E!’s ‘Real Housewives of New York City’ Reboot Sets Premiere Date, Reveals First Look at ‘The Golden Life’

The original Real Housewives of New York City are gearing up for their debut as the Golden ladies of E!, as the first trailer and premiere date for The Golden Life has been unveiled.

The Golden Life, which spotlights five former New York City-based Housewives, will premiere on Oct. 20 at 10 p.m. with a special 90 minute episode. The series will chronicle the lives of the ladies now in Palm Beach, Florida, as they take on their “golden” era.

Kelly Bensimon, Countess Luann De Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer all star in season one; midway into filming, it was announced that former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Margaret Josephs and Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell also joined the cast. They will join the cast in additional episodes “featuring the cast in the glitzy Hamptons social scene” in 2027.

Jill Zarin was originally announced as part of The Golden Life cast, but was fired after criticizing Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. In a since-deleted video, she called it “the worst halftime show ever,” slamming the show for featuring mostly Spanish songs and “no white people.” Medley took her spot on the cast.

The logline reads, “The series follows the iconic group of New York snowbirds as they pack their bags and head down south to reconnect in their “golden” era of life. Whether it’s yacht parties accompanied by past flings on the not-so-sunny coast of Florida, championing the Gay Polo League, an old-school girls weekend in Miami, or glamorous shop-and-sip events in luxury boutiques, the ladies bring their iconic personalities to the exclusive Palm Beach scene.”

E! announced The Golden Life was greenlit in February, moving the former Housewives away from their home network of Bravo. The Real Housewives of New York City has had a troubled past in recent years; the show was rebooted with a brand new cast for the show’s 14th season, following a hectic season 13. The revamped cast of housewives embarked on two seasons together, before the 15th installment ended on another rocky spot in February. RHONY season 16 debuted on Bravo Tuesday.

After season 13, Bravo initially planned to split RHONY into two shows — one centered around a fresh slate of women and another spotlighting the “legacy” cast. The latter idea was shelved when Peacock instead released The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy, a one-season project that highlighted de Lesseps, Singer, Bensimon, Medley and Morgan on vacation, alongside fellow alumni Kristen Taekman.  

De Lesseps, Zarin and Singer kicked off the first season of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York in 2008, while Bensimon joined in season two (2009) and Morgan was added in season three (2010). Medley joined for season seven in 2015.

See the official cast photos for The Golden Life, and mini bios provided by E!, below.

The Golden Life is produced by Blink49 Studios with Tara Long, Nadine Rajabi, Mark Ford, Ben Megargel, Paul Yuan, Janelle Couture, Rudy Castellon and Daniel Rogge serving as executive producers.