Baddies (TV series)

Baddies is an American reality television series that premiered on May 16, 2021, on the Zeus Network. It is a spiritual successor to the former Oxygen series Bad Girls Club that aired from 2006 to 2017. Baddies was developed following an episode of The Conversation that aired on Zeus in December 2020, which featured cast members from Bad Girls Club.

The show documents the interactions between several young women living together while hosting a series of promotional events, which often involve verbal and physical altercations. Many Baddies cast members were previously featured on Bad Girls Club, including executive producers Natalie Nunn and Tanisha Thomas.

Baddies has aired four seasons, which are uniquely named after where they were filmed. The first season Baddies ATL (2021) was filmed entirely in Atlanta, Georgia. Subsequent seasons Baddies South (2022), Baddies West (2023), and Baddies East (2023–24) were filmed during road trips through the respective regions of the United States. The fifth season,  Baddies Caribbean (2024) was filmed in the Caribbean subregion of the Americas.

On July 15, 2024, a sixth season was announced by Natalie Nunn and Zeus Network, titled Baddies Midwest.

Development
Talks for a potential reboot of the Bad Girls Club came about in early 2019 when Natalie Nunn announced that a reunion special was in the works. The reunion initially included Nunn, twin sisters Gabrielle and Danielle Victor from Season 8: Las Vegas, Christina Salgado and Erika "Lucci Vee" Jordan from Season 9: Mexico, Raquel "Rocky" Santiago and Shannon Sarich from Season 10: Atlanta, Sarah Oliver from Season 11: Miami, and Jada Cacchilli from Season 12: Chicago. The plan also included Tanisha Thomas from season 2, despite production disputes with Nunn.

The reunion was initially developed for release on the online platform OnlyFans, with uncensored material made available for a particular price. The Victor sisters and Jordan eventually quit revealed that Nunn was scamming fans, and were replaced by Tiana Small from Season 11: Miami, who later exited the project. In December 2020, Cacchilli, Nunn, Oliver, Salgado, Santiago and Sarich appeared together on an episode of The Conversation to confront their issues surrounding the OnlyFans project.

After the former Bad Girls were featured in The Conversation, it was announced that the Baddies series was picked up and in production. On February 14, 2021, Zeus Network released a teaser trailer for Baddies ATL, which would reunite several former Bad Girls Club cast members.

Overview and casting
The first season, Baddies ATL, premiered on May 16, 2021, on the Zeus Network; featuring Seven Craft, Judi Jai, Sarah Oliver, Christina Salgado, Janelle Shanks and Sidney Starr, alongside producers Natalie Nunn and Tanisha Thomas as main cast members as they resided in a mansion in Atlanta over the course of filming. Mehgan James served in a recurring capacity throughout the season.

The second season, Baddies South, began airing on June 12, 2022; with Nunn and Salgado as the only cast members set to return. The official cast for the second season featured Nunn alongside newcomers Elliadria "Persuasian" Griffin, Jela Lanier, Chrisean "Rock" Malone, Gia "Rollie" Mayham, Sashanna "Slim" McLaurin, Anne Moore, Scotlynd Ryan and Bri Walker. Starr served in a recurring capacity, whilst Salgado, Oliver and Shanks made guest appearances throughout the season.

Prior to the third-season premiere, a three-part special titled Baddies West Auditions aired on Zeus, featuring pre-screen judges Lanier, Mayham, Ryan and Walker; main stage judges Nunn, Tommie Lee and Sukihana; and hosts Janeisha John and Malone. The third season, Baddies West, premiered on January 22, 2023. Nunn, Malone, Mayham and Ryan were the only series regulars to reprise their roles from the previous season. In addition to the returning cast, Damerlin "Biggie" Baez, Stunna Girl, Lee, Lo London, Cleo "DJ Sky High Baby" Rahman, Monique "Razor" Samuels and Catya Washington were also featured as main cast members.

Zeus announced the fourth season on April 28, 2023, with the Baddies East Auditions special being held in Washington, D.C.. The two-part special began airing on June 18, 2023, and featured pre-screen judges Baez, Jordan, Mayham, Ryan, and Washington; main stage judges Nunn, Rubi Rose, and Tokyo Toni; and hosts John, Malone, and Angela White. On August 3, 2023, the official cast of the fourth season was released. Baddies East premiered on September 17, 2023. Nunn, Malone, Mayham, and Ryan were the only series regulars to reprise their roles from the previous season, with Baez returning as a replacement series regular, and Stunna Girl and Rahman returning as supporting cast. Stunna Girl announced she would not return as a cast member for the fourth season due to conflicts with Zeus Network's production. In addition to the returning cast, JaKeita "Sky" Days, Tamera "Tee" Kissen, Victoria "Woah Vicky" Waldrip, Siya, Krystal "Smiley" Borrego, Anyssa "Ahna Mac" Santiago, Latifah "Tesehki" Malone, Camilla Poindexter, and Mariahlynn Araujo were featured as initial cast members.

On December 31, 2023, Zeus announced the upcoming fifth season titled Baddies Caribbean. Shortly before the third and final part of the reunion special for Baddies East, the Baddies Caribbean Auditions special was held in Miami, Florida, with featured pre-screen judges Araujo, Baez, Kendra "Sapphire" Blaze, Latifah "Tesehki" Malone, Ryan, and Santiago; main stage judges Nunn, Shenseea, and Spice; and host Nene Leakes. On March 14, 2024, the official cast of the fifth season (sans the audition picks) were released. Nunn, Araujo, Baez, Blaze, Latifah "Tesehki" Malone, Sukihana, and Ryan are set to reprise their series regular roles from the previous season, and Jelaminah "Jela" Lanier returns as a series regular since Baddies South.

Cast member Mayham announced that she would not return as a series regular for the fifth season due to health and recovery from weight loss surgery. However, according to the official Zeus announcement, she is labeled as an "injury reserve" and will possibly appear on the season of Baddies, alongside Santiago. In addition to the returning cast, Bianca Bonnie, Kali "Kaliwae" Miller and Dayjia "Meatball" Mitchell are featured as initial cast members. Atasha "Tommie" Jefferson would return as a "special appearance" after her departure from Baddies West alongside singer Aubrey O'Day and influencers Shannon and Shannade Clermont.

On March 21, 2024, despite being announced as a returning cast member for Baddies Caribbean, Sukihana announced on Instagram that she would not be returning for the season, focusing on her own show and future endeavors. Shortly after her announcement, rapper Asian Doll was announced as a celebrity cast member for the season. On the night of April 21, 2024, the teaser for Baddies Caribbean was released, with an initial release date being sometime in May. A week later, on April 28, 2024, the official trailer of Baddies Caribbean was released on Zeus Network's official YouTube Channel, with an official release date of May 5th.

First Appearances

 * Bad Girls Club
 * Love & Hip Hop
 * Jerry Springer
 * One Mo’ Chance
 * Blue Girls Club
 *  Bad Boys
 * Baddies Auditions
 * Sisterhood of Hip Hop
 * Black Ink Crew
 * Wild n' Out
 * Blueface & Chrisean: Crazy in Love
 * South Central Baddies
 * DejaVu
 * Making the Band