RHONY season 16 isn’t apparently getting ratings they expected. The Real Housewives of New York City is reportedly facing another ratings setback, and even the highly anticipated return of Carole Radziwill may not be enough to turn things around.
According to a new report from RadarOnline, RHONY’s Season 16 premiere drew just 371,000 traditional television viewers, marking what the outlet describes as a historically low live premiere for the franchise.
The report claims that the premiere reached approximately 1.8 million viewers when streaming was included, but sources allege that Bravo executives were hoping for a much bigger response after bringing back one of the show’s most recognizable former Housewives.
An insider told RadarOnline, “Carole was supposed to save the show.”
The source then questioned what the disappointing numbers could mean for the franchise’s future.
“With numbers like that, how does it survive?”
The reported ratings come after Bravo made significant changes to RHONY for Season 16, including bringing Carole back as a full-time cast member for the first time since Season 10.
Carole originally joined RHONY in Season 5 and quickly became a fan favorite for her dry humor, outspoken personality and close friendships with several of the women, including Bethenny Frankel.
However, her relationship with Bethenny deteriorated during Season 10, with their fallout becoming one of the biggest storylines of the season.
Carole ultimately left the franchise in 2018, and her relationship with Bravo and Andy Cohen became strained in the years that followed.
Her decision to return nearly eight years later was considered a significant moment for the franchise, especially after Bravo’s controversial decision to completely reboot RHONY in 2023.
The original cast had delivered some of the franchise’s most memorable moments, but Bravo eventually decided to introduce an entirely new group of women for Season 14.
Although the reboot attracted initial curiosity, viewers remained divided over whether the new cast could capture the chemistry, humor and longstanding friendships that made the original RHONY so popular.
Season 15 continued to face criticism, with some fans complaining about manufactured drama and storylines that did not feel as authentic as those from earlier seasons.
For Season 16, Bravo attempted another refresh.
Carole returned alongside Sai De Silva, Erin Lichy and Jessel Taank, while newcomers Hailey Glassman, Erika Hammond and Daisy Toye joined the cast.
The changes brought a mixture of familiar personalities and new faces, giving the franchise another opportunity to establish itself with viewers.
But according to RadarOnline’s sources, executives were particularly hopeful that Carole’s return would bring back longtime RHONY fans who had stopped watching after the reboot.
Instead, the outlet claims that her comeback has failed to deliver the ratings increase the network wanted.
Carole’s return has also generated attention for reasons outside the show’s traditional friendship drama.
This season, the former Housewife has been questioned about her past social relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of crimes related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors.
Carole has acknowledged knowing Maxwell socially through New York circles but has maintained that she never knew Epstein and had no knowledge of his crimes.
The subject became a major storyline during the cast’s trip to Erika Hammond’s private island, where Sai De Silva questioned Carole about how well she knew Maxwell.
Carole pushed back against the questioning, arguing that there was a difference between being curious about her past association and implying that she had knowledge of criminal activity.
The conversation took an emotional turn when Carole revealed she had been sexually assaulted by a college professor when she was younger.
Despite the attention surrounding that episode, RadarOnline claims that the controversy has overshadowed what Bravo originally hoped would be a successful return for Carole.
However, the outlet’s reported ratings do not establish whether Carole’s presence helped or hurt the show’s viewership, and Bravo has not publicly confirmed that RHONY is facing cancellation.
The distinction between traditional television ratings and total multiplatform viewership is also important.
While 371,000 live television viewers would represent a disappointing linear premiere by the franchise’s historical standards, the reported 1.8 million total audience suggests that a much larger number of people watched beyond the initial Bravo broadcast.
Streaming has become an increasingly important part of how viewers consume Housewives, particularly as episodes become available on Peacock the following day.
Still, the latest report raises questions about whether RHONY’s newest cast shakeup is accomplishing what Bravo hoped it would.