Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 16 Debrief
spoiler alert: i loved it
Even before the 16th season of Real Housewives of Atlanta premiered there was a lot of chatter — this season had to work and if not, the future of RHOA might not be bright. Porsha Williams was back as a peach holder, Kenya Moore was fired mid-way through the season and then Phaedra Parks found her way back into the groove…there were a lot of moving parts and at the end of it I can say that it was a solid, rebuilding season.
Now, I need to be honest — I’ve not been a loyal Atlanta watcher. I know the major storylines, the characters and the lore but I’ve watched on and off over the past few years. Knowing that this was a soft reboot season I knew I’d be able to really sink my teeth into it fully, and I’m so glad I did.
I love Porsha — I think she is stunning, hilarious, cool and just a fun ball of light to have on your TV, so I was thrilled when she was back as a full time Housewife. Then, you find out that Kenya was suspended/fired halfway through the season because of a revenge porn plot against a newbie and Phaedra is taking her place! No matter what, I was tuning in.
This season was really fun. It was dark at times but always real; aside from Britt, I never felt like anyone was playing a part. These women know each other, aren’t afraid to get messy, be shady but also make up and have some fun. It was a delight to tune in every Sunday night and just laugh my ass off. There were actually multiple points throughout the season where I rewound scenes because they were so funny.
As we usually do with debriefs, let’s take it lady by lady…
Porsha
As I said before, I love Porsha so much so having her back was a delight. I’ve seen people say that her return was a flop but I disagree. Porsha was never going to save the show— she needed support in order to carry the season and that was supposed to be Kenya. When that couldn’t happen, Phaedra swooped in and helped levy the ships but in actuality, I don’t think Porsha needed the help, it was all going well!
Her divorce brought her personal storyline, her mini feud with Drew over Dennis was the inter-group conflict, and a strange friendship fallout between her and Shamea rounded out the story. There was shade, fashion, beautiful homes and lots of emotion as well, and I think Porsha did a great job.
Sure, the fighting with Drew got old kind of fast but I didn’t mind it at all.
I loved seeing Porsha walk through her emotions of getting divorced again, her issues with Shamea, handling the death of her cousin and bonding with Cynthia and Phaedra again. It was just so nice to have her back!
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This might be my favorite moment of the season…I was cackling and I have tears in my eyes rewatching it now!
Drew
I don’t know why but I like Drew! She’s so odd sometimes and you can’t believe anything she says but I love it. The dynamic with Ralph living in the basement was bizarre but it made for good, quirky television and the Dennis storyline was so shady but it added a layer of low stakes drama that I enjoyed.
Drew also cracked me up this season — lying about being cousins with Michael Jordan, asking Britt if she sold the cat in reference to the naked pictures that Kenya showed at her event, and coming to Nashville even though Porsha uninvited her. Her confessionals were shady and overall, I thought she was a nice bit of comic relief.
Shamea
I love Shamea! She is gorgeous, fun, outlandish, rich and cool as hell. Her life is so interesting and she came out of the gate with everything — where she gets her money from, the health issues of her daughter and her fragile feelings when it comes to her friendship with Porsha. She stirred the pot, had some hilarious moments when it came to feuding with Angela (the comments about her nose while mean were too funny to not laugh at)
She kept her foot on everyone’s necks but was also vulnerable and real with everyone. There were definitely some moments throughout the season though, that I thought she might’ve been doing too much or going about the situation with Porsha. She probably could’ve spoken more directly to Porsha instead of all the other women and I really hope that they can work it out at the reunion.
Overall, Shamea was a perfect addition to the cast. We knew her from Porsha’s previous seasons but she was still ‘new’ so it felt fresh.
Kelli
Kelli aka Strawberry Shortcake was one of our new Housewives and she made a splash. At first, I really didn’t like her. I thought there was something slightly shady and inauthentic but once I got to know her, she grew on me.
She’s kind of perfect for the show — she is very successful, has a lot of personal story that is very heartbreaking (4 daughters, an ex-husband in jail who she needed a restraining order against) and overall a ball of energy and fun. She stuck up for her friend (Britt) against Kenya, planned some fabulous events and threw shade with the best of them.
I especially loved how she defended herself against Britt towards the end of the season. The fallout of their friendship was so interesting — I forget if they were friends before the show but either way, they had gotten really close and then suddenly that bond vanished. Having the fight be over a glam team and ending up with Kelli calling Britt a pill popper and then Britt accusing her of having multiple abortions is such vintage Housewives, and added that extra spice to the season.
Angela
Everyone loves Angela Oakley but I’m undecided. I started out the season not loving her, then started to like her and then the last few episodes irritated me. She loves being married to Charles Oakley — it was her main storyline aside from the fact that she can’t sell houses.
She looked for countless ways to bring up the fact that her husband is a famous, legendary basketball player. It felt desperate and inauthentic, especially when the cheating rumors came out and she made it like people were trying to tear them down in a ‘me and you against the world’ type of way.
The finale was where she really got me, talking to her therapist and claiming that she trusts him, etc. It felt incredibly forced and fake.
Charles really blew up Angela’s spot during the last few scenes where she wanted Marcus to spill the tea about being hired by someone to say that Charles was cheating on her. It was so funny because you could tell that Charles was really angry and protective.
I don’t not like Angela, I just couldn’t help but fixate on the defensiveness of her marriage. I will say, it was kind of iconic that she filmed the ladies from her window when she heard them talking about her after cameras went down. I loved that!
Phaedra
I don’t necessarily think we needed Phaedra in the last half of the season but boy am I glad she was there! The shadiness was unmatched, the reads were poetic and I love her so much. She added lightness, fun and more shade than we could’ve ever thought possible. Having her back as a peach holder felt so right.
There are so many layers to Phaedra — funeral director, lawyer, Traitor… she’s the best.
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Another scene I had to rewind and rewatch multiple times. It was perfection - the best scene of the season.
Britt
Britt Eady, I’m so happy I don’t have to see you on my TV anymore. She walked into the show moving very weirdly, starting it off with entire ring conversation with Kenya. In what world was Kenya being shady by asking Britt about her ring? It made no sense.
Then, the gun comments, which are indefensible, were my final straw. There was no need for her to threaten Kenya in that way, to throw owning guns around is uncalled for and I hated it. From that point on there was nothing she could do to get me back on her side.
I could make a list of all the reasons I dislike Britt — her and her husband are weird, I don’t understand her career as an insurance agent, she made a big fuss over Shamea’s distraught moment in Grenada and claimed that ‘I will always have your back!’ and then used her daughter against her in an argument, implying that Shamea is a bad mother.
Britt came onto the show with an agenda, to go against the OGs and cause a scene
The one thing Britt delivered this season was her horrible Bare Naked event — it’ll go down in history as one of the worse Housewives events ever and for that, I thank her.
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I’m not going to touch on Kenya too much because there’s not much to say — the season started out strong and she was her own worst enemy. I’m curious how Bravo will handle her when it comes to casting for season 17 now that Britt is suing the network. Only time with tell…
I will also say that Cynthia Bailey as a friend of is gold. She’s there as a Greek chorus, as a helping hand, as someone who makes us laugh but without the pressure of being a main cast member. My favorite moment of hers was “The only thing opened after midnight are legs, jail and the ER".”
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Overall, this was a really strong season where we were returning to form. It was entertaining, dramatic, fun, funny and shady. There were strong personal stories, interesting inner group conflict and one of the biggest Bravo stories recently (Kenya and Britt). I can only hope that the reunion lives up to the hype and that season 17 is just a wonderful.
Bravo to Sweet 16, Atlanta!