Original “Real Housewives of New York” stars Countess Luann de Lesseps, Jill Zarin, Ramona Singer, Kelly Bensimon and Sonja Morgan are heading south for a new reality docuseries that has just been greenlit by Versant‘s E! cabler. Working title “The Golden Life,” the 10-episode series will star de Lesseps, Zarin, Singer, Bensimon and Morgan “as they reunite with their iconic New York City friend group in glamorous Palm Beach.”
Blink49 Studios is behind the show, which starts filming in South Florida this spring. Versant entertainment president Val Boreland announced the news Tuesday on a panel at the Realscreen Summit in Miami.
Among the “RHONY” OGs, de Lesseps and Singer on the show for its original 13 seasons from 2008 to 2021, while Zarin was there for Seasons 1 through 4, Bensimon was there Seasons 2 through 4 and Morgan starred from Seasons 3 to 13.
“We’re thrilled to welcome reality TV royalty to E! for a reunion fans have been waiting for,” Borland said. “The energy within this group has always been electric and we’re excited to watch it unfold in a new chapter of life by the beach.”
Added Cori Abraham, the senior VP of development, unscripted, at Versant: “A lot of people have been requesting that these ladies come back. And when the show was pitched to us, we were like, ‘Yeah, we want to see it too. We want them to come back.’ And so from all of their fallouts and friendships, they’ve been friends now. And that show has been around for 18 years or 19 years. We’re excited that they are now snowbirds. They come down to the south over the winter, so we’ll be shooting them this winter for the next few months down here. And it’s different in the sense that they really know each other really well, and they have spent a lot of time together. But they are still fabulous as ever. It’s not really your flipping table kind of show. It’s more of like a Mahjong table kind of show. They haven’t slowed down, and by the way, they’re not really wives anymore. The majority of them are single.”
Here’s the logline: “Bound by decades of shared history, fallouts and friendship, this fan-favorite group of New Yorkers are starting fresh together in the Sunshine State. In this new ‘golden’ era of life, the longtime friends are thriving in and around Palm Beach with fabulous second homes and a bustling social scene. With their signature humor and non-stop hijinks, the series will follow the group as they navigate dating, family, and career milestones. Though skies are bright in Florida, unresolved drama looms as they reconnect after years of highs and lows.”
Tara Long, Nadine Rajabi, Mark Ford and Ben Megargel are executive producers.