The Real Housewives franchise has grown exponentially since it burst onto screens with The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006.
As more shows premiered, the cast has continued to grow on the various shows in the franchise.
As a result, there have been countless occasions when producers have made controversial casting decisions that have had a detrimental effect on the different cities.
Some of the shows have never been able to recover from misfires, but some are still feeling the ripple effects several years later.
Sometimes, it seems that producers don’t want to admit mistakes and keep cast members for longer than they should.
Other times, newer and more exciting casting additions are let go because they don’t get enough time to build an audience.
1. Annemarie Wiley should not have debuted at midseason on RHOBH Season 13
Annemarie Wiley was one of the most frustrating additions to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because she had little time to make an impression on the audience.
Had she been added to the show at the beginning of the season, she could have formed more lasting connections with her co-stars.
But now that her one-and-done season is over, it’s clear she understood she had to pursue Crystal Kung Minkoff and Sutton Stracke to garner some screentime.
Annemarie found herself caught up in countless arguments, one of the biggest of which was over her claims that Sutton’s esophagus ailment didn’t make sense to her.
As someone in the medical field, she should have known better than to wade into such a petty argument that echoed through her freshman season like a halo effect.
The addition of Annemarie completely derailed the flow of RHOBH Season 13, making it the worst season yet. Only so much intrigue can come from the same arguments.
It would have been far more interesting to see if Annemarie meshed better with her co-stars had she been given an entire season to settle into the show.
2. Bringing Alexis Bellino back for RHOC Season 18
Alexis Bellino’s return to The Real Housewives of Orange County has been an epic mistake.
There’s no reason for her to be on the show other than to terrorize love rival Shannon Beador.
Had the series delved into her life away from Shannon, there’s a high probability that Alexis wouldn’t be getting so much hate. However, she’s been practically obsessed with Shannon and what she apparently did to John Janssen’s reputation.
Alexis shouldn’t have come on the show with an ulterior motive because it’s overshadowing what could have been a great way to check back in with a former cast member.
Alexis seems to think she’s a full-time cast member who should be invited to all of the biggest events, but producers clearly used the friend-of role to give her a trial run on the show after so many years away.
We aren’t even halfway through RHOC Season 18, but she’s slowly become the most obnoxious person in the cast. Admittedly, that is pretty tough to pull off when Tamra Judge is right there.
The only saving grace of RHOC Season 18 is that there are plenty of other, more engrossing storylines than this feud between Alexis and Shannon.
3. Taylor Armstrong should have been promoted for RHOC Season 18
Instead of bringing Alexis back, Taylor Armstrong should have scored a promotion to a full-time cast member.
Taylor started her journey on RHOBH but switched cities and showed a new side of herself that resonated with audiences.
She was the life of every party and understood how to have conversations in ways that delivered maximum drama.
Simply put, she’s a gold-standard cast member who had so much more to give. Plus, she was caught up in plenty of drama during her season as a friend of the housewives.
Given the chance, Taylor would have put in much more work than Alexis is doing this season. It’s just a shame that producers went in a different direction.
4. Monica Garcia should have returned for RHOSLC Season 5, even as a special guest
Just when we were ready to count The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City out after Jen Shah’s departure, Monica Garcia arrived and gave the series a jolt of life.
Nothing was off the table with Monica. It helped that she had complicated dynamics with many of the women and was unafraid to air her thoughts about them.
Monica’s witty comebacks helped RHOSLC reach a new audience, but her downfall was her affiliation with a social media account that trolled her castmates.
Instead of taking accountability at the reunion, she deflected, which sealed her fate in the eyes of her fellow cast members.
Monica has claimed that producers tried to bring her back multiple times but that her castmates threatened to quit the show in protest.
Perhaps there will be a way forward later, but for now, RHOSLC’s future is in doubt.
5. Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga should have been fired after RHONJ Season 13
The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Season 13 was a heartbreaking low point for the franchise due to Teresa Giudice’s continued feud with Melissa Gorga.
The season was proof that the show needed to distance itself from the family drama and focus on some new women.
You can only imagine our surprise when they were both invited back for RHONJ Season 14, which was somehow even worse than its previous season.
There’s no telling what producers have up their sleeve for Season 15, but it can’t involve these two because they are no longer working on the show together.
6. Lisa Rinna should not have been asked back for RHOBH Season 13
Lisa Rinna had a long run on RHOBH, but it’s hard to believe that she was asked back season after season, considering she got meaner as the years went on.
No matter the situation, Lisa had this inane ability to hurl insults at her co-stars, only to get mad when they hurled some back.
Her undoing was going after Kathy Hilton because, without proof of what happened inside the nightclub during a fateful night in Aspen, Lisa’s story held no weight.
The best foot forward would have been for the show to boot Lisa from the cast after Season 12 to bounce back with some new faces.
For a franchise trying to escape controversial figures, the fact that Lisa received contract renewals yearly is a miracle.
7. Ramona Singer should have been let go ahead of RHONY Season 13
Ramona had a history of problematic behavior on The Real Housewives of New York, but her treatment of Eboni K. Williams was horrifying.
Ramona shouldn’t have been present for Season 13 because she had already done so many despicable things that her behavior wasn’t entertaining.
Had the show brought in another new full-time housewife and removed Ramona, there’s a good chance the infamous reboot would never have happened.
The biggest shocker is that Peacock then worked with Ramona on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Legacy.
Thankfully, it seems that Ramona’s time on the small screen is well and truly over.