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The Real Housewives of Atlanta is an American reality television series on the Bravo cable network that premiered in the fall of 2008. It is the third installment of The Real Housewives franchise following (The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Real Housewives of New York City). Atlanta is not only the highest rated show of the The Real Housewives franchise, it was the highest rated reality series on the Bravo network.

The show follows seven women living in and around the Metro Atlanta area as they balance home, business ventures, and their social calenders as a production crew follows their everyday activities. The current "housewives" are NeNe Leakes, Kim Zolciak, Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, and Phaedra Parks. The newest "housewives" to join the cast are actress and former Miss USA winner, Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams-Stewart, the granddaughter of legendary civil rights leader, Hosea Williams. 

The fifth season premiered on November 4, 2012 at 9/8c on Bravo.

Cast
Linnethia "NeNe" Leakes

Kimberleigh Marie "Kim" Zolciak

NeNe Leakes
(Season 1 – present)

"I don't keep up with the Jones', I am the Jones'." (Season 1 - 2)

"When I walk into the room, I own it." (Season 3 - 4)

"I have arrived, and the spotlight is on me honey." (Season 5)

Linnethia 'NeNe' Leakes founded the Twisted Hearts Foundation, an LLC that dealt with domestic violence against women. Leakes separated from her husband of 14 years Gregg Leakes—a real estate investor and business consultant who had been involved in several mortgage schemes and subsequently filed for divorce on April 29, 2010, during season three.

Although the divorce was filed, the two were cuddled up at the Essence Festival July 4, 2011. The divorce was finalized September 29, 2011, after season four had finished shooting, However, the pair were spotted together at the premier party for Real Housewives of Atlanta's 4th season on November 6, 2011 and also vacationed together in Miami on May 6, 2012 leading many to speculate the divorce was made for television. She now has a recurring role as Rocky on the NBC hit The New Normal (TV series).

Kim Zolciak
(Seasons 1 - present)

"In Atlanta, money and class do give you power." (Season 1 - 2)

"People call me a gold-digger, but they just want what I have." (Season 3 - 4)

"I asked, believed, and I received." (Season 5)

A Connecticut native and Johns Creek, Georgia resident, Kim Zolciak is a  mother of four children, Brielle, Ariana, KJ and Kash. She was a licensed practical nurse in Connecticut and Georgia from 1999 to 2003, according to public records. During 2008's Season 1, Zolciak was working on her debut single, "Tardy for the Party", which she released in 2009. She put out a new single, "Google Me", in Season 3. She married Atlanta Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann on November 11, 2011. In the Season 5 photo shoot, Kim was not included due to her pregnancy, but she is still a main housewife. There have been conflicting reports of what Kim's status will be with the show after the current season. Kim has said herself that despite having her own spin-off announced, she will continue with the Housewives series beyond this current season. However, it is also speculated that new Housewife, Porsha, will debut mid-season, leading many to believe she will replace Kim, and Kim will exit the series.

It was announced in September 2012, Zolciak would be starring in her own spin-off series, following the success of her wedding special which was a rating success for the Bravo Network.

Kandi Burruss
(Season 2 – present)

"I'm an independent woman, doing it for myself." (Season 2)

"I have fame and fortune, and I've earned it." (Season 3 - 4)

"I may be small, but my empire keeps on growing." (Season 5)

Kandi Burruss is a Georgia native and former member of the Platinum-selling musical group Xscape. She became an Atlanta Housewife on Season 2, replacing DeShawn Snow. Burruss resides in Fayetteville, Georgia with her seven-year-old daughter Riley. Burruss won a Grammy Award for her work on TLC's song "No Scrubs". She has also written/co written music for artists who include 'N Sync, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, American Idol Fantasia Barrino, female rapper Solé, Pink and Whitney Houston. Aside from being active in the music industry, she owns a clothing store TAGS in Smyrna, Georgia; a pleasure products line called Bedroom Kandi and production company, Kandi Koated Entertainment. She also has an iTunes app called Kandi Koated Spades, a weekly webisode "Kandi Koated Nights" and has an upcoming reality show on Bravo, The Kandi Factory.

