Gray Bunny

I think what happened with NYC (which so far blew up in Bravo's face; but we'll see how the new NYC fares) is eventually going to happen to other longstanding Housewives shows. A total retooling; a brand new cast; and/or completing retiring the OG's and letting certain city franchises die off. But who knows? I thought they were going to have a Come to Jesus moment when Russell Armstrong committed suicide yet they get pluggin' and chuggin' along and only got bigger and better (so to speak).

Agreed. I want flashbacks from all decades and all hairstyles.

Well since the Real Housewives are like modern day soap operas, the timespan of the arc from humble beginnings (50's) to burning out (2010's, etc.) is also truncated. In terms of quality, I think we're at the early/mid 2000's, with pop culture relevance still somewhere in the 90's. Yes, you are so correct about social media behind the scenes becoming a whole other separate storyline that the shows will hodge-podge together the following season so viewers who don't follow all that fodder can understand why so-and-so has beef with so-and-so. Like a printed magazine that hits the shelves when all the juicy details were already laid out in full online. The social media aspect, like you said, can hurt or help a show. On one hand, it stirs interest; on the other hand, no one gets the full story.

I'm sure she'll be back. Similarly, I thought Tripp had left but his return seems permanent. Or, "permanent."

Anyone going to her Celebration tour of her greatest hits? I'm going to the one in Chicago in August. 3rd time seeing her Madgesty

Surprise evil brother and sister. Didn't we do this a couple year's back with Orpheus' spawns? I can't remember much about the sister.

Shoot, I'm rooting for Sharon Case only because I like her and it'll hopefully prompt the writers to give her a storyline. I need Genoa City's #1 ho back in the thick of things.

I don't have a problem with Gina. I kinda don't get the disdain for her from the twitterverse/Insta etc. It's not like she's trying to take over the show or the show focuses too heavily on her. @NothinButAttitude I see both sides of the argument, but the bottom line is that these shows are like modern-day soap operas, and people want to see familiar faces year in and year out. Since New-RHONY hasn't debuted, the jury is still out. But I will say it's weird they're branding it as Season 14 of RHONY as opposed to considering it a new show at season 1. At the end of the day, it's a new show but with the old name. In regards to axing a large part of a cast, a massive overhaul with half the cast gutted didn't fare too well for RHONY when they went from S4 to S5. One thing people forget is that there was nearly a year and a half break between S5 and S6 (the clunkiest season of all, with Aviva coming and going from the opening; LuAnn's random appearances in the bumpers; an overall directionless season). The show did not air in 2013 at all. And for the most part, the interest in this franchise was no longer there. Had they not brought back Bethenny and had the successful addition of Dorinda, I would've thought they'd throw in the towel after the sixth season. The only time I can recall where half the cast was replaced and it worked out nicely was on OC when Gretchen, Alexis, and Lydia were booted and Shannon and Lizzie were brought on. But they still kept their top stars: Vicki, Tamra, and relatively new but successful Heather. You do bring up a great point in that many of these long-time castmembers throughout all the franchises are in fact past their expiration date. I think it's part of the reason why people are getting SO nasty and playing a game of Survivor, digging up family dirty that used to be untouched; they gotta keep stirring the pot to stay relevant and stay on the show. At the same time, most of the recent new castmembers are either lukewarm or total duds. There's very little standouts to become the next *big* thing like a Bethenny, Nene, Teresa, Vicki, etc. And those that try to become the next big thing come off as a performance, which the audience has caught on to. Which brings me to the return of Tamra. She's back because booting off the OG's and bringing on less than stellar newcomers backfired, and those that weren't booted (Gina, Emily, etc.) are mostly the B-team supporting players. The show needed a sure thing. Catch 22. Sorry for the long rant. [Side Note: I don't watch Miami so I can't comment on it]

By golly, before I die, I would like to see Katherine Kelly Lang nominated for Lead Actress and WIN. I don't care if B&B is the last soap opera standing and she can finally get a useless lil' trophy, she needs some sort of recognition. JMO.

