Here's Why The RHONY Cast Might Look Completely Different Next Season

It looks like the next season of The Real Housewives of New York is going to feature some new faces. "There's definitely gonna be some new housewives," Luann de Lesseps told Jenn Lahmers of Extra. The current season of RHONY is still in the works, with Luann and Andy Cohen sharing sneak peeks of the reunion filming location on social media (via Bravo). 

Fans are already speculating who might be joining the cast. Bethenny Frankel has made it pretty clear she doesn't expect to rejoin the show (via Cheatsheet). Luann told Us Weekly that she had started to ask her friends, and also hoped to "diversify the cast in New York." RHONY has never had a cast member of color, but it seems that might be about to change.

New cast member Leah McSweeney has been an active protester in support of Black Lives Matter, and she's eager for changes to happen on TV. In an interview with Page Six, Leah expressed her hopes for a more diverse cast. "I hope that there's not only diversity of race, but an even deeper diversity of where someone lives or what their interests are. I hope that there's just more diversity all across the board because New Yorkers are not a monolith, obviously. I think that it is gonna head in that direction."

The Real Housewives franchise has recently made some small steps toward diversifying their casts, adding Garcelle Beauvais to the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, making her the first Black housewife in the show's history. According to sources speaking to US Weekly, it's likely that New York will be next. "There's going to be some changes... A handful of white women doesn't necessarily represent what New York City is all about," the insider claimed.