We Don't Need Too Much LuAnn in 'RHONY' Season 7

Former Countess (and pop star) LuAnn de Lesseps is the quintessential Real Housewives of New York City star and always at the center of every dramatic moment, so it was a shock this season when she had a reduced role and was no longer a full-time Housewife. The fate of the cast for next season is still up in the air, but filming is due to start pretty soon, so we should find out in the next month or two who makes the cut for RHONY Season 7. And while it wouldn't be New York without LuAnn, she proved that she can shine through without being in the main cast.

Even though good old Pumpkin Head was demoted to a "friend of" this season, she was as involved as any main Housewife — the only place she was missing was in the main credits. And while losing a Countess tagline is a tragedy, the switch was otherwise painless. It was pretty nice to get all of the LuAnn we could want in the group scenes, ready to play linebacker to block Ramona from leaving a confrontational lunch or yell at Sonja for spreading her facialist's rumors instead of shutting them down when she knew they'd make it onto national television, without having to deal with what would have probably been a whole season of her breaking up with Jacques. We already saw her cheat on him with that Johnny Depp lookalike — their split was a foregone conclusion.

Countess LuAnn is like a key witness in an important trial. You need her there to back up the facts and provide expertise. She can wear a million hats, from etiquette expert to registered nurse, and has slightly condescending but factual advice for every occasion. She was there to diagnose how serious Kristen's lip injury was (there was bleeding, but nothing serious) and to debate what rules of decorum Aviva broke by throwing her leg (first and foremost, putting a dirty shoe on the table).

But LuAnn isn't the star of the show. Her home life has always been pretty boring (drunken teenage partying notwithstanding), and having to watch her deal with her housekeeper or Jacques drags down what are otherwise great appearances from her. She's at her best when bouncing off of the rest of the ladies, not when she's at home with the family. So as long as we get a weekly shot of the Countess next season of RHONY, we don't need all that extra screen time — it'll just dilute her fabulousness.

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