I Wish People Would Stop Complaining About Starting To Watch Real Housewives Shows. Why Now Is The Perfect Time To Dive In

Angie K talking to her dad about his past in Greece.
(Image credit: Bravo)

Over the last decade and change of TV, the Real Housewives franchise has become a behemoth and wildly popular property. Some of the best reality shows are currently airing on Bravo (and streaming with a Peacock subscription), including my personal faves Salt Lake City, Miami, and Potomac. It's the perfect time for new fans to start watching, and I'm sick of folks complaining about having to catch up on years worth of seasons before they can begin the new ones. Hear me out.

It's a great time to be a Bravo fan, thanks to the premiere of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Potomac, as well as the wild cliffhanger ending from Miami's reunion. I've been spreading the good news of the Housewives franchise, although some of my friends and family are under the false impression they need to be caught up to enjoy new seasons. But boy, are they wrong.

The Best Housewives Cities Are Airing, And You Don't Need To Catch Up.

For three fateful weeks, there are a whopping FOUR Real Housewives cities airing new episodes right now. While I'm meh on Orange County, the other three previously mentioned titles are my favorite shows from the franchise. I've been trying to get everyone I know to tune in for all the drama and laughs, especially Salt Lake City, which is top tier Housewives in my opinion. But, since we're currently in the midst of Season 6, it might be daunting to binge watch the first five. Although I don't think it's necessary to know the history of each show to jump into a new season of The Real Housewives.

Peacock TV: from $7.99 a month/$79.99 a year

Peacock TV: from $7.99 a month/$79.99 a year
The Real Housewives franchise is streaming on Peacock. Costing as little as $7.99 a month, you can also pay more for Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus and enjoy ad-free streams and the option to download titles to watch offline later.

The way Real Housewives episodes are structured actually makes it very user friendly for newcomers. Whatever important exposition and context needed to explain any conflict is usually given through confessionals and flashbacks. So, if you trust the process, a newcomer can quickly jump into any given season and be relatively caught up in an episode or two. While the longterm fans might have a deeper understanding of the show's history, new seasons are not made exclusively for OGs.

I understood this process firsthand. While I've watched The Real Housewives of New Jersey since Day 1, for all of the other cities I've simply dropped into current seasons and caught up along the way. That includes Salt Lake City, Miami and Potomac. Heck, I started RHOC last season on a whim because it was the only Housewives series airing and I needed my fix. The same can also be said for the most recent season of Atlanta.

Alexia listening to Adriana during the Miami reunion

(Image credit: Bravo)

I've watched the last three season of Miami, which is why the recent news about Alexia's ex, Todd, suing Bravo blew my mind. I never went back to watch the show before its reboot, though, and that hasn't stopped me from enjoying every single fight and hilarious bit of Spanglish that the show offers.

As such, I'd like to challenge any Housewives newcomers who are curious about the franchise to tune into the current seasons of Salt Lake and Potomac. These two cities are full of hilarious and beautiful women, and also bring A+ drama along the way. For the latter, that includes Karen Huger's recent release from prison. These shows are jam-packed full of flashbacks, so it's really easy to catch up with the story without having to commit to watching previous seasons. Considering that there are typically around 20 episodes per season, this is also a serious time saver.

For two more weeks we'll be getting new episodes of Salt Lake City, Potomac, Orange County, and Miami as part of the 2025 TV schedule. That is, until the latter series airs its final two parts of the reunion. If you want to be part of the meme-able fandom, just pick a city and start watching! You won't be disappointed.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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