As previously detailed, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will look very different when it returns.
And we can now confirrm at least one way in which this will be the case.
A source has confirmed to People Magazine that Kathy Hilton — the mother of Paris and Nicky — will join the upcoming season as an official “Friend” of the cast.
This addition has been a rumor for quite awhile now, with fans assuming Hilton might be coming on board after the departures of Denise Richards and Teddi Mellencamp.
She won’t be the only newbie on Season 11, however.
Crystal Kung Minkoff — the founder of Real Coco, a company that offers coconut products, and a mother of two — has also been confirmed by reliable insiders.
The new Bravo personality has been married to Rob Minkoff, who directed the original Lion King movie, for 13 years.
The couple shares son Max, 8, and daughter Zoe, 5.
So… where does this leave us heading into 2021?
What changes are afoot on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?
First, as cited above, Denise Richards is out.
The actress appeared as a lead cast member for two seasons, but grew increasingly unhappy this past year due to accusations that she carried on an affair wiith Brandi Glanville.
Richards strongly denied this ever took place.
“I had a great first season. The second season was challenging,” Denise told Garcelle Beauvais on The Real.
“I just thought it was the right time for me to go and to just keep focusing on the other projects that I have. I had a great time. I will always be a fan and I will continue to support the show.”
Beauvais, conversely, willl return for Season 11.
Mellencamp, however, will not, admitting later this summer that she’s been fired.
“I recently found out that my contract as a Housewife is not being renewed,” she wrote on Instagram, adding:
“When I got the news I was sad. It feels like a breakup, almost.
“Because you develop such strong relationships with the cast, with the crew. And you get to do incredible things that you probably never get to experience without the show.”
Lisa Rinna, Dorit Kemsley, Kyle Richards and Erika Jayne are all expected to return next season as well.
We can’t say for certain when new episodes will air, but Lisa and Erika teased the cameras were set to start rolling right this very month.
“Here we go … Thelma,” the Melrose Place alum wrote on October 4 via Instagram.
Erika then replied, “Hi Louise.”
Rinna may be feuding with Beauvais next year.
“The Rinna that I knew before Housewives is what I can really speak to, you know,” Beauvais recently told Entertainment Tonight.
“She was fun, she was supportive, she was nice, she was kind, and I get it — we’re shooting a TV show, and I get that drama is a part of it — but I think she took it to a level that was not a good look.”
Finally, what do we know about Crystal Kung Minkoff?
“I like her…,I’ve met her a couple of times now, and I think she’s going to be just great,” saiid Kyle on The Jenny McCarthy Show a few weeks ago.
“She’s very outgoing and confident. And I think that she’s very smart and she’s beautiful. I think that she’s going to be really good for the show,”
“You really have to be a strong, confident person. You know, it’s really hard coming into this group…
‘It must be so strange, so you really have to have a lot of confidence and be very opinionated and outspoken and not afraid to speak up. So I think she fits all that.”