very Season Of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, Ranked

The Real Housewives of Atlanta made a huge splash when it premiered on television screens in 2008. Initially focusing on the lives of five women living in Atlanta, Georgia, it was the third installment of the Real Housewives franchise.

The series was a breakout hit and quickly became the most-watched Real Housewives city in the franchise. From the rise of NeNe Leakes to the fall of Phaedra Parks, the RHOA women have had a wild ride through the years. Where Real Housewives of Atlanta season 15 will fall remains to be seen, with most of the focus on Kim Zolciak’s divorce, but there have been some ups and downs throughout the seasons.

Season 11

Losing fan-favorite Kenya Moore was enough to make season 11 the worst of all RHOA seasons, but losing OG housewife Sheree Whitfield was the nail in the coffin. Although a cast switch-up was warranted, removing two of the biggest drama starters led to a dull, lifeless season. New housewife Shamari DeVoe was not the best cast member in this season— especially with her best moment being her throwing up in a shoe. On the other hand, Eva Marcille was gorgeous but served only a couple of one-liners and a lot of food. This was RHOA at its lowest.

Season 12

While main Housewives Eva and Cynthia Bailey were dull, friend-of-the-Housewives Marlo Hampton was a star, serving fashion, shade, and entertainment all season long. Kenya’s much-anticipated return was bleak, as her marriage to Marc Daly turned sour. The Greece trip was a highlight; it had heart, culture, and a healthy scoop of drama, courtesy of Kenya and NeNe. Speaking of NeNe, this season was an unceremonious last hurrah for the previous original Atlanta peach. She will always be beloved, but it was clear NeNe had nothing left to bring to the show.

Season 13

Season 13 should be cut some slack because it was an impressive feat to film during a pandemic. While it might not have been the most exciting season, the cast and crew deserve paramount respect for getting through production.

Drew was a dull new addition, but her unpleasant relationship drama took up too much screen time. Conversely, Cynthia’s COVID wedding might have sacrificed the last bit of anyone fans had left for her. On the bright side, the Bolo drama was much juicier than Seasons 11 and 12 snoozefests. Overall, Season 13 was lacking.

Season 14

Season 14 is the most recent completed season, and it revitalized some of the more recent duds. Housewife Sanya Richards-Ross was a welcome new addition. However, the biggest news in season 14 was that a longtime friend of the Housewives, Marlo Hampton, was now an official Housewife as opposed to a friend of. Not only did Marlo join the main roster, but OG Housewife, Sheree Whitfield, was also back as a main Housewife. Between Sheree’s relationship woes, Marlo and Kenya’s new feud, and the controversies around Drew’s husband, season 14 was full of juicy content.

Season 10

Phaedra’s explosive exit in season 9 would always be a hard act to follow, but this season should have been top-tier. There were mixed reactions when NeNe rejoined the cast for season 10, but after it was announced she’d be reunited with former BFF Kim Zolciak, the hype went into overdrive. Kim and NeNe were fan favorites before their friendly fallout.

Unfortunately, the reality was not so interesting. NeNe returned with a confusing vendetta against Porsha Williams, and Kim barely turned up for filming. Despite this, the reunion was one for the ages, as NeNe and the ladies finally confronted Kim over her years of diva antics.

Season 1

Season 1 changed the game by introducing the first predominantly Black Real Housewives cast, and it deserves respect purely for that. But at seven episodes and a reunion, this was by far the shortest RHOA season, and at times it felt like a prequel to the actual show.

After premiering in 2008, there were plenty of things that fans forgot about in season 1 of RHOA. The fashion was rough, the quality was terrible, and sometimes just plain dull. Even so, it was easy to see why the show was successful. NeNe was a star from episode one, her ill-fated friendship with Kim was a joy to watch, and Sheree was deliciously petty.

