For some, Atlanta 'Housewives' still rate high

Geran and other viewers are as interested in details about Jewell’s death as they are the “big houses,” “beautiful skyline” and fabulous parties they see on the show. But to some Atlantans, “Housewives” often seems like a blemish on the Peach State. Some say they are offended by the way the city is portrayed, particularly through the lives of women who mostly live outside city limits, are not always truthful about their lavish lifestyles and constantly gossip and fight.

Fans who show up at Sia’s, a Duluth restaurant briefly featured on the show, hoping for a glimpse of the flashy five, will find that owner Sia Moshk has banned the “Housewives” for bad behavior. As the season finale looms with a two-part reunion expected to air in November, some once-faithful viewers admit they’ve grown tired of the constant cattiness.

Meanwhile, an average of 2 million viewers keep watching.

Korbi Ghosh, TV correspondent for Zap2it.com believes Thursday’s episode will bring some of the highest ratings yet, as more viewers tune in after Jewell’s death. His relationship with Kandi created on-screen tension when her mother opposed their union because Jewell had six children by four women.

“Though A.J. is quiet and didn’t have much of a personality on the show, we are interested in what happened to him because we are interested in what happens to Kandi,” said Ghosh. A Bravo spokesperson said an “In Memoriam” slate dedicated to Jewell would appear in the remaining episodes, which were taped earlier this year.

The show’s enduring popularity, Ghosh said, is due to a combination of the women’s personalities and our national obsession with gossip. “There is comedy in the drama,” Ghosh said. “These women fight... and they are not shy about it. It’s all out there and that’s why people are tuning in.”

Atlanta is the first city in the housewives franchise — which has included Orange County, New York and New Jersey — to showcase a predominantly African-American cast living the fabulous life, a feature that True Entertainment, the company that pitched the show to Bravo, specifically sought, said company president, Steven Weinstock.

“We thought it would be interesting to do something different. We thought of a diverse cast...and we thought of Atlanta,” he said.

The lively group includes NeNe Leakes, 42, the tell-it-like-it-is ringleader; Sheree Whitfield, 39, a mother of three recently divorced from retired NFL player Bob Whitfield, Jr.; Kim Zolciak, 31, a buxom blonde mom of two having a well-funded romance with a married man; Lisa Wu Hartwell, 38, who juggles multiple businesses with her husband, former Falcon Edgerton Hartwell II ; and Kandi, 33, a single mother, songwriter and singer.

It wasn’t long before the media mined the women’s lives for dirt and what they found made it clear things weren’t as perfect as the housewives wanted us to believe. Viewers got a sweet taste of schadenfreude.

“You think, wow, money doesn’t make you happy,” said Tonya Harris, 40, a college access advisor from Columbus, Ohio, who watches the show regularly with her husband. “I was surprised that people really think and act that way. I can’t imagine living like that, but it keeps you intrigued.”

Prefab parties, thousand-dollar shopping trips and a fund-raiser that flopped earned the “Housewives” a call back for another season, even as their big lives seemed to be shrinking.

NeNe was first to hit headlines when court documents revealed that she and husband Gregg “could no longer afford” the $6,000 a month rent on their house. Lisa and Sheree each had housing troubles of their own that resulted in relocation. On the show, hints of Nene’s financial concerns surfaced in the form of rumors whispered from one housewife to another.

A wig-pulling, name-calling altercation between Sheree, Kim and NeNe ensued after a meeting at FAB, a posh restaurant in downtown Atlanta. It was an all-time low for the city’s image, but it earned some of the highest ratings this season.

“The Housewives franchise is evolving,” Weinstock said. “I don’t know that [Bravo] wants every franchise to imitate the other. Atlanta has a certain saltiness and personality.”

But some viewers were taken aback.

Carolyn Patton, 62, of St. Louis, no longer watches the show because there is too much fighting. “Actually, I hate the show,” Patton said. “I can’t stand the sight of NeNe. She was my favorite last year. She has gone too far overboard.”

Meghan McNeer, 26, of Virginia Highland is still a fan, but acknowledges concerns about the show’s negativity. “It perpetuates some of the Southern craziness, some of the stereotypes we have in the South that we are not as educated and are back country, but I think most people look at this as TV,” McNeer said.

Still, TV has a way of creeping into our consciousness, said Michele Schreiber, an assistant professor of film studies at Emory University. “People look at fictional narratives or reality TV narratives and think back onto themselves and their own lives,” said Schreiber. The show glamorizes consumption, she said, which is of course also part of the appeal. “There is a dual recognition [among viewers] of, ‘I know this isn’t real, but there is something about this that is appealing because it is such a fantasy,’” Schreiber said. It reminds her of another cable TV hit, “Sex and the City,” minus the careers, the sex and the romance [and actually the city]. So what are you left with? “That is what is disturbing to me about this show,” Schreiber said. “What is this show asking you to aspire to?”

Not even the housewives seem clear on that.

Kandi, the newest cast member didn’t have any expectations going in to the show. “I just said I was going to go with the flow and whatever happened, happened,” she said. Kim concedes that much of the show’s point is to provide drama. “When you are filming a show, they make you entertain this behavior...but there wouldn’t be a show without it. Would you watch the show if I was going to work and making cupcakes?” she said.

The women are working overtime to supplement the undisclosed fee Bravo pays them and turn their 15 minutes of fame into real income through speaking engagements, book and record sales and yet to be launched clothing lines.

They will attempt to achieve all of this while balancing some very serious drama off camera. Kandi will have to deal with her ex-fiance’s death and the twins he left behind in her care. Kim must work through an engagement to a married man. Lisa continues battling to gain custody of her two children who are not on the show. And Sheree will have to rebuild a post-divorce life while managing the debt that has come with it.

The scene is set for a classic tale of the nouveau rich in trouble and though the show does not run in real-time, that doesn’t stop viewers from watching each week to see if the bottom has dropped out.

“We like being a fly on the wall,” said Atlanta based clinical psychologist Darryl Townes. “We get some kind of pleasure out of seeing other people’s drama, especially when we are not directly involved.”