Every year when the RHOA starts filming, there is always a bunch of drama. There are new people being tested, seemingly at times just to keep the regulars on their dramatic toes, revolving peaches and often times diva behavior with regard to contracts and who the veterans will and won’t film with. Most seasons, the drama and turmoil can be blamed on the housewives, or more specifically one specific housewife who wants to control her edit and run the show.
This year, despite making way too many concessions to one housewife, the straw that broke the moose’s back occurred. The actual showrunner, Carlos King threw in the towel after the last reunion and whether or not it was entirely idea, he took his expertise and experience and prepared to start a new chapter in his career.
When Bravo finally reached their limits with Nene negotiations and called her bluff, she ended up “doing me” which so far consists of vacationing in Miami while explaining how happy she is with her husband/do-boy whom she doesn’t have to pay to date her. This of course makes one wonder where exactly HIS income comes from and also why she is mean tweeting about the current RHOA if he life is such a dream now. 
Bravo, hired a new showrunner who apparently has no experience with the RHOA brand of crazy ( a horrible decision, really.) and chaos ensued. For once, the chaos was mostly the fault of production. My sources agreed that the plan of the new production crew was to film a bunch of stuff and see what worked. Apparently, the Bravo folks up in New York City were not thrilled with anything. Well, they did like Kim Fields, but that was about it. So a bit over a week ago, the new showrunner was let go, and Carlos King is back in the saddle.
Frankly, this is the best news of this filming season. I have been crossing my fingers and working my sources trying to be reassured that Claudia Jordan might return. Carlos seemed to like Claudia and was vocal about his support at the beginning of last season when promoting the show on local radio. Sadly, my sources indicated that Claudia will not be returning. Word is that Claudia began negotiating other options shortly after the other ladies began receiving pickup letters. Remember when she went to NYC with Demetria and met with production companies? Word is that she was in talks for possible shows both with Demetria and on her own. So while she may have moved on from RHOA, I hold out hope that she will turn up on our TVs somewhere in the future.
As for the usual game of musical peaches, Kenya, Cynthia, Kandi remain as close to sure things as we ever have at this point in the season. I’m told Kim Field has officially signed on. All the other potentials have fallen by the wayside. So that leaves Phaedra, Porsha and even Cynthia’s sister Mallory to play hot potato for a peach. Andy seems to love Phaedra so she’s probably going to end up with one. Carlos loves Porsha so things are much improved for her.
As for all the hoopla over Sheree and Marlo coming to Cynthia’s eyewear launch party, I would not read too much into that. Just like on other franchises, like RHOBH for example, we’ve seen the brief appearance or two by Adrienne Maloof, or Taylor Armstrong. Didn’t we see Kelly Bensimon at an even on RHONY this season? I don’t think we need to get too concerned about that unless we see them again at other things in the future. That said, if Carlos felt like giving a giant fuck you to Nene, bringing those two back would certainly fit the bill. As usual, all we can do is wait and see.
Do y’all think Carlos will be able to right this sinking ship and wring out one more good season of RHOA?
Woman, you bout gave me a heart attack. For a sec I thought Nene was back!
Me too, I had my angry comment all thunk up in my head! PHEW!!
Me too! I was about to say Noe! Just Noe!
So did I. I was like “aw damn” in my Martn voice. I wouldn’t be able to take it.
I agree. Geez I may need a pace maker.
Me too! I was get’n all riled up! LOL!
As long as he doesn’t bring back NeNe it will be a good season.
I think he can do it. Any enemy of Nene’s is a friend of mine!
I don’t think we will have to worry about that. While I loved claudia on there I think she wasn’t a good fit for that show. That said, I honestly think all 5 ladies will be able to showcase their own storylines mixed with a small amount of drama for fun. I actually am ok with Porsha since we don’t have Nene. I’m just happy Kenya, Cynthia and Kandi are the trinity while Kandi will be the go between with Phaedra and Porsha (I can tolerate them as long as they are not dominant in the show). Hopefully Marlo can make a few more friend of appearances. She deserves her peach with all the drama and iconic moments she brought to the show. Sheree…meh, no need for her if Nene isn’t around.
Sware84 well spoken, you expressed my thoughts better. I will love to see Marlo as FOH any time , any day but not delusional Sheree. Sheree is always bitter. Barbie doll Porsha is alright but u have to constantly fast forward Phaedra’s scenes. Am positive Carlos will deliver season 8 in style.
Porsha seemed to mesh well with the ladies when Nene did not join them on the vacation. Everybody has a role to play and she doesn’t mind being the “ditsy blonde” out the group.
Poor Carlos. Can only assume he got a big bump in his paycheck, since he held all the cards. And he must have some crazy stories about all the skeletons in the Bravo closet!
I’m curious to see Kim Fields but if she makes me question my love of Tootie, I’ll be pissed. Can’t feel good about the Huxtables anymore, keeping fingers crossed that the Facts girls weren’t all dealing dope on the side or something crazy like that.
Damn, Tamera, that was just plain good…!!!
