Adrienne Is Back for 'RHOBH' Season 5 — Sort Of

As if the anticipation for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills ' fifth season wasn't high enough already, now they've dropped a bombshell on us: Lisa Vanderpump's former best friend/neighbor, blind item hater, and former Paul Nassif endurer, Adrienne Maloof will be back for Season 5. Adrienne told Us Weekly that she'll be "back in cameo roles," and Bravo hasn't clarified what exactly that means. Since filming has just barely started, there's no way to predict what type of shenanigans she'll be pulled into, so Adrienne could end up as a "friend of," a guest, or end up getting cut entirely (though they'd be fools to waste that potential drama! Fools, I say!).

But Adrienne has already given a few interviews where she says that at the very least, she was asked to return, accepted, and she'll be involved with the show in some capacity. Adrienne, along with soap opera stars Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson, are looking like our new housewives for Season 5.

This is an exciting development. At the end of Season 4, Brandi and Kyle had united to successfully take down boring newbies Joyce and Carlton and start a war with undisputed queen of the series Lisa Vanderpump. Kim was doing her own thing, as per usual, and Lisa was caught completely off-guard and completely alone. Even Yolanda turned on her. But Lisa's coming back, and she's ready to defend her throne.

Beverly Hills is becoming the older, richer, more traditional aunt of the Housewives franchises. It's nice to see it carving out a more specific niche for itself. Beverly Hills has the market covered on former child stars, soap stars, heiresses, and models. There's an undercurrent of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? between the Richards sisters and the new addition of two Days of Our Lives alums is going to make the show business background chatter even more interesting.

But beyond keeping the show on brand, bringing Adrienne back is intriguing because where will she fall in the Brandi/Kyle versus Lisa divide? Obviously she left the show on terrible terms with Lisa, but I don't peg Adrienne as a likely Brandi ally after what happened in Season 3… although the two may be making amends. Could the older, wiser ladies put their fights behind them to unite against their younger foes? The two Lisas, Vanderpump, and Rinna, are supposedly forming a union. Will Adrienne be a part of it? Will Lisa's former costar, Eileen, be on her side or will they have some '80s secret rivalry nobody knew about until now? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

As we already know, Season 5 is months away, but when it does return, the addition of Adrienne will certainly make for a much more entertaining year than Season 4. Though with all of these current foes, former foes, and old best friends from 25 years ago, Lisa Vanderpump will certainly be overwhelmed.

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