"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" Review: The Best One Yet?

Just when you thought that Bravo had gone to “The Real Housewives” well one too many times, the network serves up the freshest take on the franchise yet—“The Real Housewives of New Jersey”…

All of the other shows in the franchise feature women whose only real connection is that they are friends or that they have mutual friends. But three out of the five “New Jersey” women are actually related. And that causes a whole bunch of new dramas we’ve never seen.

And yes, that’s a good thing…

The matriarch of the show is Caroline. She’s a loving wife and mother who is not afraid to show her claws to protect her family—exactly what you’d expect from an affluent New Jersey wife. She and most of her family work at The Brownstone, a successful catering facility co-run by her husband, Albert.

Caroline’s best friend is her sister, Dina, who also happens to be her sister-in-law. Dina is married to Albert’s brother, who runs The Brownstone with Albert.

Jacqueline is married to Caroline and Dina’s brother. Teresa is friends with all three of them. Jacqueline and Teresa are also friends with Danielle, but Caroline and Dina don’t like Danielle for reasons I’m sure will come to light as the season progresses. Because of the tensions with Danielle, Jacqueline finds herself caught in the middle between her friend and her family.

In the premiere, Caroline, Dina and their families celebrate the college graduation of Caroline’s son. Teresa shows us her extravagant spending habits and how she’s not a stage mom (She is—a big one.). Danielle decides to meet a man she met on the Internet and had great phone sex with. And Jacqueline is put in an awkward situation when Danielle shows up somewhere she wasn’t invited.

The family ties really make “New Jersey” stand out from the rest of the franchise and give it some interesting stories that the other shows couldn’t have. And Danielle is already emerging as a great villain.

I think it’s possible that the Garden State could produce the best “Housewives” ever…

“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” premieres Tuesday, May 12th at 11 p.m. on Bravo…

Photo (L-R): Jacqueline, Teresa, Danielle, Dina, Caroline
Credit: Virginia Sherwood/Bravo