TT, you stay bringing the tea! Like how do you find this stuff out?!!! (strictly rhetorical question). I think it’s hilarious that Nene’s fabulous life has time for her to trash RHOA. I’m really hoping Kim Fields gets lots of air time. I miss my childhood I guess? Thanks for the updates!
I’m hoping Carlos is able to bring Bravo & Sheree to a happy medium. Sheree coming back would be good tv. Maybe Marlo could be a FOH, if she and Kenya are still friendly. Carlos seems like a fan of hers.
It sure sounds as if getting this show done is one giant cock-up. (I love that expression…bless the Brits!)
Anyway, with Carlos back and Nene gone it does sound as if the show has taken giant steps toward being good again. I confess to learning about Carlos from your posts.
I normally sit on the sidelines and observe but jings, Tamara…you nearly brought on a stroke with this tea. Like Hot Toddy, I thought Nene was back too! Love your site and your morals.
Hah. Thanks. I am hardly a standard bearer for morals though. I urge you to raise the bar on that. 🙂
Well your stand on the Kim Richard issue is top notch in my book Missus.
OMG…was scared for moment to read the post. You had fun with that, didn’t you Tamra? 🙂
SO SORRY…YOU KNOW I MEANT T-A-M-A-R-A…NOT Tamra.
:) Maaaaaybe …
On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 3:31 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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You funny !
Whoa, the suspense was real there for a minute. I thought you were going to say Nene was back. Then I exhaled. And you know, with the next breath I realized by Carlos returning, that means the witch is truly dead. #happydance
Battle of the bloggers!
It will be interesting to see which ATL blogger truly has the best tea (and sources) since your information and that of your comrade is completely different. Time will tell.
Ha! I haven’t read what others are saying. I’ll go check it out. I do know Sheree won’t have a peach…I’ve gotten a bit of clarification since writing this piece. 🙂
Edited to Add: I think SFTA and I have similar reports on most things. It remains to be seen how much camera time Sheree and Marlo get but neither is expected to have a peach.
It looks like she is the source of the “Sheree threw water on Kenya” story at Cynthia’s party. I had heard there was conflict between the two but nothing about water throwing. That said, Atlien is often at some of these filmings and knows other attendees so she may have a witness to said conflict. I heard that Sheree was desperate for camera time so who knows what exactly happened.
As for Kim Fields, we are definitely hearing different things about her contract. I’ve heard she just recently signed. I have heard that she has been rather nonconfrontational (aka boring) during her filming, but that production seems to love her and is all in.
We shall have to wait and see.
I wouldn’t have minded an episode of Sheree and her shatoe… traipsing thru the rent-to-own…
Hey there North, Tamara has the best tea 🙂
My money is on Tamara, all day every day. #nodoubtsonthatbattle
I saw that lead photo with Nene and my blood nearly pressure went through the roof, LOL.
Finally, nene is gone. Still can’t figure out why porsha is still on the show.
SMH
Ann, For the life of me, I could not understand it myself. Just proves if you are a felon or a THOT, Bravo loves you. Look how hard the good ones have to fight to stay on. They would probably be so pleased with all Phaedras and Porshas. Come to think of it…Claudia is too good for Bravo. It’s really better for her in the long run. She is gong to go out there and knock our socks off. Then Bravo will be hating it. Too bad, so sad.
TT, I too shat a truckload of bricks when I saw your headline and the Evil Nene photo! I’m gonna need to buy more toilet paper after that!
Yeah, she got me good. So good, I was still unhinged when I went to leave my comment, I left out an important letter in her name. Leaving out that “a” changed it from Tamara to Tamra. I nearly lost my lunch when I realized that of all people…I had called her Tamra. 🙁 I am surprised that I am not in the WLS. I actually don’t think I should even be talking about it. So…bye girl. 😉
Tamara, I blame YOU for sucking me back into RHOA! Such good tea. My initial thought at the headline was not NeNe, but Claudia, so color me disappointed! But I gotta see Tootie, so that’s a plus.
Only she doesn’t HAVE a contract. She is a day rate employee. So your thoughts are irrelevant.
On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 5:40 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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You tell em Tamara, Sheree is selling her used shoes on instagram, she’s not holding out for ANYTHING. This girl is strapped!
Selling used shoes, Owes the IRS and has construction liens on the Shatoe.
On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 6:33 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Yes Tamara, get her together. I read that post and was like…are we talking about the same Sheree that can’t get her house finished. She’s not pulling rank on Bravo to only be on air with a full time housewife contract. She didn’t get on the 100th show thing because of her demands and they moved on without her. I actually don’t mind Sheree but i am hoping for Marlo maybe in season 9 too eventually get a peach and this season if she makes an appearance or two or becomes a friend of then fine she always brings good tv. I don’t like Porsha but I can deal with her ditzy dizzy small head without Nene in the picture. After seeing the manila episode last season I thought that it was the perfect blend of a little drama, a little shade, lots of drunken fun and more light hearted energy without the dark cloud. I hoped that season 8 would head in that direction and with this tea it’s quite possible we will get a fair balance especially with carlos back on board. This is a relief TBH. Thanks for the flavorful tea.
