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The cast that gave the franchise its second wind — Bravo, November 2018

The Fresh Start

Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin arrive as full Housewives, bringing distinct registers and real presence. Season nine is the established era at its most confident — new cast embedded in familiar infrastructure, generating heat from the first episode.

Filmed
New Jersey, USA
New Jersey and surrounding areas
Premiered
Nov 7, 2018
Bravo · November 2018
Episodes
18
Format
Cast refresh, two strong additions
Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin join as full Housewives
Cast size
7 cast members
Seven Housewives including two strong new additions
Host
Andy Cohen
On this page5 sections
  1. 01The take
  2. 02The shape of the season
  3. 03Where it sits in the canon
  4. 04Adjacent in the canon
  5. 05Also appears in
01The take

The best new blood.

The S9 additions are the best new cast additions the franchise had seen since the founding era. The season knows it.
02The shape of the season

Fast ignition, no ramp-up.

The two new additions in season nine are the franchise's most effective casting decisions since the founding era. Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin bring different social registers and genuine personality — not franchise archetypes, but specific people with specific points of view. Their arrivals pay off immediately. Season nine is the established era at its most confident: the New Jersey infrastructure holds, the new cast is fluent from episode one, and the dynamics generate real pressure.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #06 slot.

Slot #06 of 14 in the Real Housewives of New Jersey Editor's Canon. Season nine is the established era at its most confident. The departures of previous cast members create space for two of the most effective additions the franchise had seen in years — Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin arrive with distinct social registers and genuine personality, not as franchise archetypes but as specific people with specific points of view. The New Jersey social infrastructure holds them without strain, and the dynamics generate heat from early in the run. This is what a good casting decision looks like when it lands: the season runs with purpose, the energy is real, and the show remembers what made it worth watching.

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05Also appears in

Cross-references.