Why: Once upon a time I watched ALL of The Real Housewives franchises, but a combination of increasing anxiety from some of their fights that hit too close to home (sorry not sorry, RHONJ family drama), increasing number of series, decreasing familiar faces, and no actual change to the number of hours in the day slowly let that reality staple slip from my weekly life. However, in December 2023, Peacock dropped The Real Housewives Legacy: Girls Trip, and the holiday break was the perfect time to be sucked back in. Not only does it feature women I felt I knew best because these were O.G. cast members from one of my favorite cities of the show, but also, they are all women I love (or love to hate) to watch — AND they are in St. Barths, which is beautiful in scenery and legendary in the Real Housewives world for what went down the last time some of these women visited there. Although the full season is only now available (the finale dropped Jan. 4), from the very first episode, it promised to be full of everything I loved from the early days of The Real Housewives: extravagant personal spaces, unnecessary theme parties, and yes, misunderstandings and petty fights. But this season is extra special because it comes with a sense of nostalgia and a sense of maturity. The women are older and they are wiser (especially about how to make fun reality TV), and with that comes a stronger sense of humor about themselves and how they present themselves on screen (at least for some of them). If this was RHONY proper, I would make the time in my schedule to come back to the franchise full time.
When/Where: All episodes are available on Peacock.
– DANIELLE TURCHIANO, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
