The 6 Reasons Carole Radziwill Might Be Able to Save Real Housewives of New York

RHONY has struggled for years after a messed-up pandemic season and a “clear the deck” new cast. This week's trailer for the next season has generated a renewed interest in the show not seen in a long time.

All because of one woman. Carole Radziwill's return suggests the network thinks it found a workaround, and here's why it might just work:

• She's coming back as a full-time Housewife, not just a "friend of," which tells you Bravo, and her old pal Andy Cohen, with whom she recently reconciled after a public feud, sees a real storyline in her rather than a nostalgia cameo.

• Speaking of Housewife nostalgia, it's having a massive moment right now. Vicki Gunvalson, one of the original Housewives from RHOC's very first season in 2006, just returned to Orange County for its 20th season, and that same OG energy is exactly what's driving Bravo's biggest wins, with Carole standing as one of RHONY's own veteran members.

• It's also a timely reintroduction. Many of her old cast mates are currently filming The Golden Life, an E! spinoff about their new lives in Palm Beach, which hands RHONY some free, built-in competition and marketing against its own alumni.

• The Epstein and Maxwell questions teased in the trailer are a genuine curveball, since her old New York social world once overlapped with people who are radioactive now and bring headlines with them.

• She knows how to play the game these days, with no early season hesitation, just sharp, ready made soundbites.

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