The Real Housewives of New Jersey has circled the drain for the last few years, thanks to recycled drama and bizarre cast dynamics.
We recently felt that the show should be the only one Bravo considers rebooting because, season after season, nothing changes.
Everyone argues, the husbands get too much screen time, and by the end of the season, nothing is resolved.
Then, the official trailer dropped for RHONJ Season 14, and it certainly seemed like the producers took some fan criticism on board.
The biggest positive? There is a lack of Teresa Giudice arguing with Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga.
Melissa previously hinted that the two sides of the family were happy being away from each other, and she shared minimal scenes with her sister-in-law during the upcoming season.
Can Melissa Gorga get her own storyline?
For some reason, Gorga’s storylines have always revolved around Giudice, but the show is finally moving on from that.
Hey, maybe they’ll be cordial during group events. That’s about as much as we can hope for.
One of the biggest storylines will be Luis Ruelas being accused of spending Giudice’s money, as it looks like their marriage is already on ice.
Many people tried to warn Giudice not to rush into things with Ruelas, and sadly, it appears that everything people warned her about is coming true.
The editing could have led us in a specific direction and heightened the distance between the newlyweds (when the season was filmed), but it looks like Giudice is distraught about the whole thing.
Wish Joe Gorga has entered The Garden State
One of the most shocking moments involves John Fuda commenting on Giudice going to jail in what can only be an effort to bait her into an argument.
We don’t know the context of their argument, but John already seems like a Wish version of Joe Gorga.
Rachel Fuda and John would have been wise to know Giudice is unafraid to go low. Still, they probably know that going after her is a surefire way to secure them the limelight and may well avoid Rachel’s demotion to a friend role.
The broader issue with this series has been the increased reliance on the men in the women’s lives, with them getting their own scenes away from their spouses, which was fun at first.
But when they’re all arguing and talking smack about some of the women, it just doesn’t translate as well as they expect, so the show would be wise to nip that in the bud now and focus on the cast.
Then again, it doesn’t look like the Gorgas have anything coming up this season that will allow them to get a decent edit. We wouldn’t be surprised if they were barely present in the season.
Shifting dynamics in the cast could make for a great season
The shifting dynamics include Jackie Goldschneider joining Team Teresa as her relationship with Margaret Josephs falls apart.
We still don’t know how all of this came about, but it’s very interesting that Goldschneider and Giudice are now on much better terms after so many years of drama.
Sadly, there isn’t much of note happening in Josephs, Dolores Catania, or Jennifer Aydin‘s lives, so it looks like they’re grasping at straws in the trailer to get some screentime.
That said, the trailer promises new storylines and feuds, which should drive a large part of the season.
We’ll reserve further judgment until new episodes return to Bravo.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is currently on hiatus. Season 14 premieres on Bravo on Sunday, May 5, at 8/7c. Stream Seasons 1 to 13 on Peacock.