Small, Southern Illinois Town at Center of New Show With ‘Real Housewives'

Two reality television stars from the "Real Housewives of New York City" are headed to the Land of Lincoln -- but it's not because they'll be shopping on Michigan Avenue, dining at Alinea, or enjoying a yacht ride on Lake Michigan.

Instead, they'll be in nearly 300 miles away from Chicago -- in the small, Franklin County town of Benton Illinois.

According to a press release, Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps, of the New York Real Housewives franchise, will "trade big-city chic for small-town charm" as the duo fronts "Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake," a new show premiering on Bravo, beginning in July.

The show features Morgan, once married to the great-grandson of J.P. Morgan, and de Lesseps, the ex-wife of Count Alexandre de Lesseps, working with the Benton Mayor and City Council to help revitalize the small, southern Illinois town that was "devastated by the pandemic," the release says.

According to Bravo, viewers can expect to see the two "fish-out-of-water" searching for the famous "crappie fish" in Rend Lake with their bare hands, or going mudding with monster trucks. But the show's newly-released trailer gives locals a front row seat to life with the new guests in town.

The trailer opens with a simple question from a producer: "What do you know about Benton, Illinois?"

"What does anyone know about Benton, Illinois?," Morgan claps back, before the scene cuts to a tractor rolling across local farm.

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"All I know about Benton is that it's very hot," de Lesseps says, in another scene.

From there, the trailer gives viewers a glimpse into what Morgan and de Lesseps are in for -- from promoting a local 'Testicle Festival,' to rehabbing an old motel.

"Welcome to Crappie Lake" premieres on Peacock July 9.