Turning a Show Into a Housewife

No matter what happens, you’ve got to love NeNe.
The irresistible boughetto one of the all-girl supergroup, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” that has taken cable airwaves by storm, NeNe Leakes has a down-home earthiness that people can relate to.
She’s just elegant enough to correctly pronounce the Chablis that she wants to drink, and just street enough to cuss you out if you don’t refill the glass after she’s consumed it.
She’s one of five women that have changed the face of cable TV this fall.
There’s the plastic-barbie antagonist, Kim Zolciak, who has a
mysterious Big Papawho can pay for a $70,000 Escalade after a 10-second phone conversation.
Then we have Lisa Wu Hartwell, a doll of a woman with a thousand-watt smile and personality to match, while her dutiful former NFL husband smiles on command in the background.
There’s also the designated doberman of the group, Sheree Whitfield, an NFL divorcee who has made no secret that she intends to get alot of money from the settlement.
Then there’s the NBA baller’s wife, DeShaun Snow, a likeable girl that smells of new money but who is sweet as pie, except in one humiliating scene where she and Lisa shop and DeShaun throws around her husband’s contract terms (“NBA contracts are guaranteed, NFL’s aren’t) like she was giving recipes for jambalaya.

Ah, but NeNe Leakes, now that’s the one we gravitate to. It’s been rumored that her house maybe foreclosed on (sounds like people we know); her son is a thug (hey, who’s isnt?); her husband’s supposedly done some bad business deals (hey, our president’s made a few). She’s got beef (welcome to the club!): Speaking of which, they say the tiff with Sheree was more philosophical than not; the one with Kim is basically one of convenience for the geniuses over at Bravo (but Kim vs. Lisa is more personal).
The show is based in a far away alternate version of Atlanta where there is no housing crisis and people have enough time on their hands to go to the spa midweek and throw parties on the weekend (Did we mention Lisa Wu’s Master P-like drive and determination to start, like, a gazillion businesses all the while her hair stays perfectly coifed?). Perhaps it’s this fictionalized view of life that has us mesmerized. Either way, it has made the rounds as one of the most talked-about TV shows this year. Now, will Bravo bring it back for Season 2?

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