RHOC: The Renaissance Is in Full Swing
Several Housewives attempt redemption arcs as Season 19 gets underway
The Real Housewives of Orange County is the original Housewives franchise, but it wasn’t until recently that the series truly came into its own. The one that started it all is coming off two of its best seasons ever, and the expectations for Season 19 are sky high. After watching most Bravo shows religiously for well over a decade, I finally binged the majority of RHOC over the past year, and in May I published my thoughts on the franchise by ranking the impact of each Housewife who appeared since Season 4. Check out my RHOC deep dive here!
Needless to say, I was primed for more OC. The July 10 premiere checked in on multiple intriguing personal stories and felt like a natural continuation of last season’s narratives. Episode 2 treated us to Gretchen Rossi’s triumphant return to the show, with “life partner” Slade Smiley in tow. It’s been nearly a dozen years since Gretchen was last on television as a series regular, though she appeared briefly in Season 12 to gin up gossip about Tamra Judge’s husband Eddie, and filmed the controversial, still-unaired season of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in early 2023.
It’s wild to see Gretchen back after all this time. People journalist Dave Quinn’s Bravo tome Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of The Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It is a must-read and features juicy anecdotes about the production process. One of my favorites is this nugget from a producer about Gretchen’s over-the-top final episode back in Season 8: “Andy [Cohen] always gives notes on the shows… And I’ll never forget when we cut together Gretchen’s proposal, his note came back and said something like, ‘Great end to her run.’” So catty and so Andy!
Gretchen’s comeback already looks to be more successful than last year’s failed reentry of her former costar Alexis Bellino, as Gretchen is coming in with a clear focus, intent on clearing her name and beefing up her OC legacy in the process. She’s just one of several cast members aiming for a redemption arc similar to the one Shannon Storms Beador experienced last year.
We’ll see who’s successful, but so far the season as a whole is showing a lot of promise, even if the premiere’s focus on podcasts, bloggers, and direct messages was alarming. The audience shouldn’t feel like they need to keep up with the online discourse to enjoy the show, and RHOC in particular has always excelled by leaning into more “old school Housewives” tropes. Luckily, the second episode moved more in that direction, and it looks like we’ll be getting our fair share of compelling personal stories and ridiculous, petty arguments.
Below I share my thoughts on the women, where we left off last season, and what we can expect in the episodes ahead.
Shannon Storms-Beador
Like the series itself, Shannon has settled into her veteran role. I see Shannon as completely synonymous with RHOC, more so than former bestie and current nemesis Tamra. Shannon had an excellent Season 18 and, though she had her insufferable moments, largely came off well on the first season of Bravo’s Love Hotel, which just finished airing last month. It’s clear from the first two episodes that many of the other RHOC women are looking to achieve a Shannon-level cultural glow-up, but Ms. Beador possesses a reality TV magic that’s difficult to emulate.
We’re so used to seeing Shannon in some sort of distress that these early episodes of Season 19 have been a bit unnerving. She’s coming off cool, calm, and collected, and it’s great to see that Shannon’s relationship with her daughters has weathered the turbulence of her personal life. As for her relationships with the other women, I commend Shannon for being so guarded yet unbothered in Tamra’s presence. It looks like she’s reserved her wrath for the newest Housewife, which we’ll see unfold in the coming weeks.
Katie Ginella
I was pretty convinced Katie Ginella and Heather Dubrow’s feud would pick right back up this season, but I wasn’t expecting Katie to also be at odds with so many of her other cast mates. The women’s main issue with Katie is her lack of credibility, and unfortunately the audience shares this sentiment. It appears as if Katie is operating like a supervillain behind closed doors, but when she’s called out for her shit-stirring behavior, she gives a shocked “who, me?” reaction.
It has to be incredibly frustrating, and I think the women and the viewers would respect Katie more if she owned her malintent and leaned into this adversarial role she carved for herself. The best antagonists have a fierce strength that makes the audience appreciate their hustle, if not secretly root for them. Katie’s fragility makes it difficult to watch her constantly be treated as the outcast in this group. It seems like she wants to turn things around with the women, but she can’t get out of her own way. It doesn’t look like things get easier for her anytime soon.
Emily Simpson
I understand Emily Simpson’s frustrations with Katie and her daughter, but Katie is no match for Emily, so it’s hard to watch them spar. I believe Emily has some misplaced anger because she’s clearly juggling a lot at home. Her son Luke’s recent diagnosis of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is heartbreaking, but it’s also fascinating to watch Emily and her husband Shane grapple with this in real time. Shane is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his son is not well, and it’s clearly causing problems in their relationship.
In my previous look-back at RHOC, I explained how Emily is sneakily one of the most fully formed Housewives on Bravo. She and Shane have always opened up their lives unabashedly, and this year we’re getting an even closer look at how they navigate their marriage and family issues. Emily is so honest, vulnerable, and unafraid of confrontation with the women, plus she has a relatability that so many Housewives lack.
Known for her predilection for carnitas tacos and smuggling Subway Footlongs into saunas, Emily made sure she started this season off with another trademark scene by stuffing loose donuts in her jacket pocket. We love that Emily is so grounded, but I really think the soft-boiled egg moment in the second episode should be the last of the food gags.
