Heavy/NBCUniversal Andy Cohen and the RHONJ cast.
Fans of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are reacting to the final episodes of season 14, a season many think will be the last for the current cast.
The 14th of the Jersey-based reality show has been dominated by fighting. In addition to the ongoing tension between Teresa Giudice and her sister-in-law Melissa Gorga, there have been feuds with Margaret Josephs, Rachel Fuda, and a full-on physical fight between Jennifer Aydin and Danielle Cabral. The rest of the cast includes Dolores Catania, Jenn Fessler, and Jackie Goldschneider.
The constant feuding, coupled with a scrapped reunion and an abbreviated season, has many fans thinking a reboot is the only way forward for season 15.
RHONJ Season 14 May Be the Shortest Season Since Season 1
While Bravo has not yet confirmed “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” season 14 finale date, it appears there are four episodes left. The July 14, 2024 episode is titled ”Inner Piece of My Mind” and the July 21, 224 episode is titled “Sleepover With One Eye Open.” Two still-unnamed episodes could be reserved for the explosive season 14 finale, which was filmed at Rails Steakhouse in Towaco, NJ. It is also possible that the finale will only be one part and that the final, unnamed episode will be a wrap-up special which has been teased.
Four new episodes would bring the total count to just 13 episodes this season, That’s significantly fewer than season 13, which featured 19 episodes, including a three-part reunion. Going back to the show’s heyday, season 4 boasted a whopping 24 episodes. The only season shorter than season 14 was the first season of the Bravo reality show in 2009. Fewer episodes also mean a much lower paycheck for the cast.
An Instagram post shared by fan account @bravooomg pointed out that season 14 will be the second-shortest season in the history of the show. “If you like this current cast, (in my opinion) prepare to say your goodbyes,” the fan account warned.
Some fans are more than willing to say goodbye.
“I will say goodbye. I’m so tired of Teresa. And if that means they all go, so be it,” one commenter wrote.
“It isn’t fun to watch,” another agreed. “All we see are fights and people trying to take down other people. … It’s exhausting. Just cancel the entire cast and city.”
“We need a fresh start with that city or cut it, get another city going. I haven’t looked forward to an episode in two years,” another chimed in.
“They have no one to blame, but themselves,” another added. “They can say goodbye to that Bravo check…”
“rip Jersey it had a good run,” another wrote.
Others feared that a reboot with a new cast won’t work with Jersey. “Jersey is not ‘rebootable’ the way that NY was. There is no chance a new cast will get any viewership,” one fan predicted.
“It breaks my heart to say but I’m so glad this season is almost over. It’s too much,” another wrote. “Hoping Bravo makes the right calls to try and get Jersey back to the show we fell in love with.”
Andy Cohen Said It’s Time For a Change on ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’
Peacock“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast at the season 13 reunion.
There’s no doubt that something will change if RHONJ gets renewed for a 15th season. Bravo producer Andy Cohen previously explained that the long-running reality show will pause to give producers “time” to figure out how to move forward with the franchise. “Things take time and we want to take a minute to figure things out,” he said on Sirius XM’s “Reality Checked” with Kiki Monique in June. “There’s no point in rushing into something just to rush into something.”
During a June 2024 appearance on the podcast “Jeff Lewis Has Issues,” Cohen addressed the future of RHONJ. “When the stars don’t want to be in the same galaxy, that’s not sustainable,” Cohen said, before confirming that a complete reboot “is an option.”
“I think there are four different ways that we could go with that show. And I think you could probably figure out what they are,” Cohen added. “We are going to let this season play out. We will all talk.”
“We’ll do the focus group stuff,” he continued. “We’ll do all the stuff we do. And we’ll probably do a bunch of casting. And we’ll take our time.”
Cohen told E! News that no decisions have been made about casting at all. He again noted that there are “several different ways” the show can go on. “And that’s what the fun of doing this job is. We get to figure it out as a team and see what we do,” he said.
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RHONJ Fans Zero in on Big Clue to the Future of the Show