{"id":376469,"date":"2026-04-05T15:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/376469\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:30:08","slug":"how-bravo-cast-created-new-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/376469\/","title":{"rendered":"How Bravo Cast, Created New Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe smallest state with the biggest attitude is already making waves in the Real Housewives<\/a> franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLast May, Bravo<\/a> announced that Rhode Island would be the latest addition<\/a> to its repertoire, enticing viewers to see what the women of the teeny tiny state could be getting into. As it turns out, there\u2019s a lot going on in the smallest state in the nation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe arrival of the new series arrives amid the landmark 20th anniversary of the whole franchise itself, as The Real Housewives of Orange County debuted on March 21, 2006. It\u2019s a monumental year for the reality television phenomenon that will later be celebrated with The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th<\/a> special this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tNCBUniversal\u2019s evp of unscripted content, Rachel Smith, tells The Hollywood Reporter that it was not a \u201cconscious decision\u201d to launch a new series, even though it\u2019s such \u201can auspicious occasion this year.\u201d Instead, The Real Housewives of Rhode Island<\/a> naturally presented itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tCreating a new Real Housewives is a tall task, one that can be birthed in many ways. Sometimes, Bravo comes across a new dazzling location that draws in interesting talents; in other cases, a promising cast member is all it takes to start building a new show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe latter of which happened with Mary Cosby, the beloved star of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City<\/a>, Smith confirms. But with Rhode Island, she explains that a co-worker took a trip to the state and \u201cwas really struck by what an interesting ecosystem\u201d the New England location had to offer.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe saw people jumping on their boats and going to lunch. It was very visually aspirational,\u201d Smith says, adding that upon some digging, they learned that The Real Housewives of New Jersey\u2019s Dolores Catania<\/a>, who appears on RHORI as a friend, had a connection to the women who now make up the main cast<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat then led us to a kind of whole connection of women in Rhode Island that we found through this Dolores connection,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe\u2019ve really fell in love with them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tElizabeth McGraw, Kelsey Swanson and Jo-Ellen Tiberi on episode one of \u2018RHORI.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Eisen\/Bravo<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen scouting out new locations for a potential Real Housewives, Smith explains that the network strives to \u201cbe representative of the whole swath and tapestry and diversity that is the United States.\u201d Prior shows, and where they are based, also weigh into where a mint series could potentially spawn.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re looking at how many Housewives we have in total, and what\u2019s already been represented culturally, geographically, and how we can complement that,\u201d she notes. Rhode Island has already been compared to New Jersey \u2014 and not just because you can drive to both of the states in roughly four hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe tight-knit community, family-forward ideals and Italian influences are all clear parallels, but the women of Rhode Island stand apart. Smith herself references one of the show\u2019s key descriptors (\u201cIt\u2019s a small state with a very big and distinct personality\u201d) as a contrast, though the luxury coastal setting also naturally made the series optically stand out from other shows in Bravo\u2019s discography.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is a show, visually, that\u2019s on water. Living around water is very beautiful and distinct to look at,\u201d she says. \u201cWe were all so taken with the visual when we were first casting [RHORI] and learning about the women; Like, Liz lives right on the water, and then she\u2019ll go jump in her boat and meet her friends for lunch. Everyone else [on another Real Housewives] would use their car.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the Real Housewives has evolved over its two-decade tenure on air, what it means to be a Real Housewife has also certainly changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tRhode Island kicks off with Liz McGraw deeming herself the \u201cCannabis Queen,\u201d as she and her husband own the state\u2019s most successful cannabis dispensary; Rosie DiMare brings up a rumor that Jo-Ellen Tiberi is a \u201cswinger\u201d; and Kelsey Swanson admits that her boyfriend spends half of his year in Miami with his other girlfriend (and the cast speculates that she might have another boyfriend, too).<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s certainly a lot going on, but the willingness to bare all for the cameras and leave no stone unturned in the women\u2019s personal lives is representative of what is expected of the modern Housewife (on Bravo\u2019s terms, that is).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDuring our vetting and casting process, a price of entry is that you have to be open and real about your life,\u201d Smiths says of the cast\u2019s candid nature, adding, \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to conceal things that are genuine, then don\u2019t participate. This isn\u2019t the show for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDolores Catania, Elizabeth McGraw, Alicia Carmody and Jo-Ellen Tiberi on \u2018RHORI.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Eisen\/Bravo<\/p>\n

\n\tThe women of Rhode Island could have picked up on this upfront requirement upon watching any of the other modern series, with Smith asserting that \u201cby the time everyone signed on, they really understood that they were making a choice to share their lives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe unconventionalism of some elements of the cast\u2019s lives, too, pulls the curtain back on the life of a modern Housewife.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt feels very contemporary and of the moment,\u201d Smith says of varying occupations and relationship structures of the RHORI women. \u201cThere are many ways to be in a relationship. There are many ways to parent, there are many ways to be a working mother, and these are all the universal themes that get explored in Housewives in general that make it so relatable. And this felt like another iteration of that, where these are real women living, hustling, working, mothering, being friends, living their lives, and without self judgment in 2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Real Housewives of Rhode Island bared all of their deep, dark secrets right from the jump, and Smith promises that even more drama will come as the season unfolds. \u201c[Season one] is jam-packed with surprising and great story. These storylines around these marriages and what lies behind this surface just intensify, and it just becomes more and more fascinating,\u201d she teases.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Rhode Island-based Housewives also features quite the reality TV<\/a> crossover, with Bachelor veteran Ashley Iaconetti<\/a> making the jump from ABC to Bravo. Some may assume that a woman hailing from another profound reality TV franchise could have turned off the network during casting, but Smith asserts that was not the case. Instead, Ashley\u2019s outside perspective, being the only woman who was not born and bred in Rhode Island, offered \u201cviewer proxy input for the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c[Ashley is] the outsider, and she can break down for you what Rhode Island\u2019s like and what the customs are and the idiosyncrasies of this group in a way that\u2019s slightly more objective, because she isn\u2019t from there. That was very, very appealing to us more than anything else,\u201d Smith notes. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t stunt casting, it wasn\u2019t manipulated. We wouldn\u2019t have gone in that direction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSolidifying its weekly air date on Sundays after premiering last Thursday, episode two will shed even more layers of the onion that make up RHORI. \u201cThe small town, big lives theme that [comes from them living in] such a small and intimate community\u201d will predictably continue to deliver a compelling narrative, Smith notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Real Housewives of Rhode Island are already off to a splashy start, one that not only compliments the preexisting Real Housewives slate, but restores it to its messy, expensive roots.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think Rhode Island just stands on its own two feet,\u201d Smith adds. \u201cIt has such a different vibe, and people are just gonna fall absolutely in love with these women.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAshley Iaconetti and Rosie DiMare on \u2018RHORI.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Eisen\/Bravo<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Real Housewives of Rhode Island\u00a0airs Sundays at 9 p.m. New episodes stream Mondays on Peacock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The smallest state with the biggest attitude is already making waves in the Real Housewives franchise.\u00a0 Last May,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[180589,22582,146,85,46,12910,6653,67969,86101],"class_list":{"0":"post-376469","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-ashley-iaconetti","9":"tag-bravo","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-real-housewives","14":"tag-reality-tv","15":"tag-the-real-housewives-of-new-jersey","16":"tag-the-real-housewives-of-rhode-island"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}