Gina Kirschenheiter
You can’t talk about Emily without talking about Gina Kirschenheiter. The first couple episodes were fairly light on Gina, though she incensed Emily’s and Tamra’s discord with Katie and reminded everyone that she’s the group’s original link to the newbie as a means of centering herself in the skepticism surrounding Katie’s intentions.
Gina’s always intentional and even strategic with the moves she makes, but she also makes sure the other women are held accountable for their actions, and is honest when she falls short herself. In my last RHOC post, I hoped her relationship with Travis would stabilize in the new season, so I was very happy to see that they’re back under the same roof. Viewers have remained largely in the dark on their issues with Travis’ ex-wife, but since it’s caused so much tension in their relationship, it’s one story thread I’m fine with remaining off-camera.
Jenn Pedranti
In this modern era of Housewives, it’s almost impossible to cast someone who doesn’t come off as if she’s intensely studied the reality TV manual. Jenn Pedranti is that diamond in the rough, the increasingly rare Housewife who’s opened her life fully to the cameras and provided an unflinching honesty about the end of her previous marriage. She also lets us into her clearly troubled current relationship, which made headlines last year because of fiancé Ryan Boyajian’s involvement in a huge Major League Baseball scandal.
This season Jenn’s working to reclaim her narrative after being perhaps too much of an open book, and I can’t help but root for her. With Tamra leading the charge, Jenn’s cast mates have questioned and shamed her for her self-admittedly careless decision-making. She’s spent much of her two seasons on the defense, though we saw her develop more of a backbone towards the end of last season, especially during the London trip and her iconic takedown of Tamra.
It’s nice to see her continue to stand her ground, and I completely buy my flawless queen’s argument that Tamra always had a thing for Ryan and is jealous that Jenn ended up with him. That being true doesn’t mean that Tamra doesn’t love Eddie or even that Tamra and Ryan would’ve ever had the opportunity to get things poppin’. For starters, Ryan would have to be into it and I don’t think his disgust for Tamra is put on. Still, I sense a ton of sexual tension in that foursome, including between Eddie and Jenn. But I digress.
Hands down my favorite moment from the premiere was Gina reminding Jenn that she had previously referred to Katie as a con artist, and Jenn responding so incredulously: “That’s terrible!” after hearing what she herself previously said. I guess there is the chance that Jenn didn’t use that term, but wouldn’t she put up a bigger fight to deny it? Later in the premiere, it completely took me out when Katie confronted Jenn, asking if she called her a con artist and Jenn said: “Wow, that wasn’t very nice of me.” I’m obsessed with Jenn’s naiveté and “aw shucks!” mentality.
Tamra Judge
Tamra, on the other hand, is not amused by Jenn in the slightest. Their friends-turned-enemies dynamic is still going strong, and I’m glad they’re both taking the gloves off and getting down to the root of their issues this season. “She wanted the life that I had, and she got it,” Tamra explained to Heather in Episode 2, detailing all the ways Jenn allegedly recreated her life in Tamra’s image. Whether it’s true or not, that statement is loaded and speaks to their complex dynamic. This feud has so much long-lasting potential, and I hope we keep peeling back the layers.
Meanwhile, Tamra is rewriting history and focusing on therapy as a storyline in an attempt to change the narrative about her. It’s hard to feel sympathy for her after she held Shannon’s feet to the fire all last season, as it’s pretty clear to me that her focus on literally everything else but the issues in her own life is finally catching up to her. I thought it was funny how early in Episode 2 Gina said about Tamra: “You’re not letting people activate you in the way that you were last year.” By the end of the episode that was no longer true, as someone who historically ruffled Tamra’s feathers like no other circled back into her orbit.
Gretchen Rossi
Gretchen is a Housewife I kept expecting to dislike during my recent first-time watch. While her intentions with late ex-fiancé Jeff Beitzel were certainly questionable, she still won me over. The other Housewives were clearly intimidated by their much younger peer, but Gretchen preserved her heart of gold despite the bullying she endured. She also played the reality TV game well by latching onto Housewife Hunter Slade Smiley.
I love that Gretchen made it a point to remind viewers that she and Slade have lasted longer than the marriages of most of her cast mates from her original run, aside from the Dubrows. It was pretty mind-boggling to hear Gretchen say they've been together for 16 years, and it was even more shocking that Slade was essentially mute during his first episode back! I’m sure that will change.
Even though she’s returning as a Friend, I hope we see a more balanced portrayal of Gretchen than we saw of Alexis during her return. Her feud with Tamra is already delivering a nice dose of nostalgia, and it will be exciting to see her interact with the women she never costarred with like Shannon, Emily, and Gina. Her return is a breath of fresh, and I’m here for it.
Heather Dubrow
Last and… least? Heather’s had a very sleepy start to the season and I don’t remember the trailer teasing any particularly interesting Dubrow updates. I remember being surprised to see Heather on the end of the couch at the Season 18 reunion, but by seating her so far from Andy, producers got the reaction out of her that they were probably looking for. Heather performed like someone who wanted to make sure her bosses were happy, and I was optimistic she’d maintain that more feisty approach in the new season.
The reunion’s a totally different setting, but I’m not seeing the same energy this year. I know we’re only two episodes deep, but am I getting final season vibes from Heather? I don’t necessarily want to speak it into existence, but so far she’s seemed especially superfluous in this young season.