“I call this my crash-out season.”

Inside the Next Gen NYC premiere brunch ahead of ‘chaotic’ season 2

"I call this my crash-out season."

By Sarah Hearon

June 16, 2026 9:42 a.m. ET

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'Next Gen NYC' season 2 cast. Credit:

Bryan Bedder/Bravo

- The Next Gen NYC cast tease season 2 of the Bravo series.

- Season 2 is "surprising, chaotic and humorous — definitely funny,” Brooks Marks says.

- Brooke Shields' daughter, Rowan Henchy, joins season 2 and might just be the breakout star.

The cast of *Next Gen NYC* is as ready as they’ll ever be for season 2 of the breakout Bravo hit.

“I’m nervous. I think we all are” Riley Burruss tells ** at the premiere party brunch bash on Sunday at Maison Close in New York City, “But I'm excited to see how all of our friendships even got stronger.” When asked why she’s personally nervous, the daughter of *Real Housewives of Atlanta* alum Kandi Burruss teases, “Last year was a big shift in my personal life.”

The cast of *Next Gen NYC* is a mix of Real Housewives' kids, nepo babies (Brooke Shields’ daughter Rowan Henchy joins the cast this year), and New York influencers.

“I would say surprising, chaotic and humorous — definitely funny,” Brooks Marks, son of *RHOSLC* star Meredith Marks, tells EW when asked to describe season 2.

Gia Giudice, whose mom is *RHONJ* icon Teresa Giudice, says she took a mature approach into season 2. “[I learned to take a step back. I can always be there for support, but I'm going to let other people take the reins of their own problems,” she says. “ You evolve in your 20s. It's all about evolving.”

Still, that doesn’t mean the drama doesn’t follow her and her family. Earlier this month, news broke that her sister Milania was arrested in New Jersey and charged with purposely or knowingly causing bodily injury. She has yet to publicly comment on the situation. Gia, for her part, tells EW: “She's good. She's great. I'm not making any comments regarding my sisters, but just please respect her privacy,”

On the show, the women have their own set of “sisterhood,” according to cast member and model Emira D’Spain.

'Next Gen NYC' season 2 premiere party.

Bryan Bedder/Bravo

“The girls especially got a lot closer this year,” she tells EW. That doesn’t mean it was all friendly. ““Boundaries is a big [word to describe season 2]. ... Take a shot this year every time you hear the word boundaries.”

Ariana Biermann, daughter of *RHOA* alum Kim Zolciak, admits this is her “crash-out season,” explaining, “You definitely see me figuring it out. And I don't think I fully have it figured out as the season ends, but hopefully there'll be another one. We can come back from it. But it is all authentic.”

Inside the cast dynamics

With a cast as big as 13 — the group also includes Ava Dash, Shai Fruchter, Georgia McCann, Hudson McLeroy, Charlie Zakkour, Liam Obergfoll, and Kendall White— it would be unlikely to assume everyone is happy to see each other.

“I don't know if everyone's necessarily on good terms. I think we're going to see how the night goes. The more booze, the better terms we're on,” Rowan Henchy tells EW. “So that's kind of my consensus of tonight. I think it's a good space and there's corners and if you find me in one of them, then there's your answer.”

'Next Gen NYC' season 2 premiere party.

Bryan Bedder/Bravo

Gia adds, “I think some people will be a little more separated than others, but I mean, overall, everyone's pretty good.”

Ava feels the group can celebrate what’s to come. “It feels more like we know what we are doing a little bit,” she says. “We're not just out here just throwing s--- at the wall.”

The Rowan factor

It didn’t take long for EW to estimate Shields’ daughter could be the breakout star of the season.

“I just learned to be more unapologetically myself. I think if people aren't vibing with me, then I don't want to vibe with them and that's kind of my consensus on just life in general, not necessarily this show,” she says of filming her first season of the show. She then quips, “I also learned that my skin does not do well with a lot of makeup and my sticky boobs fall off when I get sweaty and anxious.”

Brooks, who appeared on season 1 and several seasons of *RHOSLC* with his mom, even wants “to be more like Rowan.” He says she’s the least “dramatic” of the group but tells her: “You still have so much personality and you're so funny. I feel like you just make everyone around you feel really good."

Riley reveals she also got to know Shields after not being familiar with her lengthy career. “I knew her name, but I just know her as Rowan's mom,” she says. “She's super sweet. I was at Rowan's house a week ago and I was just talking to her mom. Her mom gives really good advice. … I can't tell you [about what].”

'Next Gen NYC' season 2 premiere party.

Bryan Bedder/Bravo

Rowan isn’t surprised. “She's a great advice-giver. She's given me a lot of really good advice coming into this season. She radiates confidence and someone who's been in the light from such an early age, you kind of question how do you accept criticism or tune it out,” she explains. “Her thing is you treat the janitor with the same amount of respect as the president of the company and you will find that you'll be let in and people will respect you. ... Respect has to be earned and given at the same time.”

Hudson, the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Ariana, notes that he and Rowan are both diabetic, a nice change for him on the cast. “They're both diabetics so they bond about that,” Ariana explains. “Kendall is great. Her and I also really bonded this season. She's more reserved, but she's such a sweet person and just really honestly one of my favorite people as well. I think that Liam kind of comes in and he's a goofball. …. He brings a lot of fun energy to the group and it's really fun.

Emira and Ava add that Liam is a good addition to the group. “Liam's great. He's so cool. I think people are going to be really infatuated with him,” Emira says.

“I think they're going to be intrigued to find out more about him,” Ava agrees. “That's how I was when I first met him. 'Let's scratch down the surface. I wanted to dig in.'”

The Charlie of it all

Ending the season on the outs with most of the group, Charlie made waves in between seasons 1 and 2 for allegedly knowing the men arrested for the “crypto torture house” in summer 2025. (Per ABC News, two men — neither of which was Charlie — were booked over an alleged "dispute over crypto money" and indicted on kidnapping, assault and coercion.)

“I think he was trying to make people see the other side of him,” Gia says of his season 2 journey. “ I mean, I'm one to never judge because you don't know what's going on in people's lives. But I think you see different sides of Charlie.”

"Next Gen NYC" season 2 premiere party.

Bryan Bedder/Bravo

While Ava believes there’s “there's more accountability season 2 from Charlie” and Emira notes she saw “a lot more emotional maturity,” Charlie downplays any change.

“I kind of just learned the name of the game with how this stuff goes, but, I guess, largely I learned how reactive the audience can be to certain things — although I try not to let that affect my behavior,” he says. “I don't really feel like I had a goal [for season 2] per se. I don't really like to think of it that way. I think that will result in sort of inauthentic behavior and I don't want to come at it with much of an angle.”

While Ariana and Hudson called it quits after season 1, the twosome looked very cozy at Sunday’s event.

“We're figuring it out,” she tells EW. “We're going day by day …  we're giving it a shot. We love each other and I think I realized that no matter what, in life, the person I want by my side is him. And no matter what we go through, we always find our way back to each other.”

*Next Gen NYC* returns to Bravo on June 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Exclusive”