The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 14 is over, and the show didn't leave much of an impression on most viewers. The housewives from past RHOA seasons cast long shadows, and lately, the series seems to keep missing the mark with viewers. During the show's heyday, OGs, such as the controversial Nene Leakes, Kim Zolciak-Biermann, Phaedra Parks, Cynthia Bailey, and Porsha Williams, entertained by arguing at reunions. Their classic RHOA moments still live on via Internet memes and clips. However, unfortunately, the current housewives face comparisons to the former cast every year.
RHOA managed to keep some housewives from the show's peak, including Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore, and Shereé Hampton. A notorious friend of the show, Marlo Hampton (who recently posted about BravoCon at Instagram), was bumped up to a housewife role, to give the show a little more drama. However, that wasn’t enough to make this season stand out. All that being said, The Real Housewives of Atlanta had a tall order to fill this season. Last season, viewers thought that the show was dull. So, the underwhelming season 14 is still a vast improvement.
Flop: Sanya Richards-Ross vs Drew
Sanya is the newest housewife to join the RHOA cast. Fans thought that the decorated Olympian and businesswoman would bring new energy to the group, but her petty spats with Drew in season 14 left fans unimpressed. Drew was often at odds with most of the cast in previous seasons, which made her the least favorite of the series' housewives. However, in this installment, Sanya's behavior towards Drew caused viewers to take Drew's side. The feud stemmed from Sanya rescinding Drew's invite to her photo shoot at the last minute, after a previous argument between the two in New York.
Instead of meeting with Drew one-on-one to discuss their issues, Sanya waited to confront Drew about their problems in front of the other housewives. Fans quickly called out Sanya's duplicitous behavior, claiming that she only started drama with Drew in order to try and stay on the show, and avoided conflict with Marlo, who exhibited worse behavior. There is no word on whether Sanya secured her peach for season 15, but fans will not be disappointed if she gets replaced.
Flop: Apollo's Return
Phaedra and Apollo Nida’s marriage was once at the center of some of the most dramatic RHOA storylines. Apollo’s return to the show came after his much-publicized 2014 conviction for conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud, and his issues intrigued viewers. Viewers were eager for him to discuss his conviction, but the only thing he did during his brief return was blast Phaedra for not supporting him after he was found guilty. Apollo’s anticlimactic return to the show this season was unnecessary, since Phaedra is no longer in the cast.
Flop: Marlo Got Her Peach
After being a "friend of" for years, Marlo earned her peach, but she didn't bring her RHOA “A” game. Marlo called out Drew Sidora’s husband, Ralph Pittman, for not adopting his stepson. Fans quickly pointed out that Marlo kicked her nephews out of her house this season, so her remarks about Ralph’s parenting skills seemed hypocritical. Marlo’s confrontation with Ralph was not the only behavior that fans took issue with this season. Viewers were disappointed that Marlo spent most of her screen time speaking negatively about Kandi and her husband, Todd Burruss.
It was even more upsetting to learn that none of the negative things she said about Kandi were remotely true. At the reunion, Marlo backtracked on every insult she hurled at Kandi and Todd. It was painfully evident that Marlo tried to manufacture some drama (with the help of Shereé) for the sake of entertainment. Ultimately, Marlo’s comments about Kandi and Todd were a bad move for the new housewife.
Win: RHOA Trip to Jamaica
Although this season was disappointing in some aspects, there were enough entertaining moments to keep fans tuning in each week. The RHOA trip to Jamaica was a highlight for this season, giving the cast a chance to confront their issues with each other. The trip also included the partners of the housewives, and friends of the show, which made the episodes abroad more interesting. Drew was injured during a race, Ralph got called out by the group for disrespecting Drew, Kenya invited someone new to the group dinner, and Kandi called Marlo out for the negative things that she said about Todd.
Win: She By Sheree (On-Camera)
The moment that all the RHOA housewives and fans were waiting for finally arrived. This season, fans watched Shereé plan her leisure line’s runway debut. Shereé unveiled “She By Shereé,” after fourteen years of teasing her fashions. Even RHOA’s “gone with the wind fabulous” Kenya gave the line her stamp of approval, going as far as to help Shereé get her fashion show together. Shereé’s messy preparation for the launch, and Kenya’s back and forth with Shereé’s assistant, Rawan, was a standout moment during the season. All the work she put in culminated in a successful runway debut.
Flop: She By Shereé (Off-Camera)
When the cameras were rolling, the “She By Sheree” fashion show was a win for the series. The "She By Shereé" fiasco was a storyline that the fans wanted closure on. However, Shereé’s big accomplishment went awry once the site finally launched. Fans visited the virtual shop on launch day, hoping to secure some merchandise, but the website shut down shortly after its launch. Some viewers accused Shereé's of selling the same types of fast fashions that are available at Amazon, but with high-end prices. The notorious fashion line came to fruition, and Shereé was triumphant, but the clothing line’s disastrous release as the show was airing ruined the moment for fans.
This season, the show teased Marlo’s debut as a housewife, the long-awaited “She By Shereé” launch, a new housewife, and most importantly, juicy housewife drama. Even Apollo Nida had a brief appearance on the show, where he slammed his ex-wife and RHOA alum, Phaedra. The show stacked up some RHOA OGs, and made callbacks to classic RHOA storylines like, “She By Sheree,” but it was not enough to make the newer housewives and their storylines meet the standard of the show’s past seasons. This season of RHOA had moments that made some episodes worth watching, but all-in-all, season 14 was a flop.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 14 had high points, but not enough to generate the kinds of thrills that the series provided during its peak. With rumblings on the Internet that Porsha may be returning for season 15, there may be an opportunity for the show to live up to its reputation. Nothing can compete with the past seasons, as they are still fresh in everyone's memories, but Porsha's return might make the upcoming season more entertaining than its predecessor.