‘The Real Housewives Of Rhode Island’ Renewed For Season 2 At Bravo

Bravo, which is set to have over 500 hours of original programming on air this year, is bringing back the majority of its reality slate as part of a bumper renewal package.

This includes a second season for The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, which has becomes a major hit for the NBCUniversal cable network. The series became Bravo’s biggest series or season premiere episode ever on Peacock and is on track to become the network’s second biggest show across platforms behind only The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The series, which premiered last month, follows Alicia Carmody, Rosie DiMare, Ashley Iaconetti, Liz McGraw, Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, Kelsey Swanson and Jo-Ellen Tiberi as they navigate the highs and lows of Rhode Island’s close-knit social scene. 

It is produced by Evolution Media, which produces The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It is exec produced by Andy Cohen, Lucilla D’Agostino, Joseph Ferraro, Jen McClure-Metz, Barry Poznick, Bianca Barnes-Williams and James Brangert.

Andy Cohen joked to Deadline recently, “Here’s the thing about Rhodies, you don’t f*ck with them.”

Speaking at the Deadline Reality TV Summit, he added, “I think one of the reasons Rhode Island is so incredible, is that the women’s self-awareness about being on the show is incredibly low. They are uniquely themselves and taking us along for the ride. That’s so important. There have been a lot of times where a housewife will join and all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Oh, man, she’s kind of studied this’. That’s what we try to avoid.”

Cohen said that what he found interesting was that Rhode Island was a small, local community where everyone is “in each other’s business”. “It’s the perfect setting, creatively and from a story point of view,” he added. “It’s aspirational and beautiful, which is a big part of these shows.”

Rachel Smith, EVP, Unscripted Content, Bravo and Peacock added that after 20 years on air, viewers consider the housewives friends.

“They’re in their living rooms with them. They feel deeply about them. It’s almost irrational how much they can feel about them. It’s this level of relatability that you’ve got to know these people over years. There’s vulnerability, it’s aspirational,” she said at the Reality TV Summit.

Elsewhere, Bravo has renewed The Valley: Persian Style and Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition for season two, Below Deck Down Under for season five, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City for season seven, Summer House for season 11, Southern Charm for season 12, Married to Medicine for season 13 and Top Chef for season 24.

They join Below Deck, The Real Housewives of Potomac, The Real Housewives of New York City, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, which have all been previously renewed.

Smith added that Bravo continues to grow. “What we’ve managed to do is create a universe and a community where people feel seen, and it’s part of their identity. Our job is to just keep feeding that and keep those franchises alive and fresh,” she said.