Bravo’s new Real Housewives of Rhode Island has become an early ratings success, suggesting the franchise can still find fresh appeal in a smaller, tightly connected American community. Producers say Rhode Island’s nostalgic social fabric — where people know one another’s histories, businesses and families — recalls the qualities that made the earlier Housewives series compelling.

The show follows seven women from Rhode Island, alongside Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Dolores Catania as a “friend”, and presents a more unconventional mix of relationships and life stages than the title may imply. It was renewed for a second series in May 2026 and drew 2.7 million viewers in the seven days after its 7 April debut, Bravo’s largest multiplatform launch of the year; the network said it was on course to become its second-biggest series across platforms, behind The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.