The Real Housewives of New Jersey concluded its 14th season Sunday evening, but don’t expect a traditional reunion.
With the conflict between the cast at an all-time high, Bravo and producers opted to cancel the reunion in favor of a more low-key affair.
The cast—Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral, Dolores Catania, Jenn Fessler, Rachel Fuda, Jackie Goldschneider, Melissa Gorga, Teresa Giudice, and Margaret Josephs—will be split into two groups to watch the season finale again.
The decision means that enemies will not cross paths again, eliminating the potential for any cast members to find some resolution.
While it’s clear producers believe there’s no point in bringing these ladies back together, the numbers for the season finale say otherwise.
The finale secured 874,000 total viewers and a 0.23 rating among adults 18-49, up against competition from Olympics coverage and Big Brother.
RHONJ’s numbers are higher than other cities
While the numbers are still way down from the show’s hey-day, it’s higher than the likes of The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, meaning the planned reboot is coming from a place of producers believing these women can’t continue on the show together.
The higher-than-expected finale numbers caught the attention of fans, who are now more sure than ever that the cast should have assembled to shoot a reunion to bring the storylines to a more satisfying conclusion.
“Pretty impressive for a franchise they want to kill off so badly,” said one fan.
“Definitely should have had a traditional reunion.”
With the Off the Rails special coming, all hopes of a reunion are dashed because the ladies have fulfilled their contractual obligations for Season 14.
A reunion for Season 14
Bringing them together again would take some wheeling and dealing.
“Film the reunion next week,” another fan demanded.
“This is enough to bring the reunion back into the conversation… even if there’s no solution we sure could do with one last argument.”
Yes, the RHONJ cast knows how to argue. The finale had Danielle vs. Jen, Margaret vs. Teresa, and so much more.
“Those ratings deserve a reunion, @Andy we’ll still take it,” another fan said.
The numbers could urge Bravo to make less extensive changes to the cast than first thought for Season 15.
Dolores recently said she thinks Teresa and Jenn would be great additions for the next season.
But with the fans so divided over the show’s current cast, it’s hard to tell whether cutting out certain people would lead to ratings erosion.
We have months to ponder the developments because Bravo is not expected to make an announcement until 2025.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Bravo on Sundays at 8/7c. Stream Seasons 1-14 on Peacock.