Andy Cohen defended the “Real Housewives of New York City” reboot once again after former star Bethenny Frankel called it a “piece of trash.”
“I think there are a lot of interesting personal stories with the women in the new ‘New York,’” the executive producer told Deadline Thursday at the Bravo Fan Fest in Miami.
Cohen did, however, admit the cast — which consists of Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Ubah Hassan, Brynn Whitfield, Jessel Taank, Sai De Silva and Racquel Chevremont — faced a “little bit of a challenge this season.”
“I think the rap on the group in Season 1 was, ‘Oh, there’s not a lot of history there.’ The interesting thing about them this season is they hang out a lot and they are a cohesive group,” he pointed out.
The “Watch What Happens Live” host, 56, reiterated that he “really believe[s]” in the current cast and thinks they reflect the modern New York City woman.
“I think they’re very aspirational,” he said. “I think they’re fun to watch. I think the clothes and the window into a different kind of New York is all what we wanted it to be.”
Prior to “RHONY” being rebooted in 2022, the show starred longtime “Housewives” including Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, Luann de Lesseps and Dorinda Medley.
“We had 13 great seasons, plus a ‘Girls Trip’ with that group of women, which is an incredible accomplishment,” Cohen said of the previous cast. “A lot changed, a lot shifted in [their] world and in life — Sonja is now living in Florida, Ramona basically lives in Florida. Things have shifted.”
The TV host then reiterated that Bravo plans on sticking with the new cast of “RHONY” because they are “the future,” adding, “I loved the original, but this is a new group.”
Cohen shared his perspective after former cast member Frankel, 54, went on a rant about the “unwatchable” reboot and demanded “justice” for Morgan, 60, Medley, 59, de Lesseps, 59, and Singer, 68.
“The new girls — I’m sure they’re lovely,” the Skinnygirl founder said in a since-deleted TikTok video last week. “I haven’t seen the show, [but] I’m actually sure that they’re lovely.
“But [the former cast], as they got older, just got dropped off at the side of the road,” she continued before claiming Bravo only has “200,000 people watching this [new] piece of trash.”
Frankel pointed out that she was always hesitant about a reboot and called it “very f–king boring” even before the new cast was announced.
The network first unveiled its plan to refresh “RHONY” in March 2022, sharing that the series would get an entirely new cast while its former stars would have a separate “Legacy” show of their own.
However, “RHONY Legacy” never panned out, and Peacock instead released a season of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” with de Lesseps, Singer, Medley, Morgan, Kelly Bensimon and Kristen Taekman.