Bravo kicked off its third iteration of the Real Housewives franchise with the premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta last night, and it did not disappoint. Despite a frenetic first half which betrayed the show’s signature laid-back tone and pace, the episode eventually settled into its groove and provided a wonderful showdown between breakout star Nene and her rival, Shereé. The flagrant foul: Nene’s name wasn’t on Shereé’s birthday party list. Sure enough, Nene threw a fit worthy of fellow housewife Ramona from New York City, but whereas Ramona would have appeared psycho, Nene came off as awesome. At least for now.
Photocap after the jump.
“Y’all didn’t tell me you were wearing big, floppy hats too. Next time we come to Applebees, we gonna coordinate, okay?”
“Hmmm… Not trampy enough.”
“Yeah, rub them up nice and good. I want my legs to look extra manly.”
“Girl, I can’t even believe Shereé would disrespect me like that. I mean, I’m NeNe. At least people can pronounce my name. What is she? Sheray? Shereee-ay? Sher-ayay?”
“In Atlanta, image is everything. So are gigantic dining booths.”
“How’s this dress look? Does it accentuate my man-arms?”
DeShawn: “What would Mr. Snow like right now?”
Eric: “Mr. Snow would like Mrs. Snow to get rid of that creepy-ass woman over there.”
“I just got my party hair done. I hope you like it. It’s Jane Austin meets Sophia Petrillo.”
“You know what I’m gonna wear to Shereé’s party? A scuba mask. It’ll be like BAM! Nene Cousteau.”
“Tada!!! I’m age inappropriate!”
“Oh? Did you all come here for me? Really? (Because if you didn’t, I’m gonna sue your ass just like I’m suing my ex for a seven figure sum).”
“You know, even though all that guy did was say ‘Shereé’ over and over again, it really was such a beautiful song.”
“I’m gonna go hang out with my real friend: Countess LuAnn Delesseps!”
What did you think about the premiere? How does it stack up against the other versions? Who’s your favorite? Who’s your least favorite?