‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ bringing back Bethenny Frankel

How about this for a twist? Here is a case of rumors about a “Real Housewives” franchise that actually turned out to be true!

In a statement today, Bravo confirmed that Bethenny Frankel, arguably the most-successful woman to appear on any version of their reality franchise, will be returning as a cast member to “The Real Housewives of New York City” for its upcoming season. This move comes after Bethenny had a short-lived spin-off show on the network, and then also a short-lived daytime talk show. Is this a step down for Bethenny? We’re sure that some will spin it like this, but we’d reply with the following: It’s thanks to this show that Bethenny got the whole Skinnygirl revolution going, and she made more money than we can count off of that. Anything that gets her where she can make that kind of money is nothing other than a step up.

In a statement today, Bethenny had the following to say about the big reunion:

“Bravo has always been the place on television where I have the freedom to be unfiltered, honest and inappropriate, with an audience who has been with me from the beginning.”

Meanwhile, network programming guru / “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen also offered up some of his thoughts:

“Bethenny is one of the most popular Housewives in the history of the franchise, and I couldn’t be more excited she is coming home to Bravo!”

This reunion is a big move potentially for this version of the franchise, given that it has sagged in the ratings as of late. The show has come to rely mostly on the New Jersey and Atlanta versions for the big ratings, and we’d say that the New York version lags in some ways behind Beverly Hills and Orange County in terms of buzz.

What do you think about this reunion? Share with a comment.