“Ladies of London: The New Reign,” which premiered in March on Bravo, has been put on pause by the network. “On pause” is a Bravo term of art, since the network rarely cancels shows forever. “Ladies of London: The New Reign” is a good example of that philososophy, since the original “Ladies of London” — a de facto “Real Housewives of London,” without being an official part of that franchise — ran for three seasons from 2014 through 2017, before Bravo announced in May 2025 that it would reboot the series with a new cast.
That “Ladies of London: The New Reign” was yanked after a single season in the current high-pressure television environment, however, doesn’t bode well for its future prospects. At the NBCUniversal upfront in May, Bravo pundits noted that “Ladies of London” was conspicuously absent from the network’s list of renewed series. Now that the show is officially on pause, it’s safe to speculate that — while Bravo content creators fully embraced the show and its cast — “Ladies of London” failed to catch on with a wider audience.
What a cast it was, though. Lady Emma Thynn, Martha Lady Sitwell, Mark-Francis Vandelli, Lottie Kane, Missè Beqiri, Kimi Murdoch, Myka Meier and Margo Stilley — most of whom had actually known each other for years — delighted viewers over a 10-episode season. Kevin Fallon at The Daily Beast called it “the best new Bravo show in years.” Even the New York Times got in on the action, with a profile of the eccentric Sitwell (the charms her magpie, Hecate, are impossible to resist). That “Ladies of London: The New Reign” featured Vandelli, a gay man, among its cast of ladies, also broke new ground.
In an odd bit of planning, Hayu, the NBCUniversal-owned U.K. streaming service, launched “The Real Housewives of London” last fall as a brand-new franchise, original to the streamer. Neither Bravo nor streaming service Peacock has re-aired “The Real Housewives of London” in a second window, but that would certainly make sense now. In Variety‘s review of Season 1, Scott Bryan wrote that the show is “moreish and enjoyably stupid,” and declared that it’s “Camp camp camp!” It’s already been renewed for a second season at Hayu. (Cast member Juliet Angus, an American expat and influencer, was on the original “Ladies of London.”)
“Ladies of London: The New Reign” was produced by BBC Studios. Ryan O’Dowd, Krystal Whitney, Craig Turner, Bill Fritz and Kathleen French executive produce.
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