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\n This column originally appeared in Brian Moylan\u2019s newsletter, The Housewives Institute Bulletin.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to be the first to read the next edition.\n <\/p>\n \n As we say goodbye to Rhode Island\u2019s Liz McGraw, here\u2019s a look at some iconic one-season wonders. When I think of Housewives who have only been on for one season, I often picture Peggy Sulahian, whose sole contribution to RHOC\u2019s season 12 was being the 100th Housewife and once pinching Meghan King Edmonds PI\u2019s lips closed. There\u2019s usually a reason these \u201cone-season wonders\u201d quickly fade: They were boring, unmemorable, not engaged, and didn\u2019t know what they were getting into. Think of RHOA\u2019s Kim Fields, RHOBH\u2019s Diana Jenkins, RHONJ\u2019s twins Teresa Aprea and Nicole Napolitano, or even RHOC\u2019s Lydia McLaughlin, who was so bad she got to be a one-season wonder twice.<\/p>\n However, this week we learned that Liz McGraw, an instant fan favorite on RHORI, is voluntarily leaving after only one season<\/a>. That made me think of another tier of one-season wonders: the women who are so iconic that even though they were only with us briefly, we\u2019ll never forget them. These are women who are so fully themselves that the show couldn\u2019t really contain them. Some of them even had the guts to go after the biggest guns on their franchises, who weren\u2019t used to opposition. So here are the Seven One-Season Wonders of the Bravo World. May we all live to see a day when they return.<\/p>\n The moment she said, \u201cBut it is, ma,\u201d we all fell in love with the Dolores Catania clone with a mean temper and a bit of a vicious streak. She was the lynchpin of the group, with deep connections to many of the ladies, so it\u2019s surprising that she left to \u201cfocus on my family.\u201d She insisted that \u201cthe ongoing\u201d investigations into her friend Dino Guilmette<\/a> had nothing to do with it, though. At least Andy Cohen said the door is always open<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fans loved this underdog all season for her struggles as a single mother, her curdled friendship with Jen Shah, and her absolutely insane relationship with her mother. The Institute loved her so much that she was our inaugural Rookie of the Year<\/a>. Then we all found out about Reality Von (Tea)se and that she had been lying to the ladies and the audience the whole time. It gave us one of the best seasons and best takedowns of all time, but after burning the entire cast, there was no way she could return.<\/p>\n NeNe Leakes is the undisputed queen of Atlanta, quick with a quip and vicious in a fight. However, Claudia Jordan was the NeNe Leakes ender. For this one fight alone<\/a>, where she came for NeNe\u2019s clothes, past, weight, and finances, she will never be forgotten. It was so bad even NeNe\u2019s co-stars had to admit she was losing. She said she\u2019s willing to return<\/a>. What is Bravo waiting for?<\/p>\n In one season, she was served divorce papers with a flower delivery and wept by a streamside as she tried to process her father\u2019s death. Yes, she might not have always been truthful, she might have tried way too hard, and she might have gone from one Seeking Arrangements husband to the next, but she played a fascinating game.<\/p>\n She was an actual, literal witch. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen one before or after, and it certainly made this British import stand out. She was always big on drama, but by constantly coming for Kyle Richards, the core of the show, she didn\u2019t do herself any favors, and it took the likes of Lisa Rinna to replace her. No wonder the Fox Force Five has a curse on it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an absolute shame that Bravo can\u2019t keep a gorgeous Black lesbian employed, especially one as dynamic as Racquel. Her sharing her struggles with her mother after coming out was one of the bright spots of a truly dull season. I\u2019m disappointed she won\u2019t be back for season 16, particularly because I don\u2019t think she was what was holding RHONY back.<\/p>\n You have to love the only woman willing to stand up to Lisa Hochstein after her years of chronic tardiness made everyone else insane. She arrived with a giant wallet, a private plane, and no fear of Alexia Nepola and her fellow \u201cbro,\u201d Marysol Patton. Her fearlessness and combativeness gave us one spectacular season, and if the show weren\u2019t on pause, I have a feeling she would definitely be back. This is more of a case of the show leaving Stephanie than Stephanie leaving the show.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Housewives Institute Bulletin<\/p>\n Dame Brian Moylan breaks down all the gossip and drama, on- and off-screen, for dedicated students of the Reality Television Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n
\n Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images\n <\/p>\n