Leah Remini is joining “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” for its upcoming 16th season, The Hollywood Reporter has learned — a star-studded addition to Bravo’s flagship reality franchise. “It’s true!!” Remini wrote on Instagram, confirming the news herself.
Remini joins former “Million Dollar Listing” star Tracy Tutor as the two new women added for season 16. Tutor confirmed her own casting last week, writing on Instagram that “the secret’s officially out” and promising to get into “a little” trouble.
The two-time Emmy winner is hardly new to reality television. Remini competed on “Dancing With the Stars,” starred in her own TLC show “Leah Remini: It’s All Relative,” and shot to fame long before that as the co-star of the CBS sitcom “The King of Queens.” In recent years she has become best known as a vocal advocate against Scientology.
“Beverly Hills is home. I’ve raised my girls here, built my career here, and now apparently I’ve decided to let you all even further into my life.”
That was Tutor, marking her own leap into the franchise with a mix of excitement and nerves.
A Star-Studded Cast
Remini won both her Emmys as the creator, host and executive producer of the documentary series “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.” She now brings that profile to a Beverly Hills cast that includes Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Bozoma Saint John, Sutton Stracke and Rachel Zoe, with Jennifer Tilly and Kathy Hilton returning as friends. The installment has already commenced filming.
Beverly Hills has courted big Hollywood names before — Denise Richards was a Housewife for two seasons, and Jennifer Tilly has appeared as a friend in recent years. Remini’s arrival, though, is one of the highest-profile castings the franchise has pulled off in some time.
Why It Matters
Remini is a proven television presence with a devoted fan base, and her addition gives “Beverly Hills” a jolt of mainstream star power as Bravo’s Housewives empire celebrates two decades on the air. Between her sitcom history and her Emmy-winning docuseries, she arrives with a following most new Housewives can only dream of. Whether she plays nice or stirs real drama, Remini is shaping up to be the season’s biggest wild card — and the show’s most talked-about new face.
