Get ready for a tumultuous fall — because “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” are coming back, including the controversial Mary Cosby.
Bravo announced Monday that the fifth season of the Utah-centric reality franchise will premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Housewives Lisa Barlow, Heather Gay, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks and Whitney Rose are returning to the cast for Season 5, Bravo announced. Cosby — who missed the Season 2 reunion, was omitted from Season 3, and appeared occasionally in Season 4 — will return in a full-time role, the network added.
Cosby was criticized during the show’s first two seasons for rude behavior and racist comments — many of them directed at former cast member Jen Shah, who’s currently serving a 6½-year prison term for telemarketing fraud.
Joining the cast full-time is newcomer Bronwyn Newport, and new friends Britani Bateman, a Utah actor and singer, and model Meili Workman will also make appearances.
A news release from Bravo promises “an avalanche of fractured friendships, earth-shattering rumors, and high fashion.”
In a new trailer released by Bravo, Barlow introduces Newport to the group. In the narration, Barlow says, “Bronwyn is everything you could want in a friend. She’s funny, she’s witty, she’s got the best wardrobe.” (Newport’s fashion sense is on display on her website and her Instagram account.)
Barlow’s comments are followed by Gay’s observation: “Bronwyn is not here to make friends. And I don’t trust her.”
The trailer hints at the drama to come this season, with audio snippets of cast members yelling at each other — though it’s not clear who the recipient of each attack is.
• Gay says, “Never in a million years after everything we’ve been through did I think that you would reach out to our sworn enemy.”
• Rose apparently responds: “I sought out proof and was given the proof.”
• An indignant Marks says: “You’re recording us?! I am disgusted.”
• And Cosby calls someone “the biggest liar in Utah. You big fake.”
The Housewives also seem to have fun, as the trailer shows them on zip lines, camping, going to a speedway, and visiting a tropical resort all dressed as Barlow.
Not mentioned in the Season 5 trailer is Season 4 cast member Monica Garcia — who, in the season finale, was revealed to be the instigator of a trash-talking Instagram account that had been targeting the cast for years. The finale drew praise from such celebrity superfans as Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Biao and Oscar-winning actresses Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.
