The Potomac Housewives Tease A Different Season 2

Before Season 1 officially comes to an end on Apr. 17, fans are excited that The Real Housewives of Potomac will return for Season 2, especially since the show has been a hit since its premiere netted major ratings. But even though the RHOP Season 2 confirmation was reported by Variety on Apr. 17, the cast was already considering what changes they're going to make now that the first season is behind them. Before Bravo made the Season 2 announcement, RHOP stars Karen Huger, Ashley Darby, and Gizelle Bryant spoke to Bustle about all the ways new episodes would break the mold, and it sounds like viewers should look forward to a seeing a whole new side of the Housewives.

Throughout Season 1, the RHOP kept falling into a few, circular arguments — in particular, disagreements between Robyn, Gizelle, Katie, and Ashley over race — but according to Gizelle, if she's included in Season 2, the ladies would finally put these issues to rest. "I mean, I didn’t want to be the poster child for race relations on the Housewives," Gizelle says. "But I’m happy that the dialogue started and we all are clear as to who and what we are, and it’s great that we now respect each other’s background."

And what healed the divide? Well, in a roundabout kind of way, Gizelle's "Come to Jesus Brunch," which may have dissolved into more arguments in the finale, but ultimately led to some catharsis. As Karen's explains, "These women decided that they needed to respect each other’s background — and it’s a phenomenal wealth of background on this cast — and I don’t want to ignore anybody’s culture that is present."

Meanwhile, Ashley credits a live-and-let-live mentality for the shift. "It was really a matter of growth, and learning to accept each other as who we are and not try to make us look at the world in the same way through the same lens," she says. So there will be a lot more mutual respect going forward, instead of intense, escalating arguments. But don't worry, if you want to fill the wait for a Season 2 announcement by re-watching those arguments, the entire first season will be available to watch for free on Xfinity during its Watchathon Week, which begins on April 18.

The mutual respect was a long time coming, but now that the Housewives have reached that point, it seems like there's a whole new world of possibilities for this cast. They even amended their Reunion Part One stance of no more girls' trips — with one major condition. "We're not going to Ashley's!" jokes Gizelle, and Karen agrees: "We’re going to give them a break from us. We need a new place that we can really, really bond."

And on a more genuine note, all three women say that with the petty squabbles over personality quirks and serious debates about racial identity aside, they have a lot more that they'd like to show viewers. Karen, now officially an empty nester, says, "I have a phenomenal mother, I have a rich culture — which I didn’t even get to touch on because I was so busy ... I’m looking forward to sharing more of the essence of Karen." The "essence of Karen" sounds like something I absolutely want on my television.

"I want to show my life, my family, my parents, my kids, my spirituality — that was something that I didn’t get to touch on in Season 1," Gizelle says. Ashley, who was frequently written off for being so much younger than everyone else, also says she has a lot more to show. "I’ve grown up a lot over this past year," she says. "It’s been such a transitional year, and I’d love for that to be shown to the world." And Gizelle adds, "I’m looking forward to seeing some more kangaroo!"

Since the best Housewives franchises mix outrageously humorous adventures with some heart, it sounds like The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 2 will be fantastic if Karen, Ashley, and Gizelle are all on board.

Images: Larry French/Bravo; Giphy