Bravo has announced that the second season of The Real Housewives of New York City will premiere Tuesday, February 17 at 11PM ET/PT, immediately after the network's 10PM ET/PT broadcast of fourth-season finale of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

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Beginning February 24, The Real Housewives of New York City will take over The Real Housewives of Orange County's time period and begin airing on Tuesdays at 10PM ET/PT.

Similar to the show's first season, which debuted on Bravo last March, The Real Housewives of New York City's second season will continue to chronicle the daily lives of  Alex McCord, Bethenny Frankel, Jill Zarin, LuAnn de Lesseps and Ramona Singer as they balance their busy home and work schedules with the demands of the New York and the Hamptons social scenes.

However, joining the women for the show's second season will be new housewife Kelly Killoren Bensimon. Bensimon is "an accomplished model, equestrian, author, editor, and designer" and mother of two daughters who is "known as one of New York City's major tastemakers," according to Bravo. 

Bensimon splits her time between the city and East Hampton and has previously starred on Behind the Hedges, a reality show that aired on Plum TV, a small cable network that is only carried on cable systems in eight well-to-do vacation communities (the Hamptons; Aspen, CO; Martha's Vineyard, MA; Miami Beach, FL; Nantucket, MA; Sun Valley, ID; Telluride, CO; and Vail, CO).

In addition to introducing Bensmon and chronicling the cast's summer in the Hamptons, The Real Housewives of New York City's second season will also see McCord and her husband begin the second stage of their Brooklyn home's renovation; a newly-single Frankel expanding her natural foods business and exploring the dating scene; Zarin helping her daughter Allyson prepare for college and then dealing with empty-nest syndrome; de Lesseps using some of her free time to pursue a career as a writer; and Singer expanding her various business ventures to include an anti-aging skin care line and a line of "estate-like" jewelry that will be sold on HSN.

"Our viewers really warmed up to these characters and their daily dramas in the first season, and there's a real thirst to find out what they'll do next," said Frances Berwick, executive vice president and general manager of Bravo Media. "The immense growth Bravo has seen with the success of the Atlanta and Orange County franchises only adds to the upward momentum this series will hopefully see."

The Real Housewives of New York City is produced by Ricochet Television Inc. with Jennifer O'Connell, Nick Emmerson and Matthew Anderson serving as executive producers.

(Photo credit Bravo/Andrew Eccles) About The Author: John Bracchitta
John Bracchitta is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and covers the reality TV genre.