Ramona Singer Says Lack of Powerful Characters is Behind Ratings Dip for 'Real Housewives of New York'

NYDailyNews.com:

Producers of Bravo’s struggling “Real Housewives of New York” series can’t seem to figure out how to fight the ratings slump.

But Ramona Singer, the show’s longest-serving star, has a theory. The fiery blond told Confidenti@l that the latest round of cast members have made the action “not so interesting,” leaving her and fellow veteran Sonja Morgan to “carry the show.”

In 2009, with the original lineup of Singer, Bethenny Frankel, LuAnn de Lesseps, Jill Zarin and Alex McCord, the show hit over 1.3 million viewers in the all important 18-49 age range, according to TV blog Bravoratings.com. Since then, numbers have dwindled to a disappointing 638,800 for this year’s run.

The response from Andy Cohen and other network masterminds has been to tinker with the cast in an attempt to re-create some of the show’s previous magic. But Singer says it ain’t rocket science.

“It’s the chemistry of the people,” Singer told us at restaurant Alfredo 100 recently. “I believe the chemistry hasn’t been quite right. I believe Sonja and I were not afraid to step out and be ourselves. And some people (on the show)are just too cautious.”

She said in order to survive successfully on the series, “you need a big personality.”

“I think some of the new women — they’re nice and they’re wonderful, and they’re smart and they’re great — but they’re not big enough personalities. And that’s what makes it not so interesting,” Singer said. “Before it was me, Sonja, Bethenny, Jill — four huge personalities. Yet this season, there’s seven women but there’s only two big personalities — Sonja and I. We need two more big personalities. Two people can’t carry the show.”

Singer, who filed for divorce from Mario Singer in January after it was revealed he was having an affair, later reconciled with him. She declined to discuss the matter, saying she “doesn’t talk about family.”

The Pinot Grigio-guzzling reality star was hosting Alfredo 100’s new Wednesday late-night party, “Alfredo Lounge,” which will be weekly, starting at 10 p.m. Singer sang the praises of the restaurant (in which she is an investor), its creative chefs and large outdoor spaces.  

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