Season 2

With season 2, the show finally got the ball rolling. Kandi Burruss entered the show as a fan favorite and didn’t disappoint for a second. The ‘Tardy For The Party‘ drama was hilarious and helped kick-start the addictively cringe-era of The Real Housewives music. Sadly, the reunion was a slog. Additionally, Lisa Wu was boring and was booted after the season wrapped. Overall, it was a fun, if, at times, slow, season. Luckily, the trifecta of NeNe, Kim, and Sheree continued to bring juicy drama to the show.

Season 7

Throughout the show, NeNe’s ego had grown massively out of control, and it was hard to root for her. This reached a breaking point in season 7’s group therapy session, where she exploded at everyone around her, including her therapist. It didn’t help that newbie Claudia Jordan consistently read NeNe harder than anyone had done before. Although the women reconciled with NeNe at the reunion, she left the show and didn’t rejoin until season 10. Perhaps this was for the best; when NeNe ditched the Manila trip, it was one of the lightest and most harmonious trips the ladies had ever been on.

Season 4

Season 4 was a mixed bag. The South Africa trip was legendary, and Kandi’s birthday party was wild, igniting the wrath of Mama Joyce. To top it all off, this season introduced the designer diva herself, Marlo Hampton, whose clash with Sheree over etiquette and 80-year-old men descended into iconic gibberish. Unfortunately, this season spent too many episodes on boring subplots. Kim was thoroughly checked out of the show, Kandi attempted a dubious country music career, and Phaedra’s mortician storyline was just plain weird.

Season 8

RHOA season 8 is underrated. The first half of this season was fantastically unhinged; the boat party where Cynthia kicked Porsha Williams was a drunken mistake. Additionally, the Miami trip derailed into a train wreck because of Cynthia’s “Miley Cyrus-looking” friend Tammy and her nephews. Kim Fields was a hilarious fish-out-of-water. While the other women read each other to death, Kim sat in the corner eating trail mix and reading her book. While this season might not be for everyone, some can find a lot to love in it.

Season 9

Season 9 is a slow-burn thriller. It started with the ridiculous glamping trip, which erupted when Marlo asked Kandi if she was a lesbian, resulting in one of the most iconic RHOA memes ever: “Who said that?” While Cynthia’s divorce was heartbreaking, the season finally came together in the most shocking reunion of all time. The jaw-dropping revelation that Phaedra made up a dark web of lies about Phaedra and Porsha was a cinematic spectacle and was one of the wildest reunion confrontations.

Season 5

Porsha and Kenya had one of the strongest debut seasons the Housewives franchise had ever seen. Porsha brought fun and energy despite her crumbling marriage, while Kenya stirred up drama from day one, cackling and twirling her way through fights with almost every cast member. After Kim Z’s dramatic exit from the show, season 5 had one of the strongest casts in the show’s history. There was non-stop entertainment between Kenya’s “fake” boyfriend, the battle of the workout DVDs, and the scandalous Anguilla trip.

Season 3

As much as the early seasons of RHOA were full of wig snatching and tour bus catfights, they were grounded in genuine friendships at the core. “Shady” Phaedra Parks’ made her first appearance in season 3, where she was at her most rootable and hilarious.

This was also Cynthia’s first season, bringing sweetness and sadness with the infamous friendship contract and her disastrous wedding underneath a giant dinosaur skeleton. Season 3 was packed with memorable moments: Kim’s lesbian awakening, Phaedra’s mystery pregnancy, and another Housewives song.

Season 6

The best season of Real Housewives of Atlanta was, without question, season 6. The season kicked off with Porsha’s divorce before diving headfirst into the craziness of Mama Joyce as she tried to break up Kandi and Todd. Then there was NeNe’s pajama party from Hell, which exploded into one of the most outrageous fights the show has ever seen.

Finally, the feud between Porsha and Kenya reached an unbelievable boiling point at the season 6 reunion. When Andy Cohen infamously had to intervene after Porsha dragged Kenya across the floor by her hair. It was one of the most dramatic moments in the franchise.