'RHONJ' Season 15 Casting Update: Bravo Focused on Building the Show Around 'Joe Gorga's Lighthearted Comedy,' Source Claims

While The Real Housewives of New Jersey is currently in limbo, a production insider exclusively dished to OK! where Bravo’s head is currently at regarding the next season of the hit franchise.

“The world of RHONJ is, of course, ever evolving, but there’s seeming to be a strong focus right now on Joe Gorga and building the show around the lighthearted comedy he brings,” the source said, noting the show had gotten too dark in its past iteration.

The insider said this would “of course” mean Melissa Gorga would be “back as a Housewife.” “Bravo is also focused on Dolores Catania, as is evidenced by their putting her on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” they noted.

As for what’s making Melissa attractive to Bravo, it seems to be her willingness to do what production wants.

“Melissa, for her part, has made it known she’s willing to film and interact with [her sister-in-law] Teresa Giudice at this point in time,” they noted, which was something Melissa was not up for in the past.

“Yes, they’ve had issues with one another for years, but at the end of the day… this is a job,” the source elaborated. “And Melissa’s not immune to the fact that them not interacting on camera at all created more problems than it solved.” The production insider insisted Bravo “can’t stand” any more behind-the-scenes drama, which is why “Melissa is willing to throw in the towel and do what she has to do to save her job and the show.”

Bravo is also focused on one other familiar face at this point in time, according to the source — Margaret Josephs, whom they noted is “also expected to be returning to the franchise when it finally comes back.” “Bravo has continued to show a vested interest in her and has invited her to BravoCon,” they explained. “Aside from Dolores, Teresa and Melissa Gorga, Margaret is the only other RHONJ star invited to the event. It’s likely they are planning to keep her on the franchise, as she has real drama and the viewers tend to like her. She’s funny, quick-witted and has truly ‘brought it’ to the show since she came on. If Bravo was planning to can her, she 100 percent would NOT be at BravoCon.”

Aside from some of the aforementioned principal cast, the source explained Bravo “will also add some new women to the mix.”

“They’re not stupid,” they continued. “Although they won’t publicly admit it, they know they screwed up with firing everyone from The Real Housewives of New York City and the ratings speak for themselves. They’re not going to do the same thing with RHONJ. And, while there were some rumblings the show may not return — and of course it’s possible it still could not — fans are clamoring for more RHONJ and have been vocal about that.” “Bravo does pay attention to social media and they’re not naive to the fact of how badly fans want the show back,” the source concluded. “There would be strong ratings, so it’s likely it will return and that these women will be on it.”

Bravo does not comment on casting for upcoming seasons of The Real Housewives.