The Real Housewives of Melbourne

The Real Housewives of Melbourne (abbreviated RHOMelbourne) is an Australian reality television series that premiered on February 23, 2014, on Arena. It was developed as one of the international installments of The Real Housewives, an American television series franchise. The series chronicles the lives of several women living in Melbourne, Australia.

The series originally focused on Gina Liano, Jackie Gillies, Andrea Moss, Janet Roach, Chyka Keebaugh and Lydia Schiavello; the current line-up of housewives consists of Liano, Gillies, Roach, Schiavello, Gamble Breaux and Susie McLean. Of the original housewives, Moss left after the first season, whilst Keebaugh departed after the third season concluded. Other housewives include Pettifleur Berenger (Season 2-3).

Its success has allowed for the development of The Real Housewives franchise by Matchbox Pictures and similar spin-off series based in Auckland and Sydney.

Overview and Casting
The Real Housewives of Melbourne was first announced by Matchbox Pictures as The Real Housewives of Australia and was set to air in 2013. On July 28, 2013 it was announced that the series had been renamed to The Real Housewives of Melbourne, along with the full cast of the six women. The six women include Jackie Gillies, Chyka Keebaugh, Gina Liano, Andrea Moss, Janet Roach and Lydia Schiavello. They were handpicked by the producers, from over one-hundred women during an eight-month process. Filming for the series began in July 2013. On January 21, 2014, the official cast photo and premiere date of February 23, 2014 were announced. The series at the time was the second biggest local series launch following SoHo's Wentworth.

Moss departed the series after one season. On May 8, 2014, the series was renewed for a second season. Brian Walsh, an executive director of Foxtel, discussed the renewal, "There is no doubt that The Real Housewives of Melbourne has been a game changer for Foxtel. The incredible reaction to our Housewives, including the blockbuster ratings, the huge social media impact and the overall buzz surrounding the series has meant the decision for another season was a very easy one." In season two, Andrea Moss departed the series which featured two newcomers, Gamble Breaux and Pettifleur Berenger, and premiered on February 22, 2015. Manuela Pless-Bennett joined the series in a recurring capacity as a friend to Janet. Pless-Bennett was featured in interviews and attended the reunion. Friend to the wives Lisa Tonkin, who also made a guest appearance in season one, made several guest appearances throughout the season.

The series was subsequently renewed for a third season. All the housewives returned from the previous season with Susie McLean joining the cast. The third season premiered on February 21, 2016. Prior to the conclusion of the third season, it was confirmed on May 8, 2016, that original housewife Chyka Keebaugh would not be returning to the series.

On May 11, 2016, Schiavello revealed there would be a fourth season but filming may be delayed to the film The Real Housewives of Sydney first. A month later in June 2016, Liano also confirmed there would be a season four and the filming delay for the Sydney series, adding that "the original girls are out of contract now. They haven't approached us to renegotiate contracts yet." In December 2016, season four was officially confirmed by Foxtel, also being reported that filming is set to begin in early 2017. On April 29, 2017, it was announced that Berenger would not return to the series.

Episodes
See Also: List of RHOMelbourne Episodes

Critical Reception
In the United States, the premiere episode attracted 414,000 viewers, a 39% increase to the timeslot compared to the month prior. The second season premiere, which for the first time saw the series air in prime time, grew on the prior season's premiere scoring 534,000 viewers.

Broadcast History
In the United States, the series premiered on August 3, 2014, on Bravo, the same network that initiated The Real Housewives franchise. The series returned for a second season on March 5, 2015. However, unlike season one which aired during daytime on Sunday, season two aired during prime time, the first of the international The Real Housewives series to do so. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on November 6, 2014, and airs on ITVBe. In Sweden TV3 started airing the first series in early January 2016. The series returned to Bravo for a third season on July 22, 2016, but now airing during prime time on a Friday. In Canada, the series started airing on Slice in August 2016. In New Zealand, the series premiered on October 25, 2016 on Bravo, the same network that initiated The Real Housewives franchise by Matchbox Pictures.