Burruss was engaged to Ashley "A.J." Jewell during Season 2. On October 2, 2009, A.J suffered a severe head injury during a fight at the Body Tap (a gentlemen's club which he co-owned) and died soon after being hospitalized. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that an employee of the club, Fredrick Richardson, was arrested in connection with the death. A police spokesman said he would be taken to Fulton County Jail as soon as doctors discharged him from Grady Memorial Hospital.

Burruss appeared on an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, wherein she was paired with a housewife and assisted her in an effort to win one million dollars. She is set to appear in her Bravo spin-off, "The Kandi Factory".

Phaedra Parks
(Season 3 – present)

"I'm the ultimate Southern belle, I get what I want." (Season 3 - 4)

"I'm a Southern belle; brains, booty, and all business." (Season 5)

Phaedra C. Parks is an entertainment attorney. She got her start as an attorney for GEICO's in-house law firm, Bridges Ormand & Faenza. After being convinced by Shakir Stewart and DJ Ryan Cameron, Parks transitioned into full-time entertainment law, notably working the high-profile case of Atlantic Records rapper Drama, whom she accompanied on tour for several months after acquiring him a temporary furlough. In 2005, Atlanta magazine featured Phaedra Parks as one of the Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Stars. In the same year, Jezebel magazine recognized Parks as an Attorney of Distinction. In 2007, she was featured as a top young lawyer in Georgia and was on the cover of Atlanta magazine's specialty publication, Super Lawyers. Parks is managing partner for The Parks Group, P.C., a boutique law firm that focuses on contract negotiation, civil litigation, and criminal defense. She has served as a legal analyst for NBC and Fox News, and she has been on infotainment television programs such as Entertainment Tonight, Celebrity Justice, and Extra for her handling of several high-profile clients and cases. She is an equestrian. Parks graduated from Clarke Central High School in 1990, obtained a bachelor of arts degree in Communication from Wesleyan College (in Macon, GA) in 1993 and her law degree from the University of Georgia in 1998.

Phaedra has been active with the Gate City Bar Association, the oldest African-American bar association in Georgia, where she served a stint as president. She sits on several boards, including the University of Georgia’s Law School Alumni Counsel and Atlanta Children's Shelter. Parks' family is close with the family of rapper Too $hort, whom she has represented as an entertainment lawyer in the past.

Parks first met her husband Apollo Nida, who works in asset recovery, in 1995. Nida is a convicted non-violent offender. He served almost 5 months from December 29, 1998 to May 14, 1999 for theft by receiving stolen goods. crimes committed in March 1997. According to public records, Apollo Nida was convicted for racketeering and began serving his sentence July 28, 2004. He served nearly 5 years of his 18-year sentence before being paroled on May 27, 2009. They married November 1, 2009, and Phaedra gave birth to son Ayden Adonis Nida in May 2010.

In May 2012, Parks filed a $30 Million dollar lawsuit against VIBE Publishing, citing libelous activity after the company published a book by an ex-client who claims the attorney participated in criminal activities. The case is currently pending.

Cynthia Bailey
(Season 3 – present)

"I know how to work it and be seen." (Season 3 - 4)

"Beauty fades. Class is forever." (Season 5)

Cynthia Bailey won several beauty pageants and was the first African American homecoming queen of her high school. She moved to New York City when she was 18 years old to pursue her dream of modeling. Her first booking was the cover of Essence.

Bailey resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her 12-year old daughter, Noelle, from her former relationship with actor Leon Robinson. During Season 3, we see Bailey's relationship with boyfriend, Peter Thomas, a restaurateur and entrepreneur, unfold and progress. On the Season 3 finale, Cynthia married Peter at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta.

