Despite Fresh Blood, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Is Telling the Same Old Story

Let’s be honest: the glory days of The Real Housewives of Atlanta as we grew to know and love the show are over. Every franchise has its peaks and valleys, and for several seasons, the peach holders have been in a slump. It’s typical with any television series, unscripted or not. Only few can stay on top for its entire duration (i.e. Modern Family’s 11 seasons on ABC). Most of the time, things go stale. It takes a special formula to make magic happen time and again with a reality show. In an oversaturated market, casting, creativity, and more than anything, honesty is what makes a reality show thrive. Being able to pivot is major too, that way, the show grows with the audience. RHOA is stagnant. 

The show hasn’t been the same since Season 9’s sex dungeon fiasco. But its Sweet 16 brought about a potential new era to at least enter a renaissance season. Its subsequent season 17, which is currently airing every Sunday on Bravo, also brought excitement, and some controversy, most likely due to the additions of entrepreneur Pinky Cole and Love & Hip Hop Atlanta veteran/singer K. Michelle, but still, there was promise. Unfortunately, as the season is nearing a close, RHOA has fallen into the same old trap, and viewers are tired, and disappointed.

New blood is always difficult to mold into such an established group. The problem is that for several seasons on RHOA and its counterparts, the relationships between most of the cast members were genuine. Yes, as seasons progressed, producers used the behind the scenes trick of introducing a newbie through an OG as their “friend.” And while there was usually little to no minimal interaction between the two prior to casting them for the new season, prior to filming, there was time for a relationship to be established. This season, K. Michelle was introduced as Porsha Williams’ friend, the latter who has been plagued as the now face of the show and has been a staple since Season 5. Cole was brought in via Shamea Morton, longtime friend of the show turned peach holder. Yes, the ladies know each other. It’s not hard to be acquaintances or know one another socially when you live in a city like Atlanta. But being friends with someone takes a totally different level of bonding, which is clear to not have occurred between the two sets of women. 

Forcing women to form or play as if they are friends on the show is easy for viewers to realize is inauthentic. Within just two or three episodes, the cracks in the lack of foundation was already showing between Williams and K. Michelle, and since the season began unfolding, a social media war/interview beef has ensued with each of the women threatening to empty the clip at the reunion taping. Frustrating viewers even further, much of which is discussed or implied off camera is not on the show, leaving viewers to try to fill in the blanks instead of following the actual storyline throughout the season as it airs.

To Carlos King’s credit, the former EP of the show, following the story in real time on the show is what makes or breaks the season. During his nine seasons as part of the producing team, things were all too raw. We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sheree Whitfield’s transition from a kept football wife to a struggling single mother taking five years to build her chateau will always be a standout. Cynthia Bailey’s introduction to viewers and her going from supermodel to financial ruin while trying to plan the wedding of the century kept us glued to the television screen. Within seasons, Bailey had several businesses and remained in-demand as an aging model, actress, and host. Even Porsha Williams’ transition from a real stay at home wife and stepmother to divorcee living in her mama's house - to blossoming and finding independence as an entertainment correspondent and beauty brand was shown season to season. We all love a good comeback story. It’s also more relatable. The only cast members’ true struggles we’ve been able to follow have been Angela Oakley’s real estate hurdles and Cole’s bankruptcy/rebuilding of her self-made Slutty Vegan empire. The full storyline is missing from the rest of the cast.

Phaedra Parks gives 0 personal storyline and uses her southern belle persona as a crutch, hymning and making facial expressions in the mix of drama that she’s probably puppeteering off camera, and throwing rehearsed shade in her confessionals. It’s typical Parks behavior, who for years had a facade of a marriage despite viewers being to see it for what it was. She has been able to skate by on her contradictory personality of devoted wife/mother and successful lawyer with a questionable client roster and pension for adult entertainment. At this point, Parks doesn’t even give us a career to follow. Is she still a practicing attorney who dabbles in mortuary science? What’s her co-parenting relationship or lack thereof with her ex-husband, Apollo Nida? Seeing her growing children is a nice diversion from what she usually gives, but we don’t tune in to watch teenagers. We tune in for the adult mess.

Kelli Ferrell, or whatever her new last name is now, isn’t even allowed to film with three of her children due to an ongoing custody matter in her divorce. She’s talked about financial struggles trying to keep her business afloat, but it’s been surface level. Speaking of divorces, everything related to Drew Sidora’s divorce is learned via The Shade Room. And we’re tired of Black through the phone. Viewers are over it. Here’s a rule of thumb: if you can’t talk about it on the show, you can’t be on the show. A reality star’s job is to show their reality, not curate one. 

One of the biggest storylines not being followed is the fallout of Williams and Morton’s friendship. The two have known one another since their teenage years, and their ups and downs have played out on the show since Williams’ introduction. This season, they’ve largely ignored one another in proximity. Williams has mastered the art of not having any conversations about Morton, while it’s all Morton seems to talk about. Their relationship has always seemed lopsided; but after last season's revelation that their mothers have longstanding beef that’s seemingly trickled down to them, it’s deeper, but no one is talking about it. The friendship fallouts between Nene Leakes and Kim Zolciak, Kandi Burruss and Kim Zolciak, and Nene Leakes and Cynthia Bailey were must-see moments. Williams and Morton don’t even scratch the surface. It’s unfair to viewers.  

RHOA has traded in real storyline for lunches, dinners, and multiple cast trips a season. The friendships are forced, the storylines are recycled, the shade is not landing. The overall structure of the show is outdated. The reason shows like Love Is Blind, Love Island and the likes work is because we are watching relatively unknowns’ ascension, and a different cast season to season. It keeps the show fresh. Not to mention, RHOA’s original viewers have aged out of the typical drama of the women bringing up rumors about each others’ marriages or body count. Viewers are 35+, with families, some are divorced, the economy is a shit show, and this is the best you can come up with? They’ve aged out of the redundant drama and have evolved, while the show has not. We need reality content that we can sink our teeth into, and that mirrors what’s happening in the viewers’ lives. Either recast, and/or put in stipulations about showing the real story, or end the show.