VH1’s ‘Love & Hip Hop’ franchise scrapped, including Atlanta spinoff
“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” an audacious reality show that reveled in Jerry Springer-like fights during its peak, is ending its 13-season run.
In fact, Paramount is killing the entire 15-year-old “Love & Hip Hop” franchise, including its Hollywood, Miami and New York editions. It will conclude with a six-part special this fall, the media company announced.
“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” was created in 2012 as a spinoff of the original New York version on VH1, a hip-hop soap opera version of “The Real Housewives” franchise, which remains alive and well on Bravo.
For a time, the fights, arrests and sundry controversies on the show were hot fodder for social media and bloggers. The Atlanta version in its earliest years drew the biggest ratings in the franchise, often generating 3 million to 4 million viewers a week in the mid-2010s.
The show made stars out of entrepreneurs Rasheeda and Kirk Frost, rap star Lil Scrappy, and singer and actor Karlie Redd. It boosted the career of R&B star K. Michelle, who is now on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and broadened the appeal of rappers Waka Flocka Flame and Yung Joc.
Generating plenty of buzz the first six seasons was the on-again, off-again shenanigans of charismatic Stevie J and saucy Joseline Hernandez.
After Hernandez left the show, dance hall artist Spice came in and helped shake up the latter seasons.
“I haven’t paid attention to that show in years,” said Michelle “ATLien” Brown, who used to do “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” recaps on her “Straight from the A” blog and now runs a YouTube channel which focuses more on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” gossip. “I initially bought into it. It was great to see Lil Scrappy and others do something different. But it eventually got old and stale and tired.”
The show moved from VH1 to MTV in 2023 while its dwindling viewership steadily shifted off basic cable and onto Paramount+.
A few cast membersfrom the peak early years are still on the show, such as Rasheeda, Kirk, Karlie, Scrappy and Yung Joc. The final new episodes are now airing Tuesdays on MTV at 8 p.m. and available the next day on Paramount+.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
