A few of the original Real Housewives of New York are making the move to a new city (and network).
E! has officially greenlit The Golden Life, a brand new series spotlighting Countess Luann de Lesseps, Jill Zarin, Ramona Singer, Kelly Bensimon and Sonja Morgan in Palm Beach. The show will feature 10 episodes centered around the five women, with filming set to begin this spring.
The news of their new show with E! comes amid a rocky road for the once beloved series in the original network’s slate, though Bravo is in support of their decision to swap networks and partake in the new project, The Hollywood Reporter can confirm.
De Lesseps, Zarin and Singer kicked off the first season of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York in 2008, while Bensimon joined in season two (2009) and Morgan was added in season three (2010).
RHONY was rebooted with a brand new cast for the show’s 14th season, following a hectic season 13. The revamped cast of housewives embarked on two seasons together, before the 15th installment ended on another rocky spot in February.
After season 13, Bravo initially planned to split RHONY into two shows — one centered around a fresh slate of women and another spotlighting the “legacy” cast. The latter idea was shelved when Peacock instead released The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy, a one-season project that highlighted de Lesseps, Singer, Bensimon and Morgan on vacation, alongside fellow alumni Dorinda Medley and Kristen Taekman.
The logline for Golden Life reads, “Bound by decades of shared history, fallouts and friendship, this fan-favorite group of New Yorkers are starting fresh together in the Sunshine State. In this new ‘golden’ era of life, the longtime friends are thriving in and around Palm Beach with fabulous second homes and a bustling social scene. With their signature humor and non-stop hijinks, the series will follow the group as they navigate dating, family, and career milestones. Though skies are bright in Florida, unresolved drama looms as they reconnect after years of highs and lows.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome reality TV royalty to E! for a reunion fans have been waiting for,” said Versant’s president of entertainment, Val Boreland. “The energy within this group has always been electric and we’re excited to watch it unfold in a new chapter of life by the beach.”
Before Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy debuted on Peacock in late 2023, Bravo boss Andy Cohen told THR his team did not have plans to bring the OG women on any additional franchises.
“As of right now, I think we’re good. We’ve got Sonja and Luann on their show, and then we’ve got The Ultimate Girls Trip with the legacy RHONY women, and we’ve got this [reboot]. It’s a pretty full plate,” Cohen said at the time. “It seemed like the original RHONY women wanted to do a girls trip instead of filming in New York, and we listened to them. So, we’ll see.”
Amid a shift to a new network, the former RHONY stars (now Golden Life stars) have been filming for Bravo’s special 20th anniversary series The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th. De Lesseps is notably among the core cast, which features a Housewife from seven of the varying franchises, with the “Money Can’t Buy You Class” singer serving as the rep for the Big Apple.
The Golden Life is produced by Blink49 Studios with Tara Long, Nadine Rajabi, Mark Ford and Ben Megargel serving as executive producers.
