Bravo thought the Real Housewives of New Jersey ratings following Teresa Giudice’s release from prison would be the best of all time, but they were wrong. The ratings for RHONJ have been lower than almost all other Bravo shows, and they are not giving the network encouragement. RHONJ premiered in 2009, and quickly topped even RHOC, but that is not the case now. RHONJ took a year hiatus, as its breakout star went to prison, but Bravo thought RHONJ would come back with a bang instead of the whimper that is happening now.

It’s hard to say what is causing the low ratings on Real Housewives of New Jersey at this time, but according to the Inquisitr, many fans were looking forward to Jacqueline Laurita finally calling out Joe Giudice for cheating on wife Teresa Giudice, as she had been threatening to do. Joe and Teresa Giudice are taking turns going to prison for financial misdeeds, and rumor has it that Joe Giudice stepped out on his wife while she was “away.” Jacqueline has said that she no longer has any reason to keep the secrets of Teresa Giudice.

Maybe it’s because the whole cast of RHONJ is walking on eggshells around Teresa Giudice, who was just released from prison, but fans have commented that so far, the season of RHONJ has been boring says Radar Online. In the past, the average viewership has been 2.7 million viewers, but the season premiere was 2.1, and has dropped since, and breaking for the Olympics is not likely to help.

The Hollywood Gossip is wondering if dropping ratings will signal the cancellation of RHONJ, as Teresa Giudice is taking in one of the highest salaries of the Real Housewives franchise, and if she’s not delivering, then it might be time for Bravo to cancel RHONJ. Sources say that the show is only averaging about 1.7 million viewers, and that’s not what Bravo hopes to see in year seven of a series.

In the past, Teresa Giudice has been part of most of the biggest ratings moments of RHONJ, so it seemed natural that her release from prison would be ratings gold, but she did not deliver, and it seemed that Bravo overestimated the public’s interest in seeing Giudice again. The actual show RHONJ took an almost two year break, not counting the spin-offs, so Bravo was taking a chance that there would still be fan interest when they came back.

New Jersey.com is reporting that episodes that lean heavily on the two Joes and their caveman behavior on RHONJ are never going to be winners. At the Giudice home, Teresa is clipping Joe’s toenails, and talking about how Milania shaved his back for him while Teresa Giudice was “away.” Melissa Gorga is trying to open a boutique, but her husband Joe’s whining got old fast, as he complained that he doesn’t enjoy babysitting and spending time one on one with his own children.

Rather than support his wife in a new business venture, Joe is happier to whine, and this seems to come as a shock to Melissa.

“He’s the one who taught me to have a set of balls. So here I am finding my set of balls and he’s going to doubt me? He should be proud. He made me this way.”

And Bravo might have thought that watching Teresa Giudice record her book about committing a crime and going to prison would be something that fans want to see, but that seems to have been a bad bet. Sure, fans have compassion that Teresa missed her kids, and that the kids missed her, but it’s not as if she didn’t play a role in the whole thing. And who is rewarded with a luxury car after getting out of prison (thought to be courtesy of Bravo, of course).

Real Housewives of New Jersey will be taking a break for the Olympics, and if ratings don’t come back stronger, cancellation after this season is a real possibility.

Are you still watching RHONJ? If not, why not?

[Photo by Bravotv]