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The Real Housewives of Orange County
Rhoclogo
Current Housewives Tamra Judge (Season 3–14, 17–)

Heather Dubrow (Season 7-11, 16–)
Shannon Storms Beador (Season 9–)
Emily Simpson (Season 13–)
Gina Kirschenheiter (Season 13–)
Jennifer Pedranti (Season 17–)

Former Housewives Vicki Gunvalson (Season 1–13)

Jeana Keough (Season 1–5)
Lauri Peterson (Season 1–4)
Jo De La Rosa (Season 1–2)
Kimberly Bryant (Season 1)
Tammy Knickerbocker (Season 2–3)
Quinn Fry (Season 3)
Gretchen Rossi (Season 4–8)
Lynne Curtin (Season 4–5)
Alexis Bellino (Season 5–8)
Peggy Tanous (Season 6)
Lydia McLaughlin (Season 8, 12)
Lizzie Rovsek (Season 9)
Meghan King Edmonds (Season 10–12)
Kelly Dodd (Season 11–15)
Peggy Sulahian (Season 12)
Braunwyn Windham-Burke (Season 14–15)
Elizabeth Lyn Vargas (Season 15)
Jennifer Armstrong (Season 16)
Noella Bergener (Season 16)

Country of Origin United States
Original Language English
Number of Seasons 17
Number of Episodes 308
Original Release March 21, 2006–Present
Followed By The Real Housewives of New York City
Spin-Off(s) Date My Ex: Jo and Slade

Tamra’s OC Wedding

The Real Housewives of Orange County, abbreviated RHOC, is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo, on March 21, 2006. It has aired seventeen seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in Orange County, California.

The seventeenth season’s cast was made up of: Tamra Judge, Heather Dubrow, Shannon Storms Beador, Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter and Jennifer Pedranti; while former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Taylor Armstrong, was involved in the series in a ‘Friend’ capacity.

The show's success has led for the development of The Real Housewives franchise and similar spin-off series based in numerous cities across the United States, as well as numerous installments internationally.

The success of the show has resulted in two spin-offs; Date My Ex: Jo and Slade and Tamra’s OC Wedding.

Overview[]

Seasons 1–3[]

In April 2005, The Real Housewives was ordered by American television network, Bravo. The show's working title was “Behind The Gates,” and was intended to follow a documentary format. It was renamed as The Real Housewives of Orange County in January 2006. Show creator Scott Dunlop said that it was originally planned to be set in a single gated community in Coto de Caza, California. The show was inspired by scripted soap operas Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place, and would document the lives of upper-class women who "lead glamorous lives in a Southern California gated community where the average home has a $1.6 million price tag and residents include CEOs and retired professional athletes."

The first season premiered on March 21, 2006, and starred Kimberly Bryant, Jo De La Rosa, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeana Keough and Lauri Peterson (then Waring). Bryant left after the first season as she relocated to Chicago after a health scare; but did make a cameo this season to sum up her storyline from the previous season. Tammy Knickerbocker joined the cast for the second season which premiered on January 16, 2007. After the second season, De La Rosa exited the series as a regular cast member after the breakup with her fiancé, Slade Smiley. The third season premiered on November 6, 2007, which featured Tamra Judge (then Barney) as the latest housewife, while Quinn Fry joined the cast in the sixth episode. Bryant and De La Rosa returned as guests. Knickerbocker and Fry left the main cast after the third season.

Seasons 4–8[]

Gretchen Rossi was introduced in the fourth season premiere on November 25, 2008. Peterson made her final appearance as a main cast member in the third episode; to focus on her children, while Lynne Curtin joined the cast in the fourth episode. Bryant and De La Rosa made their final guest appearances during the season finale, whilst Knickerbocker also returned as a guest. Keough's final season as a full-time cast member, the fifth season premiered on November 5, 2009. After Keough left the show as a full-time cast member, Alexis Bellino was added to the main cast. Fry, Knickerbocker and Peterson returned as a guest in the same season that Curtin exited the series.