They need to stop with the CGI stuff until they have actual money to pour into graphics that don't look like a Super Mario Bros. land. The sea and those islands in the background.... lawd... I used to consider Passions a soap opera parody, but they knew they were a joke. DAYS is trying to sell this as actual good stuff, which actually makes it worse.

Love it! LOL The bitch is back! Though I must admit my disappointment that Taylor didn't make the cut of being a full-time castmember. But it sounds like she's in it alot in friend group situations.

Good. And hey, if he doesn't make it to his 86th birthday, we have Queen Kamala waiting in the wings. It's a win/win for me.

As well you should. Tacky AF.

I love it. And the Carvers? In this day and age, are there any hit primetime soaps on network TV? It seems the only ones that last are procedurals.

@Taoboi @Gray Bunny Oh my...

That's a lot of sassy head movement for someone who's so anti-gay. In other news: TUCKER CARLSON OUT AT FOX NEWS! No goodbye; his final airdate was Friday.

I would’ve put Dolores between Margaret and Rachel.

She's bland. The actress isn't bad per se, but she also isn't... good. Some actors have natural charisma right off the bat (i.e. Jada, Talia, in my opinion) and others don't. Marci Miller didn't WOW me at the beginning when she took over as Abigail, but I grew to appreciate her and her work improved and she showed more of a spark eventually.

Awww.. love it!

LOL. Brandon Beemer's head thrown in there seems random.

They could've brought back Marie Horton years ago. Maree Cheatham had (has?) been actively acting all this time.

I agree, it's an intense hour to watch. Though I will say both Danielle and Rachel have turned out to be pretty good additions to the cast. I think if Danielle gets a 2nd season, she'll either have watched herself and tone it down or ramp it up to become the next Teresa. I think Rachel is pretty level-headed and sensible, which is a needed character in this group (much like Dolores). Watching a recent WWHL with Jersey as the focus, when they speak of the endless nasty feud, you can just tell this is the final showdown of Teresa vs. Melissa/Joe. There's just no moving forward with them. One side has gotta go next year. Their parents are rolling in their graves; all this over reality television.

I think it's the same reason why Rinna turned into Rinnzilla. The Housewives landscape has changed, and it's a game of Survivor now; hence all these marriage infidelity rumors on Potomac, and Rinna's endless nasty behavior towards castmates (Kim, Yolanda, DENISE!, Kathy) Not gonna lie, I still like Margaret overall. And Dolores is more of a needed tentpole character than people realize; especially this year as she bridges the gap between both sides.

This brings me to an issue that I hope/had hoped could be alleviated once the Peacock money came in. Since so many people bounce from house to house or hotel room to hotel room, no one has any STUFF. That apartment that the youngsters are now sharing started out as Eric's, then went to Nicole, then Ali, and now the kiddos, with various people temporarily living there in between (Rex, Chanel, etc.) yet the furniture stays the same. Maybe they'll change up some décor (they removed Eric's adventures in Africa framed photos off the walls) but it's basically the same. Like, who owns that couch? The kitchen table? The dishes inside the cabinet? I point this out because it makes these marriage break-ups and relationship break-ups seem too easy-breazy when people have moved in with one another. Nicole had her own apartment with Eric, then on her own, then moved into Rafe's house (well, kitchen, but apparently there's a house beyond the magic hallway), and is now at Casa de DiMera, with nary an end table to call her own.

LOL. Remember the Reilly years (particularly the disappointing 2.0 era of '03-'06) when characters would literally pivot, turn their body to the side, and enjoy their flashback moment before turning back and rejoining the conversation. Jan Spears in particular comes to mind in those days. Agreed; especially since casual sex has been the name of the game on DAYS for quite some time now for the under 50 crowd. The stalwart supercouples of the 80's era can still play out the epic love stories and against-all-odds angst, but everyone else can sample a bit here 'n there before settling down on one conquest. BOGO sale at Old Navy.