when bravo tried to give real housewives of atlanta After a soft reboot last year, no one could have predicted how far things would go off the rails.
You had Porsha in the throes of a divorce, unable to film the show inside her home. A scantily clad insurance agent threatened Kenya with a gun, and it turned into a revenge porn tale that is still playing out in court. It was a mess, but at this point, we’re treating it as a test for the greatness that we have in store for Season 17.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 17 Episode 1, “A Warm Welcome” ushered in another new era for the beloved franchise, and this time they really mean it. They’ve got reality TV experts, questionable songwriters, and a bankrupt restaurant owner ready to give us everything we need. Let’s dive in!
What happened on The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 17 Episode 1?
RHOA season 17 got off to a great start, with Porsha inviting everyone over to the mansion she won during her divorce from Simon. After fighting tooth and nail for the house and the rights to film in it, they wasted no time throwing a spectacular “Mystic Island” dinner party. It was here that he met Love & Hip Hop’s K. Michelle was introduced to the group, but a little bit of season 16 drama was still up in the air. It’s a new season, but not everyone is starting with a clean slate.
Bravo, K. welcome michelle
The worst kept secret in the bravoverse. Michelle’s jump from Love & Hip Hop to Housewives was unprecedented. We’ve certainly strayed too far from the gates of Coto de Caza with this casting choice, but in the premiere, Kay made it clear that she’s in a different place than the last time we saw her on TV.
These days, she is focusing on her country music career. Also, plot twist: he’s married. Two weeks before filming, she tied the knot with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Dr. Kastan. After watching her try to find love at the Queen’s Court, he clearly realized it was time to commit for real.
Porsha met Kay during a photoshoot and extended an invitation to the Mystic Island party, which led to her first introduction to the rest of the Real Housewives of Atlanta cast.
Although K didn’t mention L&HH specifically, she did say she felt a little nervous being introduced to a new group of Atlanta reality stars. She’s been burned in the past—is it going to happen again?
Shamiya has a new BFF
Watching Porsha and Shamia’s decades-long friendship fall apart last season felt like watching a slow-motion car crash. But when they dropped the bomb that their moms also eat beef, it all started to make a lot more sense. It had been a long time since this breakup. The situation worsened after reunification.
Shamia explained that she was late in reacting to some aspects of Porsha’s reunion. She looked at it again and got lost in her emotions again. Rookie mistake.
His second mistake was trying to reach out to Porsha to resolve it via text. It didn’t go well, and their last conversation didn’t end on a positive note.
With Porsha on ice, Shamia came into season 17 with a new BFF: Kelly, the queen of waffles! Somehow, Kelly has been promoted to bestie status, and she’s not the only person Shamiya has.
In the premiere, Shamia introduced us to Season 17’s second newbie, Pinky. We’re still not sure whether we should thank them for it or hold them responsible for this new addition. The jury is still out on that one.
Porsha brought a “friend of a friend” to her party
Porsha’s Mystic Island party, which she mistakenly called “Majestic Island”, was designed as a couples’ event. Everyone thought it was a bit strange hosting her in the mansion she inherited from her ex-husband. Is it too soon? Not in Porsha’s eyes.
With only a handful of actual couples in the group, some of these ladies were struggling to find a plus one — including Porsha. She introduced us to a guy named Mike, who she called her “friend friend.”
Of course, this is the first time we’re seeing him with this “friend of a friend” and of course, it’s just a coincidence that he’s an actor who previously appeared on the OWN dating series Ready to Love. We got to see some amazing acting from them tonight and it was totally energizing Kenya and Walter.
Similarly, Kelly was seen with a guy who everyone said they recognized from dating other women around Atlanta. He is a man of the community.
It seems Phaedra also brought along some hired help. His plus one was “Che Che” aka Chek Kon. She first met him on a speed-dating program on Married to Medicine, and he has since become a reliable, on-screen plus-one. Are they really dating? Who knows.
Meanwhile, Cynthia and Drew have their dates via FaceTime. Drew called her alleged boyfriend, Blake, on her phone, and apparently, he hung around her throughout the party. He kept that ring light plugged in and kept his smile on for three hours. He is a good “friend” and Drew’s phone has good battery.
Shamiya lands on the hot seat at the Mystic Island party
With Shamea and Porsha’s relationship in bad shape, she felt hesitant about the Mystic Island party. The fact that her husband could not come due to a “rerouted” flight made the situation even more stressful.
It turns out, Shamiya didn’t have to worry too much about her former bestie. Porsha hugged him and said she felt isolated after their last conversation. She was willing to look at their friendship from a place of “openness.”
Porsha also brought up the awkward apology video that Shamia uploaded to YouTube shortly after the reunion. She thought it sounded honest, but not everyone agreed with that idea.
Drew apologized on YouTube and accused Shamia of targeting him. RHOA editors put the receipts right there in the episode. Shamia of course criticized Drew and accused him of lying tendencies.
Cynthia asked Shamiya if she wanted to pull Drew aside to talk about it. He had no interest. Instead, Shamia turned things around by calling out Drew for something he said about Angela.
Season 16 storylines haunting the group
It turns out, Drew went to Phaedra after the reunion and said she doesn’t believe the Junebug/Godfather of Atlanta allegations made by Angela. Receipts were “not being received.”
Drew admitted to saying this, but Angela already knew about it. Either way, this conversation reopened the door for Angela and Phaedra to resurface their drama and add new allegations into the mix.
At the reunion, Angela claimed that one of Phaedra’s friends had insulted her at an Atlanta Hawks game, but at the Mystic Island party, Phaedra claimed she had video proof from the arena’s security cameras that it never happened.
That’s a pretty big claim for a guy who says he’s not the Godfather of Atlanta, but in a confessional he admitted he was cheating.
Phaedra admitted, “I didn’t watch the tapes, but I asked to review the tapes.”
Despite this, Porsha didn’t let the drama get out of hand. She encouraged the women to present their questionable debates for another day. After all, this is the first episode. They’ve had plenty of time to work on all this, and Porsha said in a confessional that there’s more shade coming soon.
Porsha reflected on the Mystic Island party, saying, “I feel like I was a gracious host.”
She added, “I wasn’t too squeamish. I wasn’t reading anyone. I was saving all that for later.”
real housewives of atlanta Airs Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo. You can stream it the next day on Peacock.
TELL US – What were your thoughts on the Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 17 Premiere? Do you like K. Enjoyed seeing Michelle step into the group? Do you think we’ll see Shamia and Porsha’s friendship strengthen again this season?