Bravo’s reality empire is expanding once again—this time to the smallest state in the U.S., but with some seriously big personalities. Andy Cohen is already hyping The Real Housewives of Rhode Island as a standout addition to the franchise, promising fans a fresh twist on familiar drama.
“The cast is incredible,” Cohen told Page Six exclusively at a Cinema Society screening of Lilly on Wednesday night. “They are very Italian. Rhode Island is such a small state, and they all kind of know each other and overlap, and it’s an incredible group of women who have really interesting connections. I think it’s going to really surprise people.”
Andy Cohen acknowledged the obvious comparisons to The Real Housewives of New Jersey, especially given the shared Italian-American roots and family dynamics. But he made sure to point out what sets the new show apart.
“Well, they’re in Rhode Island. It’s coastal,” he said, adding that the cast is even “more Italian” with “deep families.”
Still, the Bravo boss admitted that RHORI has the same kind of spark that first drew fans to RHONJ. “It does kind of remind you of early ‘Jersey’ in a weird way,” he said.
Of course, fans familiar with the franchise’s history couldn’t help but wonder if Bravo handled background checks more carefully this time—especially after RHONJ star Teresa Giudice and her then-husband Joe ended up behind bars.
“When we started ‘Jersey,’ nobody had [done] anything illegal,” Andy Cohen said. But he conceded that things are different now. “As the show has evolved,” he explained, “the diligence has evolved.”
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island will mark the 12th installment in Bravo’s long-running franchise, which began with The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006.
Cohen was in attendance at Wednesday’s NeueHouse screening to support his longtime friend John Benjamin Hickey, who stars in Lilly alongside Patricia Clarkson. The star-studded event also brought out Hillary Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Gayle King, Jim Parsons, John Slattery, Victor Garber, Cherry Jones, Tony Shalhoub, and Katie Couric.
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