After a few subpar seasons, The Real Housewives of Orange County is ready to kick off its renaissance era with season 17. There’s been a lot of buzz about the upcoming season, mostly because one former Housewife is getting her orange back. Plus, another cast member is making history as the first housewife to switch franchises. And when you add in all the wild drama that HollywoodLife heard about from the cast at BravoCon, you’ve got a season that’s definitely worth getting excited for!
The Real Housewives of Orange County started the Real Housewives franchise, when it premiered way back in 2006. We have to thank the OG RHOC cast — and especially Vicki Gunvlason — for changing reality television forever. With season 17 right around the corner, HollywoodLife has all the updates about the show’s highly-anticipated return. From the premiere date, to the new and returning cast members, find out all about RHOC season 17 below!
Premiere Date & Trailer
RHOC season 17 will premiere on June 7, 2023. Originally, the show was rumored to return on March 1, but that date came and went. And when Bravo finally debuted the trailer for the new season on April 25, 2023, they further announced the show’s return date.
The Cast
Shannon Beador, Heather Dubrow, Gina Kirschenheiter, and Emily Simpson are all returning for season 17. But their fellow season 16 co-stars, Noella Bergenger and Jennifer Armstrong, are not. Noella and Jennifer both announced their exits from the show in July 2022 after only one season.
Noella said in her statement, “After a wild season of ups and downs, I will not be returning to The Real Housewives of Orange County. I am so grateful to Bravo, Andy Cohen, and Evolution Media for giving me this incredible platform to share my story. Thank you to all of the fans for all of the love and support during quite possibly the hardest year of my life. I am looking forward to brighter skies ahead, and can’t wait to share what’s next.”
Jen said in her statement, “I loved opening up about being a working mom on Real Housewives of Orange County. I am so grateful to have had the privilege to talk about my father, my kids, and a real modern relationship on national television. My family and my work are the most important aspects of my life, so I am stepping away from RHOC and focusing on them.”
Of course, the big casting news is that Tamra Judge is back for season 17. Tamra joined the franchise in season 3 but was fired after season 14. After Tamra appeared on season 2 of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, Bravo offered her a full-time spot back on the show. Tamra officially announced her return to RHOC on the July 20, 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live. On her Two Ts In A Pod podcast with RHOBH alum Teddi Mellencamp, Tamra gave a hint to what her tagline could be. “All rise: the Judge is back and drama’s in session,” Tamra said.
The person that’s making history on RHOC season 17 is Taylor Armstrong. Taylor was an original cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and now that she’s joined RHOC, she’s the first Housewife to ever switch franchises. Taylor will appear as a “Friend Of” on the new season. She’s coming in as a close friend of Tamra’s, as they bonded on season 2 of RHUGT.
The OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson, will also appear in season 17, though she won’t be holding an orange. Vicki’s back on the show in a guest role after she was fired ahead of season 15. Vicki revealed on HollywoodLife‘s Real Housewives podcast, Pay Attention Puh-Lease!, that she filmed a “Tres Amigas” reunion with Shannon and Tamra. Vicki also confirmed that she went on at least one of the season 17 cast trips.
Rounding out the season 17 cast is full-time newbie Jennifer Pedranti. She comes on as a friend of Tamra’s, but as you’ll see in the trailer, their friendship might not last very long.
Rumors About ‘RHOC’ Season 17
As with any Housewives season, there’s been plenty of rumblings about what went down when the ladies filmed season 17. One of the biggest rumors is that Heather’s marriage to Terry Dubrow was a major storyline because of Terry’s alleged cheating. There were even allegations that Heather stopped filming the show because of this. But the Dubrows shut down any cheating rumors when they spoke to HL EXCLUSIVELY at BravoCon.
“You know, success breeds contempt,” Heather said, with Terry by her side. “People are always going to talk. We laugh about silly things people say about us. But you know, look, we’re not unaffected by things. We have children. They read things. Their friends read things. I think people should be careful how they talk about other people.”
What The Cast Has Said
The RHOC cast gave great intel about season 17 when they did EXCLUSIVE interviews with HollywoodLife at BravoCon. Gina told us, “It’s the first year that I really feel confident that the viewers are going to respond positively. There’s a lot of history. And everybody is really friends.” Emily said that the season is “messy,” since there’s so much history between the cast.
Gina also said that the new cast member, Jennifer Pedranti, is “really strong.” Gina added, “We know her naturally so there’s a lot of overlap with friends. It’s genuine. That helps. We aren’t forcing friendships — they’re really there.”
Heather hyped up season 17 and the “trajectory” of the franchise, as well. “We have some really good new cast members, and authentic relationships that I think will really resonate,” she told HL. Meanwhile, Tamra gushed over her big return to the show. “I think just having two years off and coming back and giving, you know, no cares about it has been confusing, fun,” she said. “I feel like you’re gonna see a lot of old school Tamra on the show this year.”
Shannon told us how she felt about having her former bestie Tamra back on the show. “That was quite a surprise to me because we were best friends for six years and then had a falling out for that two and a half and I never thought that I would have an opportunity basically to be forced to interact with her,” she explained. “So it’s been really, really good.”