The sixth season, which premiered on March 6, 2011, introduced Peggy Tanous as the newest housewife as well as the new ’Friend of the Housewives’, Fernanda Rocha. In addition, Keough, Curtin, Fry, and Knickerbocker appeared as guests. Heather Dubrow joined the cast in the seventh season which premiered on February 7, 2012. Keough and Tanous appeared in guest capacities, with the latter receiving confessional interviews in the season's first two episodes (to wrap up her storyline), while Sarah Winchester was featured as a ‘Friend of the Housewives’. Tanous was set to film another season as a full-time housewife, however, quit the series after the season's second episode due to ongoing personal conflict involving herself, Bellino and Bellino's husband, Jim; marking her final appearance on the show. On April 1, 2013, the eighth season premiered and the cast was joined by Lydia McLaughlin. Peterson also appeared as a ‘Friend of the Housewives’ in the eighth season. Bellino, McLaughlin, Rossi and Peterson all departed after the season.

Seasons 9–12[]

The ninth season premiered on April 14, 2014, and introduced Shannon Storms Beador and Lizzie Rovsek as the new housewives. While Danielle Gregorio joined as a ‘Friend of the Housewives’. The tenth season which premiered on June 8, 2015, saw Rovsek as a ’Friend of the Housewives’, and Meghan King joining the cast. Curtin, Keough and Knickerbocker made guest appearances in the season.

The eleventh season premiered on June 20, 2016. It featured Kelly Dodd joining the cast and Keough making a guest appearance. Dubrow exited the series after the season. McLaughlin, after a three-year gap, returned for the show's twelfth season which premiered on July 10, 2017. Peggy Sulahian joined as the latest Housewife, while Keough, Rossi and Rovsek, made guest appearances. After the season concluded, King Edmonds, McLaughlin and Sulahian left the show.

Seasons 13–16[]

Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson joined the cast for the thirteenth season, which premiered on July 16, 2018.

The fourteenth season premiered on August 6, 2019. Braunwyn Windham-Burke joined as a cast member, while Gunvalson was demoted to a "Friend of the Housewives" status; making it the first series not have an inaugural cast member in its main cast. King and Bellino both appeared in a guest capacity. Gunvalson and Judge both completely left the series in January 2020. Filming for the show was paused between March and July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

The fifteenth season premiered on October 14, 2020, with Elizabeth Lyn Vargas joining the cast. Keough served as a narrator in the opening of the season premiere. Rovsek appeared as a guest in the fifth episode. The season served as the final season for Dodd, Windham-Burke and Vargas.

The sixteenth season premiered on December 1, 2021, with Beador, Kirschenheiter and Simpson returning, along with former housewife, Dubrow, and new housewives, Jen Armstrong and Noella Bergener joining the main cast. Nicole James appeared as a ’Friend of the Housewives’, departing halfway through the season. Keough and Rovsek also had guest appearances during the season. The reunion was taped on March 10, 2022.

Season 17–18[]

Following the conclusion of the sixteenth season, Armstrong and Bergener announced their exits from the show on July 8, 2022. On July 20 of the same year, Judge announced her return to the franchise. The following month, it was announced former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, Taylor Armstrong, joined the cast as a ‘Friend of the Housewives”. In October 2022, Gunvalson was announced to appear in a guest capacity; she later appeared in five episodes of the season. The seventeenth season premiered on June 7, 2023, with newest housewife, Jennifer Pedranti, joining the cast.

In late 2023, the show was renewed for an eighteenth season. Filming began in late January 2024 with all cast members returning, minus Taylor Armstrong who confirmed her departure in November 2023. On January 24, it was confirmed that former housewife, Alexis Bellino, would be returning to the show in a ‘Friend of’ capacity.

