Andy Cohen drops major ‘RHONJ’ casting bombshell after show was put on pause

Andy Cohen gave a major update on the status of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” after he announced that the show would be going through a major reboot last summer.

“We are doing casting on ‘Jersey,'” Cohen said on Tuesday’s episode of “The View.” “It was really on a deep pause and we are actively there casting and looking at the future of what that will be.”

The producer then attempted to persuade fans not to fret over the potential changes as he reiterated that he and Bravo believe “RHONJ” is “a great franchise and we love it.”

Cohen confirmed that Bravo would be doing “something different” with the “RHONJ” franchise last July following the show’s Season 14 finale and unconventional reunion special.

In August, it was reported that the show likely won’t resume filming until some time in 2025.

The previous season concluded with Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda, as well as friends Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler among the current cast.

The “Watch What Happens Live” host has remained mostly tight-lipped on any updates regarding the casting process in recent months.

However, in February, Cohen shut down a report by OK! magazine that only stars Melissa Gorga and Dolores Catania would be returning to the show alongside a slew of new faces during a February episode of SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live.”

“If it says, ‘Bravo has announced,’ or ‘Andy said on his radio,’ then it is true,” he said at the time. “That’s what I will tell you. Don’t believe anything else.”

In the meantime, “Real Housewives” may still be able to get their fix with the forthcoming new franchise “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” which Cohen told Page Six bears some resemblance to “early” episode of “RHONJ.”

“They are very Italian,” Cohen said. “Rhode Island is such a small state, and they all kind of know each other and overlap, and it’s an incredible group of women who have really interesting connections. I think it’s going to really surprise people.”

The executive producer went on to compare the show to “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” which also has a primarily Italian American cast with family drama, but said the two differ mostly based on location. Cohen, 56, explained why the two differ.

“Well, they’re in Rhode Island. It’s coastal,” he pointed out, calling the yet-to-be-announced stars even “more Italian” with “deep families.”

Though, he conceded that it “does kind of remind you of early ‘Jersey’ in a weird way.”