The Real Housewives of Orange County

In April 2005, The Real Housewives was ordered by American television network Bravo.[1] It was renamed as The Real Housewives of Orange County in January 2006.[2] Show creator Scott Dunlop said that it was originally planned to be set in a single gated community in Coto de Caza, California.[3] 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."[2]

The first season premiered on March 21, 2006, and starred Kimberly Bryant, Jo De La Rosa, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeana Keough and Lauri Waring. Bryant left after the first season. Tammy Knickerbocker joined the cast for the second season which premiered on January 16, 2007. Bryant appeared as a guest. After the second season, De La Rosa exited the series as a regular cast member. 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.[4][5] Bryant and De La Rosa returned as guests. Knickerbocker and Fry left the main cast after the third season.

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. While Lynne Curtin joined the cast in the fourth episode.[6][7] Bryant and De La Rosa made their final guest appearance during the season finale. While Knickerbocker returned as a guest. Keough's final season as a full-time cast member, season five premiered on November 5, 2009. After Keough left the show as a full-time cast member, Alexis Bellino was added to the main cast.[8][9][10] Fry, Knickerbocker and Peterson returned as a guest. Curtin left after the fifth season.

The sixth season which premiered on March 6, 2011 introduced Peggy Tanous as the newest housewife and friend of the housewives Fernanda Rocha.[11] Keough returned in a friend of the housewives status, while 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 as a guest, while Sarah Winchester was featured as a friend of the housewives. 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.[12] Bellino, McLaughlin, Rossi and Peterson departed after the season.

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 friend of the housewives.[13] The tenth season which premiered on June 8, 2015, saw Rovsek as a friend of the housewives,[14][15] and Meghan King Edmonds joining the cast. Curtin, Keough and Knickerbocker made guest appearances in the season.[16][17]

The eleventh season premiered on June 20, 2016. It featured Kelly Leventhal joining the cast and Keough making a guest appearance.[18] The season served as Dubrow's final season.[19] McLaughlin returned for the show's twelfth season which premiered on July 10, 2017.[20] Peggy Sulahian joined as the latest housewife. While Keough, Rossi and Rovsek made guest appearances.[21] After the season concluded, King Edmonds, McLaughlin and Sulahian left the show.[22][23][24]

Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson joined the cast for the thirteenth season, which premiered on July 16, 2018.[25]

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. Elizabeth Lyn Vargas joined the show as a cast member in Season 15, while Judge was fired from the show.[26] King Edmonds and Bellino both appeared in a guest capacity.[27][28] Gunvalson and Judge both left the series in January 2020.[29] Filming for the show was paused between March and July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30][31]

The fifteenth season premiered on October 14, 2020, with Elizabeth Lyn Vargas joining the cast.[32] Keough served as a narrator in the opening of the first episode.[33] While Rovsek appeared as a guest in the fifth episode.[34]