There’s a new Real Housewives franchise on the Bravo block!

Earlier this month Bravo announced that The Real Housewives of Rhode Island would be the newest and 12th installment in the Real Housewives franchise which began in 2006 with The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Now, Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen is spilling the tea on what Bravo fans can expect from the RHORI franchise.

“The cast is incredible,” Andy Cohen told Page Six on May 7th at an event in New York City.

“They are very Italian,” he continued. “Rhode Island is such a small state, and they all kind of know each other and overlap, and it’s an incredible group of women who have really interesting connections. I think it’s going to really surprise people.”

When asked how the newest Real Housewives franchise compares to The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which has primarily featured Italian-American families, Andy said, “Well, they’re in Rhode Island. It’s coastal,” adding that the RHORI cast is even “more Italian” with “deep families.”

Andy did admit that so far the RHORI “does kind of remind you of early ‘Jersey’ in a weird way.”

Bravo has yet to announce when the RHORI will debut. Stay tuned for more details as they come.

Tell us – Are you excited for RHORI? Do you enjoy more family based Real Housewives franchises?