‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ Cast Shuffle: Who’s In, Who’s Out?

The Real Housewives of Atlanta finally has its casting for season 16!

The long-running series has undergone a major casting shakeup, with just two stars from last season — Kenya Moore and Drew Sidora — returning to the Housewives role when production resumes this month.

Joining them will be Porsha Williams, who returns to the series after a two-season absence (and in the midst of a messy divorce from ex-husband Simon Guobadia).

His return came with an overall talent deal with NBCUniversal to partner on scripted project opportunities across the company’s broadcast and streaming properties. “I am incredibly grateful for the vision and trust that NBCUniversal has placed in me to be an integral part of their family,” she said in a statement in February. “I can’t wait to be back on The Real Housewives of Atlantaand show the world my new world! »

So who else is in the cast? On Tuesday, May 14, Bravo revealed the other names. They include author, businesswoman and podcast host Brittany Eady, restaurateur and Food Network alumna Kelli Ferrell, and Angela Oakley, wife of NBA great Charles Oakley.

Shamea Morton Mwangi, who appeared on the show in a guest and friend role dating back to season 5, has been transformed into a full-time housewife.

In the role of a friend, there will be a familiar face from the franchise: model Cynthia Bailey, who was a housewife from season 3 to season 13 and led the initial casting of Ultimate Real Housewives girls trip.

Production on season 15 begins this month and the series premiere is scheduled for 2025.

Exit RHOA will be Shereé Whitfield, Marlo Hampton and Sanya Richards-Ross. All three joined as full-time housewives in season 14, although Hampton has been a friend/recurring guest for years while Whitfield was a founding cast member of RHOA when it premiered in 2008 and has appeared as Housewife for several seasons since.

As PEOPLE broke the news of Hampton’s departure, Reality said in a statement shared with PEOPLE: “My contract with The Real Housewives of Atlanta ended at the end of season 15. This hiatus from RHOA is a fresh start, allowing me to participate in new creative entertainment projects focused on my future and not my past.”

Kandi Burruss will not return either and is leaving RHOA after 14 consecutive years on the show. She revealed she was leaving the show at the 2024 Grammys, telling reporters that she had received a contract but made the decision to step down in order to focus on other projects.

“I took a hiatus,” she told PEOPLE exclusively at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards, hinting that she hopes to one day return to the show. “They didn’t have to pause me, I paused myself.”

“I just started working on other things and I was excited about the other things I was working on,” she added. “I loved the fact that I was making deals and doing all that without all that stress. I figured if there was ever a time to go out and try other things, it’s now, because I was already doing a lot of things doing this show, but there’s only so much you can do while you’re filming the show. This time I said, “I’m going to go through with it.”

Production on season 16 of RHOA was delayed in recent months as Bravo and Truly Original producers restructured the cast.

Once a ratings juggernaut for the network, the series’ popularity declined in previous seasons, which many attribute to conflicting casting dynamics. While some expected a The Real Housewives of New Yorkstyle reboot wouldn’t come, executive producer Andy Cohen explained at BravoCon 2023 in November that the series would use certain stars as anchors for a new incarnation.

“I always like to build with what we have,” he said at the time. “I think Atlanta has very strong building blocks that are already there and we have a growth opportunity for Atlanta“.

In February, Cohen, 55, spoke about the future of the franchise while discussing Williams’ return on his Andy SiriusXM Radio channel.

“We have a wonderful cast,” he said. “We have some amazing new girls, and that’s going to look very positive to me going into the new season of Atlantaso stay tuned and you will hear more. ”

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Previous episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta can be streamed on Peacock.