The Real Housewives of Atlanta

### Executive Producers

Glenda Hersh, Lauren Eskelin, Lorraine Haughton-Lawson, Anthony Sylvester, Luke Neslage, Anne Swan, Andy Cohen and Steven Weinstock

### Spin-offs

Don't Be Tardy
 The Kandi Factory
 I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding
 Kandi's Wedding
 Kandi's Ski Trip
 Xscape: Still Kickin' It
 Porsha's Having a Baby
 Kandi Koated Nights

**The Real Housewives of Atlanta** (abbreviated **RHOA**) is an American reality television series that premiered on October 7, 2008 on Bravo. It is the third installment of The Real Housewives franchise. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in Atlanta, Georgia.

The success of the show has resulted in the spin-offs Don't Be Tardy, The Kandi Factory, I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding, Kandi's Wedding, Kandi's Ski Trip, Xscape: Still Kickin' It, Kandi Koated Nights and Porsha's Having a Baby.

## Overview

### Season 1-4

The series was announced as the third installment in The Real Housewives franchise, intending to capitalise on the successes of its predecessors The Real Housewives of Orange County and New York City.

The first season premiered on October 7, 2008 and starred Lisa Wu, DeShawn Snow, NeNe Leakes, Kim Zolciak and Shereé Whitfield. Snow departed from the show after this season and alleged that producers considered her to be "too human for a circus show".

The second season premiered on July 30, 2009 and Kandi Burruss joined the show.

The third season premiered on October 4, 2010 and saw the departure of Wu and addition of Cynthia Bailey and Phaedra Parks.

The fourth season premiered on November 6, 2011. Whitfield exited the series upon the conclusion of the season.

### Season 5-8

The fifth season premiered on November 4, 2012. Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams joined the show.

The sixth season premiered on November 3, 2013 and featured the same cast from the last season except for Zolciak who departed from the program in the middle of season five.

The seventh season premiered on November 9, 2014. It saw Williams demoted as a 'friend of the housewives', alongside Demetria McKinney while Claudia Jordan was introduced as a main housewife. Leakes decided to leave the show after seven seasons while Jordan was fired from the show after one season.

The eighth season premiered on November 8, 2015 which featured Williams returning as a full-time housewife and Kim Fields joining the show. Whitfield returned as a 'friend of the housewives' and Shamea Morton, Leakes, Jordan and KcKinney appeared as gueets. Fields did not return for a second season.

### Season 9-12

The ninth season premiered on November 6, 2016 with Whitfield returning in a full-time capacity. Morton made numerous guest appearances while original housewives Wu and Zolciak-Biermann appeared in the season finale. Parks was fired from the show after the season ended.

The tenth season premiered on November 5, 2017. Leakes returned as a full-time cast member and Zolciak-Biermann returned as a 'friend of the housewives', alongside Eva Marcille and Marlo Hampton. Morton and Wu appeared throughout the season as well. Whitfield and Moore left the show after the tenth season.

The eleventh season premiered on November 4, 2018, and Marcille and Shamari DeVoe became new full-time cast members. The season also featured Hampton and Tanya Sam as 'friends of the housewives', while Moore and Morton appeared as guests. DeVoe did not return after the season ended.

The twelfth season premiered on November 3, 2019, with Moore returning full-time, and Hampton and Sam returning in recurring capacities. Morton appeared as a guest. Marcille and Leakes announced their departure from the show in June 2020 and September 2020 respectively.

### Season 13-present

The thirteenth season premiered on December 6, 2020, with Drew Sidora as the newest cast member. LaToya Ali joined as a 'friend of the housewives' alongside Hampton and Sam, whilst Whitfield, Jordan, Marcille and Morton appeared as guests.

## Timeline of Cast Members

### Main Cast

* Kandi Burruss (Season 2-present)
* Cynthia Bailey (Season 3-present)
* NeNe Leakes (Season 1-7 and 10-12; guest in Season 8)
* Kenya Moore (Season 5-10 and 12-present; guest in Season 11)
* Porsha Williams (Season 5-6 and 8-present; friend in Season 7)
* Phaedra Parks (Season 3-9)
* Shereé Whitfield (Season 1-4 and 9-10; friend in Season 8 and guest in Season 13)
* Kim Zolciak-Biermann (Season 1-5; guest in Season 9 and friend in Season 10)
* Lisa Wu (Season 1-2; guest in Season 3, 9 and 10)
* Eva Marcille (Season 11-12; friend in Season 10 and guest in Season 13)
* DeShawn Snow (Season 1)
* Claudia Jordan (Season 7; guest in Season 8 and 13)
* Kim Fields (Season 8)
* Shamari DeVoe (season 11)
* Drew Sidora (Season 13-present)

### Friends of the Housewives

* Marlo Hampton (Guest in Season 4, 6, 8 and 9; friend in Season 10-13)
* Shamea Morton (Guest in Season 5-6 and 9-13; friend in Season 8)
* Tanya Sam (Friend in Season 11-13)
* LaToya Ali (Friend in Season 13)