Back in July, lovebscott.com exclusively reported that casting for ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ was in ‘shambles’ and that production was scrambling to reinvigorate casting for the show’s upcoming season.
We’re happy to report that although filming was delayed for quite a bit, production is gearing up to begin filming and the cast is taking shape.
As previously reported, Kenya Moore and Kandi Burruss are set to return in full capacity and Marlo Hampton is set to become a first-time peach holder.
We told you that Porsha Williams was ‘seriously considering’ not returning to the show amid her messy engagement to Simon Guobadia. With her newly-expanded spin-off now on the horizon, Porsha has decided not to return for ‘RHOA’ and will focus on her own show.
We also told you that Cynthia Bailey was likely not returning. This past week, Cynthia announced her departure from the show.
Drew Sidora’s future with ‘RHOA’ was uncertain, but Porsha’s exit left some big shoes to be filled — Drew will be back.
Now, for some new (and old) faces…
Last week, lovebscott.com exclusively revealed that former Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross will be joining the ladies. Production has every intention on making her a peach-holding ‘housewife,’ but that all depends on how filming plays out.
Yesterday, lovebscott.com exclusively revealed that Akon’s ‘wife’, Rozina Negusei, will also be filming with the ladies. She’s good friends with Sheree Whitfield.
Speaking of Sheree, we also said in our exclusive report — “If Sheree does return full-time, it’ll probably come at the expense of Cynthia Bailey. From a production standpoint, the show can easily afford both Sheree Whitfield and Marlo Hampton as full-time housewives and give viewers familiar faces for the cost of Cynthia’s salary alone.”
That’s exactly what happened. Sheree Whitfield is coming back — but she’s not the only OG you’ll see.
Sources tell lovebscott.com that production is pushing for some camera time with new ‘housewife’ Marlo Hampton and her good friend, former peach-holder NeNe Leakes, in the wake of Gregg Leakes’ passing.
While NeNe has burned every bridge as far as becoming an official cast member, she’s a big part of ‘RHOA’ and Gregg’s passing is a major life event — production wants to capture it. The working idea is that they’ll pay NeNe a decent amount of money for one or two scenes and send her on her way. If things go smoothly, it may open the door for a future NeNe Leakes appearance.
As always, will keep you up-to-date with the freshest tea from ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta.’
