The ‘RHONY’ Trailer Features Surprise Cameo

As wild and exhilarating as The Real Housewives of New York City Season 9 supertease is, nothing — and I mean nothing — stunned me quite like the scene that begins at the 0:27 mark. For at the 0:27 mark, ex-Real Housewife Jill Zarin appears in the RHONY Season 9 trailer. Yes, half a decade after Bravo gave her the boot, Zarin is back on the program. This time around, she has taken on a new, albeit smaller role: guest star.

I don't know if Zarin will ever be added back to the main roster, à la Shereé Whitfield. I don't know if this is a Camille Grammer situation (i.e., she'll be a Friend of the Housewives indefinitely). I don't know how big a part she'll play in Season 9. I don't know if the scene in the trailer is her only Season 9 scene. But here's what I do know: I was not ready for the "That's so obnoxious" moment.

I legitimately thought Danielle Staub would be on The Real Housewives of New Jersey again long before Zarin ever came back to RHONY. I thought Brandi Glanville would return to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills main roster before Zarin came back. I thought The Real Housewives of Washington D.C.'s Michaele Schon would get her own Bravo spinoff before Zarin came back. I know Andy Cohen loves to tease viewers with a “never say never,” but between the falling out with Frankel, the email snafu, the Ramona Singer feud, and the interview recording drama, the bridge between RHONY and Zarin seemed rickety at best.

Back in 2012, just one year after she was sacked by the show, Zarin appeared on a very special episode of Watch What Happens Live to hash some things out with Cohen. When asked how she felt about Bravo revoking her apple after Season 4, Zarin replied, “It felt like a death. It felt like my funeral. I was heartbroken.” She added that when she fought with Bethenny Frankel, Cohen was like a parent who “picked favorites.”

“We were looking to shake the show up,” Cohen explained to Zarin. “The viewers were the ones that dictated to us that they wanted something to change. That last reunion, I think that you would agree, was incredibly toxic for everyone involved. And when it was over, I think the viewers and the producers and Bravo all separately said, ‘What can we do to change it? Because if we bring it back as it is, we know that the relationships are probably not going to change.’”

Well, what do you know? Cohen's changing things up again.

You can watch the preview below.

Welcome back, Zarin.