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Season 5.
A pandemic delay and a cast that grows to seven make Season 5 the biggest version of RHOP the show has run yet.
A rhythm worth tracking.
Season five grows to seven full-time housewives with the addition of Wendy Osefo, the largest cast the show has run. A COVID-19 delay pushes the premiere from its original spring date to August, and twenty-two episodes — the longest order yet — close with a three-part reunion. It's also Monique Samuels' final season as a full-time housewife.
The #06 slot.
Slot #06 of 10 in the Real Housewives of Potomac Editor's Canon. Season five sits just below the midpoint because expansion alone isn't enough to rank higher in this canon. Wendy Osefo joins as the group's seventh full-time housewife, growing the cast past its founding six for the first time, while a COVID-19 delay pushes the premiere from a planned spring date to August. Twenty-two episodes — the longest order yet — close with a three-part reunion, and the season also turns out to be Monique Samuels' last as a full-time housewife. The old-money-versus-new-money hierarchy is present but a little diffuse across a bigger group still finding its shape, which is why the canon holds it below the tighter, more settled seasons ranked above it.
3 moments, no spoilers.
- Premiere · a delayed debut
The season was originally slated for spring 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the premiere back to August. Watch for how the extra months off show up in a cast that's had longer than usual to sit with each other.
- New addition · Wendy Osefo
Osefo joins as the group's seventh full-time housewife, the largest RHOP cast to date. Watch for how a bigger group changes the show's usual social math.
- Reunion · a three-part sit-down
The season closes with a three-part reunion special, the longest reunion format the show had run at that point. Watch for how the extended runtime changes what the group has room to work through.