Day rate…sounds funny
“The straw that broke the moose’s back” – haha! Excellent tea, TT!
Tamara,
Today on Periscope Claudia said she was originally offered under $100k to be a full-time housewife and she refused and negotiated all the way up until the day before the reunion for an amount that was six figures.
She also said most first season housewives work around $75,000 after some asked if that’s how much Porsha made and she said that’s about right. Then she went on to say they try to get rid of her every year (she’s always on the bubble was her exact words) and her raises are little to none.
Then she mentioned a three-year talent hold after your first contract, where she said you still have to be picked up every year but you can’t do another reality show (non-compete clause) and she really wasn’t really feeling it plus the raise was “minimal”. She even explained the wiring of the money to her bank account after the reunion taped.
Claudia is spilling all the RHOA tea one Periscope at a time…
I’ve heard similar stories about Claudia’s contract. The issue I have with this story is how Bravo allegedly didn’t make her sign a contract until the season was filmed. I’ve HEARD that happened, but it doesn’t really seem plausible.
Also, FTR, $100K is six figures. Porsha did not have a F/T contract last season. She worked for day rates. At the day rate of $1,500 a day, she didn’t make a ton. I don’t believe that Claudia’s offer was 100K she could have made more than that working for $1,500 a day.
On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 6:30 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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To be honest, all of it sounded odd to me. When she started talking figures I was honestly like THATS IT? Like if I knew person A was making $5 and contributing nothing and person B was making $6 and being a bitch and trying to call the shots and I was telling an actual story (or trying to) and “turning up” and only offered $1 I would have laughed in their face.
But that’s just me…
They really don’t know what each other or making. Nor does anyone else. Sure they might secretly tell each other. but they lie.
On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 11:28 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Sheree and Marlo is all what this show needs.
UGH.
I suppose if Sheree gets charged with tax evasion or something during filming she might bring something interesting… Bravo does love a good arrest story.
On Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 7:56 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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UGH, UGH, To Sheree and Marlo. I hope to never see either of these frauds on tv.
I can’t look at those two without remembering their dumb fight in Africa.
Andy loves Apollo 🙂 i bet we see phone calls and maybe even a prison visit with Phaedra and the boys. Aiden amuses Andy.
Im just tired of Atlanta transplants. Give me true Atliens! Not actresses or models from Cali and NYC. Atlanta is a great place, i wished they showcased the city more. Like a Braves game or Six Flags, Stone Mountain.
Nene and Phaedra are from Athens The only true Atlantan on the show is Porsha.
On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:04 AM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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It’s just so boring when Phaedra comes on with her holiness and all the darkness she portrays. Enough already. Lose her. Please!
When I saw that heading (before reading further) I let out a long groan. Then I read on. TT you sure know how to make a girl “clutch the pearls” lol. But I will still read all of your wonderful recaps here. I am trying to wean myself away from the RH franchises. It’s fun reading your recaps. But I am glad “evilene” aka Nene will not be returning. Everybody can do without her level of negativity. Now she can devote herself fulltime to being the “star” that she is. Maybe she can go work for Trump.
Nene. Come and gone. Remember where you came from Nene. Listen to your sister, Nene you are a drama queen. Not true to yourself. Bye Nene leakes
Bout time Execs got their heads out of their hoohaws! Welcome back Carlos! Let’s rock this Season with Positivity and displays of Beautiful friends ships and glamour! Fighting is so passé. Its been over done. I think we’re pretty much over the bickering…endlessly. How bout some fabulous trips…Fashion shows…and some hot boyfriend storylines.Some awesome scenes about Claudia’s new endeavors! She rocked those pics. I miss some beefcake…even if he was a dunce..that Apollo was sure good looking. IJS!
Yes, Apollo is very attractive. I can understand why the “southern bell” fell for him even though he was an ex-convict and not too bright.
I hope Kim Fields will wipe all memories of the ‘moose’ from my brain. Glad Carlos is back & wish him success!
Kenya has an event on Saturday so it’ll be interesting to see which ladies show up since it’s being filmed for the show. Hopefully we’ll finally see Kim fields film with the ladies.
Carlos seems to know how to make shows worth watching. I would watch soley because his name was attached to the show.
I’m sorry Claudia won’t be on the show, but I may give it a try anyway.
Anyone know if ms rich nene ever made good on her promise to donate money to the detroit schools, the bet she initiated.?
Yes. Everyone knows. She did not.
On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 5:19 AM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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I can’t believe I almost missed this. Good tea!
I think Carlos can get things back on track, but it will probably take a little while.
We love Claudia Jordan. You made a huge mistake by not signing her back on. Now we have got to put up with NeNe and her four faces. She’s not two faced. I’m not going to watch. Phaedra is just boring and should be tired of lying. Good grief, this is season 8. She’s been lying every since she signed on.