Bravo is in talks with Kim Zolciak and NeNe Leakes to do spin-off shows, according to two sources who are familiar with the negotiations but not authorized to talk about them.
Kim's show would be about her life with Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann and her new baby, due soon.
NeNe's show would be about her efforts to break into Hollywood after moving to Los Angeles later this year.
But if these two shows are to come to fruition, Bravo would also like to keep at least one on the "Real Housewives" show. Kim and NeNe are arguably the most prominent stars on the cast after three seasons.
The problem: their last blow-up season three makes it clear the two no longer trust each other, much less like each other. This dynamic must be creating challenges for Bravo producers shooting season four since they want to maximize interaction among the six cast members while Kim and NeNe probably want to spent as little time face to face as possible.
Production for season four of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" started earlier this month, including a baby shower for Kim.
At least one new cast member is being considered, just in case Kim and/or NeNe leave the show for good. Bethenny Frankel of "Real Housewives of New York" fame left that show and was able to parlay her fame and brand into her own Bravo show "Bethenny Ever After."
There are signs Bravo has reached a "Housewives" saturation point with seven renditions so far: Orange County, Beverly Hills, New York, New Jersey, Miami, Atlanta and D.C. Bravo's boss Andy Cohen has said no more new "Housewives' franchises for now but he has not precluded spin offs. Recently, "The Real Housewives of D.C.' became the first franchise to be canceled. "Miami" recently debuted but did only moderately well.
Right now, Atlanta is the most popular of them all, averaging close to four million viewers per week per new episode.
NeNe is currently riding on a wave of publicity due to her stint on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice." Her big blow-up with Star Jones this Sunday has been featured heavily in promotions.
She is also going to do commentary Friday morning with Perez Hilton for WE-TV on the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
A Bravo spokeswoman has not responded to an email today.
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
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