistent discussion of her financial issues was a trope onRHONYas well, and we are still waiting for her long-promised toaster oven line.Though viewers may be sympathetic, Sonja’s repetitive musings on her financial woes make for some uncomfortable moments during the vacation.
What Isn’t Working On ‘RHONY:Legacy’
While the cast like to poke at Dorinda over her preference for the word “paused,” her forceful and sometimes childish tactics in arguments escalate the disagreement over semantics to the point of creating discomfort. Inevitably, the other women are forced to drop the issue. When Kristen and Dorinda get into an initial tiff over whether Dorinda was “fired” or not, the feud continues beyond reason.After their initial confrontation, Kristen tries to ease Dorinda into a reconciliation, but the conversation surprisingly escalates.Dorinda treads water in the pool and makes it immediately clear that she feels Kristen was “trying to make a play” for her earlier and demands to know why. Kristen hops off of a comedically large swan-shaped pool floater with force, seeming to want to squash the ridiculous fight directly. Somehow, Dorinda escalates the conversation in a way that only she can before eventually storming away, leaving the matter unresolved.
When a tenacious Kristen later tries to confront their issues at dinner, Dorinda resorts to childishly repeating what Kristen says in a display of rhetorical savvy one would expect to find in an adolescent youth. Later, Kristen continues to pester Dorinda about her sensitivity to no longer being an official “housewife.” Insisting that she no longer wants to speak with Kristen, Dorinda provides a crowd-pleasing line: “Eagles don’t fly with pigeons. So get your bread crumbs and get back to me tomorrow.” Her ability to take a feud and extend it beyond reason is unique, and can be entertaining. But when the persistent issue is a semantic difference between “paused” and “fired,” words that ultimately mean the same thing: this ability needs to be tapered with humor and self-awareness. That way, both the cast and viewers can acknowledge how ridiculous the whole thing is and laugh together.Being “paused” is still such an emotional trigger for Dorinda that it makes the conversation uncomfortable to witness, which ultimately doesn’t make for great viewing.
Ramona also hints at having a new beauin her life but refrains from revealing any details. Just like her friend Sonja, she wants to protect her new relationship. Ramona claims that once something is in the public eye “things can be destroyed and distorted.” While this is undoubtedly true, the deal with reality TV is that the cast are meant to share at least the basic parts of their life to maintain audience interest.If the “friends” on this vacation were really a part of each other’s lives, they would share such information.
The Kardashians have run into a similar problemin recent years, in that the family now only show their interactions at scheduled filmed events, rather than having cameras omnipresent to capture their daily lives. It is a difference that allows the cast more control over the narrative, but also makes the audience hyper-aware of the highly produced nature of what they are seeing.Rather than capturing the authentic lives of the cast, certain reality shows have to resort to over-produced storylines that make it difficult to sustain audience interest for an entire season.
Another aspect of the show that isn’t working is the moments of forced flirtation with men who are significantly younger than the legacy women. Fun flirtation between consenting adults is one thing. Both Luann fromRHONY:Legacyand Brynn from the reboot demonstrate that when done skillfully, flirtation can be appropriate in all scenarios (except maybe with your friend’s husband at their anniversary, Brynn). However, it appears that the young men in attendance at St. Barths are often employed by either the resort where the women are staying or a nearby restaurant owned by a friend of Ramona. Then add to the scenario that a variety of alcohol seems to be amply flowing at these events, where power dynamics surrounding employment are at play, and it can make for uncomfortable viewing. Even though the legacy ladies manage to keep things relatively classy, the recent history oflegal scandalsover housewifebehavior on theirUltimate Girls' Tripsshould give everyone pause.
The women ofRHONY: Legacyhave proven they have what it takes to entertain viewers in spin-off shows likeLuann & Sonja: Welcome To Crappie LakeandThe Real Housewives Ultimate Girls' Trip.However, the women on the reboot are certainly here to stay when it comes to holding down the flagship Housewives franchise in New York.
Stream The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls' Trip:RHONY Legacy on Peacock now.