Kenya Moore
(Season 5 - present)

"I won Miss USA, not Miss Congeniality." (Season 5)

Porsha Williams-Stewart
(Season 5 - Present)

"People say I live a picture perfect life, and I do." (Season 5)

Porsha will be introduced later in the season.

DeShawn Snow
(Season 1)

"I always knew I was destined for greatness." (Season 1)

Originally from Detroit, a resident of the Atlanta suburb of Milton in the Manor Golf and Country Club, north of downtown Atlanta, she has three children and was married to former NBA player and announcer Eric Snow at time of filming. DeShawn was not invited back for the second season; she alleges that producers said it was because she was "too human for a circus show" and did not create enough drama.

Lisa Wu-Hartwell
(Season 1 – Season 2)

"If it doesn't make me money, I don't do it." (Season 1 - 2)

Wu-Hartwell's mother is of Afro-Caribbean descent and her father is Chinese American. Hartwell was married to R&B singer Keith Sweat from 1992 to 2002.

Lisa and Ed Hartwell had several businesses such as a real estate firm called Hartwell and Associates, a jewelry line called Wu Girls, a T-shirt line called Hart 2 Hart Clothing, a women's clothing line called Closet Freaks, and a baby clothing line called Hart 2 Hart Baby. Hartwell did not participate as a cast member in season three, but made several cameo appearances.

An article on Bankrate.com highlights that court records posted on TMZ.com show Lisa and Ed Hartwell borrowed $2.9 million to buy their suburban Atlanta mansion in June 2007. Just more than two years later, Bank of America paid $1.9 million for the house at a foreclosure sale at the Forsyth County, Ga., courthouse, after the Hartwells defaulted on their adjustable-rate mortgage from the bank. As of October 7, 2011 Lisa and her husband Edgerton Hartwell are divorced.

Sherée Whitfield
(Season 5-present, recurring)

(Season 1 - Season 4)

"People are intimidated by my success." (Season 1 - 2)

"I like things that are elegant and sophisticated, just like me." (Season 3 - 4)

Shereé Whitfield is the ex-wife of former Atlanta Falcons player Bob Whitfield. After marrying in 2000, Whitfield and her husband separated in 2003 and divorced in 2007. The first and second seasons of the show chronicled Whitfield's attempts to launch a fashion line called She by Shereé. After issues with the quality of her clothing samples caused her to change a planned fashion show at the end of Season 1 into a fashion "viewing" where she displayed sketches, Whitfield rallied in Season 2 and staged a show, depicted in the season finale. Despite eventually debuting She by Shereé at New York Fashion Week, she cited the hardship of "trying to find the right group of people to come together and help out" as the reason for putting the line on hold. In April 2012, Whitfield announced she would not be returning for Season 5. In July 2012, Whitfield announced that she would be returning but in a recurring role.

Episodes

 * List of The Real Housewives of Atlanta episodes

Ratings
In 2009 The Real Housewives of Atlanta was one of Bravo's most successful shows in terms of ratings and the highest rated of The Real Housewives of... franchise. Although The Real Housewives of Orange County had run for three seasons up to that point, and was successful enough to garner a spin-off in New York City, The Real Housewives of Atlanta was the channel's first reality series to hit the 2 million viewer mark among adults 18–49. The series averaged 1.13 million adults 18–49 and 1.495 million total viewers, with the reunion telecast totaling 2.055 million adults 18–49 and 2.817 million total viewers tuning in.

The second-season launch attracted 2.7 million viewers, the most for any Real Housewives debut; including the rerun at 11 pm, almost 4 million people watched the show. The show gained viewers throughout the second season. Season 2 averaged 1.992 million adults 18–49 and 2.836 million total viewers, up considerably from Season 1.

The January 30, 2011, season-three finale episode brought in 4.4 million viewers making it the highest rated episode in Housewives history. Filming for the fourth season began in late April 2011. That record was surpassed by the season-four premiere on November 6, 2011.

DVD Releases
In April 2010, Target stores released the first season on DVD.