The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City returned to Bravo this week with one of the most dramatic installments yet.
Producers opted to have a cast event take up the entire runtime, bringing new conflicts.
Whitney Rose was thrown out of Lisa Barlow’s get-together because she wasn’t remorseful about calling the Vida Tequila founder a “villain” during a podcast appearance.
Coming off RHOSLC Season 4, there were high hopes that the show would continue to dominate the competition in the ratings.
With Season 4’s most-talked-about cast member no longer on the show, viewers seem no longer interested.
RHOSLC Season 5 Episode 1 drew only 375,000 viewers and a 0.12 rating in the adults 18-49 demo, marking a series low for the Utah-set reality series.
To put those numbers in perspective, the total viewer tally is around half of what The Real Housewives of New Jersey and The Real Housewives of Orange County pulled in this year on the network.
RHOSLC’s numbers are lower than expected
The strength of all the Bravo shows nowadays is how they perform on Peacock, but without concrete numbers, it’s hard to find a true measure of success.
Either way, viewers took to X to share their thoughts on the numbers and the consensus seemed to be that Monica should have been asked back for another chance as a cast member.
One fan shared a Big Brother GIF of a houseguest laughing alongside the caption: “No Monica no viewers.”
Monica claimed earlier this year that RHOSLC producers contacted her more than once to bring her back this season.
However, she alleged that former castmates threatened to quit if she returned.
It seems Monica will get the last laugh if the ratings remain low.
Another fan used Meredith Marks to vent their shock about the low numbers.
Another viewer said they were “not shocked at all.”
“Bravo should have kept Monica,” the fan added alongside a clip of Kris Jenner from Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Mary’s return isn’t working
Many fans believed that bringing back the original cast member was an attempt by producers to soften the blow of Monica’s departure.
This viewer used Nene Leakes to get their point across.
The weeks ahead will be interesting because we’ll be able to see if numbers will climb or if viewers are over RHOSLC.
The drama from the premiere has certainly generated headlines, so there is still some interest in the show.
The big question is if it will be enough to keep the show alive.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. Stream Seasons 1-5 on Peacock.