RHOC 17 Cast Photo

Cast of Season 17 from L to R: Emily, Gina, Heather, Tamra, Shannon, Jennifer

Cast[]

Housewives Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Kimberly Bryant Main Guest
Jo De La Rosa Main Guest
Vicki Gunvalson Main Friend Guest
Jeana Keough Main Guest Guest Guest
Lauri Peterson Main Guest Friend
Tammy Knickerbocker Main Guest Guest
Tamra Judge Main Main
Quinn Fry Main Guest
Gretchen Rossi Main Guest
Lynne Curtin Main Guest Guest
Alexis Bellino Main Guest Friend
Peggy Tanous Main Guest
Heather Dubrow Main Main
Lydia McLaughlin Main Main
Shannon Beador Main
Lizzie Rovsek Main Friend Guest Guest
Meghan King Guest Main Guest
Kelly Leventhal Main
Peggy Sulahian Main
Emily Simpson Guest Main
Gina Kirschenheiter Main
Braunwyn Windham-Burke Main
Elizabeth Vargas Main
Noella Bergener Main
Jennifer Armstrong Main
Jennifer Pedranti Main
Friends of the Housewives
Fernanda Rocha Guest Friend
Sarah Winchester Guest Friend
Danielle Gregorio Friend
Nicole James Friend
Taylor Armstrong Friend

Episodes[]

Main Article: The Real Housewives of Orange County - Episode Guide

Season Episodes Season Premiere Season Finale Reunion
1 8 March 21, 2006 May 2, 2006 May 9, 2006
2 10 January 16, 2007 March 13, 2007 March 20, 2007
3 12 November 6, 2007 January 22, 2008 January 29, 2008
4 15 November 25, 2008 February 17, 2009 February 24, 2009
5 17 November 5, 2009 March 5, 2010 March 10, 2010
March 11, 2010
6 16 March 6, 2011 June 5, 2011 June 12, 2011
June 13, 2011
7 23 February 7, 2012 June 26, 2012 July 10, 2012
July 16, 2012
8 22 April 1, 2013 August 5, 2013 August 12, 2013
August 19, 2013
August 26, 2013
9 21 April 14, 2014 August 18, 2014 August 25, 2014
September 1, 2014
10 24 June 8, 2015 November 12, 2015 October 19, 2015
October 26, 2015
November 1, 2015
11 21 June 20, 2016 October 31, 2016 November 7, 2016
November 14, 2016
November 21, 2016
12 21 July 10, 2017 November 13, 2017 November 20, 2017
November 27, 2017
13 21 July 16, 2018 November 19, 2018 November 25, 2018
December 2, 2018
December 9, 2018
14 23 August 6, 2019 December 17, 2019 December 18, 2019
December 23, 2019
December 26, 2019
15 16 October 14, 2020 January 13, 2021 January 20, 2021
January 27, 2021
16 19 December 1, 2021 April 13, 2022 April 20, 2022
April 27, 2022
17 18 June 7, 2023 September 27, 2023 October 4, 2023
October 11, 2023

Broadcast History[]

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs regularly on Bravo in the United States; most episodes are approximately forty-two minutes in length, and are broadcast in standard definition and high definition. Since its premiere, the series has alternated airing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and has been frequently shifted between the 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 pm timeslots.

Spin-Offs[]

Date My Ex: Jo and Slade became the first spin-off from The Real Housewives of Orange County; the dating game show documented De La Rosa as she began dating after moving to Los Angeles, where potential suitors were regularly surveyed by Smiley. It premiered on June 30, 2008, and ended on September 8, 2008, after broadcasting nine episodes during its first and only season.

After becoming engaged to Judge in February 2013, Barney was commissioned to star in the three-part spin-off special Tamra's OC Wedding. It highlighted the preparations for their nuptials and was broadcast from September 2, 2013, until September 16, 2013.

Trivia[]

  • It was first supposed to named Behind the Gates and Andy Cohen wanted to pull it from airing because he thought it wasn't interesting.
  • RHOC was the first ever "Real Housewives show in the franchise" and the longest running, starting in 2006.
  • Michael, Vicki Gunvalson's, son, first wanted to do the reality show, Behind the Gates, and make it about him and his friends, but the producers requested for his mom to audition and then it became about the women in the high social circles of Orange County.
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