PREVIEW: Five things to know about ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ Season 17

“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” was once Bravo’s buzziest TV show.

But its seen a steady decline in ratings the past few years. Bravo shows like “Summer House” and “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” now get far more attention.

Not that Bravo hasn’t tried, bringing in an array of older and new faces.

Even a controversy last year couldn’t lift ratings. A year ago, the show abruptly dropped Kenya Moore for showing intimate photos of newcomer Brit Eady to an aghast audience at a store opening. Eady was not happy with how she was portrayed and quit the show, leaving a lawsuit in her wake.

Season 17 features eight regular castmates: six from last season (Angela Oakley, Phaedra Parks, Porsha Williams, Drew Sidora, Shamea Morton and Kelli Ferrell) plus two newcomers: K. Michelle and Pinky Cole.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was given a sneak peek at the first episode airing on Bravo at 8 p.m. Sunday and available the next day on Peacock. (The photos provided by Bravo and used in this story were not from this episode.)

Here are five things to know about the new season based on that episode, which featured no big revelations or fireworks. Bravo has also released a three-minute trailer.

Credit: Michael Serine/Bravo

Credit: Michael Serine/Bravo

1. K. Michelle jumps aboard

R&B singer K. Michelle is a newbie to the show but is a veteran of reality TV. She has appeared as a cast member of not just one but three “Love & Hip Hop” shows (Atlanta, New York and Hollywood) as well as her own reality show and a 2023 dating show called “Queens Court.” Musically, she has jumped into country music with an alter ego named Puddin’. She recently married a dentist named Kastan Sims. And she comes to the show with a chip on her shoulder. “I feel people judge me and I feel like I’m angry,” she told her friend Porsha during the episode, later telling cameras, “Atlanta has been a mean girl city.”

Credit: Richard Rodriguez/Bravo

2. Welcome to the Slutty Vegan owner

Pinky is a familiar name in metro Atlanta circles because she founded the once-hot restaurant chain Slutty Vegan. But her business went through growing pains, and she lost control of the company for a brief time. She is still struggling with personal financial issues, filing for personal bankruptcy in March and almost losing her home. This episode, which was taped last summer, introduces Pinky halfway through and provides the viewers a short recap of her successes. Pinky also raves about fellow newcomer K. Michelle, calling her both her “spirit sister and my sorority sister.”

Credit: Michael Serine/Bravo

3. Porsha on the relationship hunt

With her messy divorce from Simon Guobadia finalized, Porsha was ready to date again at the start of filming last summer. “I deserve to be courted,” she said. Porsha decided to hold a couples party at her home despite the fact she wasn’t technically coupled up. She brought a beefy, attractive man who went only by Mike and was identified in a caption as a “friend.” The vibe between them wasn’t serious. Indeed, the trailer shows Porsha later hanging out with local entrepreneur Patrice “Sway” McKinney. In November, she and Sway went public as an item.

Credit: Michael Serine/Bravo

4. Shamea BFFing with Kelli

Shamea, in her second season as a full-time cast member, spent years on the show as the supportive childhood best friend of Porsha. But those loyalties were tested Season 16 when Shamea joined the cast and felt Porsha wasn’t supporting her in a reciprocal fashion, shifting their friendship dynamic. During the first episode, they were polite to each other but the warmth was absent.

Instead, became much closer to Kelli, the restaurateur. Shamea during the first episode was also able to reference how busy she was, co-hosting the Big Tigger Morning Show on V-103, in-game hosting for the Atlanta Hawks and starting a rum company.

Credit: Michael Serine/Bravo

5. Unresolved issues

There are still residual tensions between Phaedra and Angela. Last season, Angela accused Phaedra of orchestrating a scheme to ruin her marriage by hiring a man named Marcus to spread cheating rumors about her husband, Charles Oakley. Phaedra has wholeheartedly denied the accusations. This storyline has echoes of Phaedra allegedly spreading salacious rumors about former cast member Kandi Burruss Season 9, which led to Phaedra’s initial ouster.

Porsha and Drew also remain on the outs after Drew last year recorded music with Porsha’s ex, fueling rumors they were hooking up. And it’s clear Drew and Shamea remain distant.

In a teaser to the April 12 episode, Porsha also accuses Kelli of sleeping with a married man, a scene which also appeared in the trailer.

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