After what seemed like another lengthy production hiatus, The Real Housewives of Atlanta is back for its 17th season on Bravo. This time around, we’ve got some new blood mixed in with some OGs. Premiering Easter Sunday, the show is in its resurrection era after a few seasons of falling flat. The season has the potential to shape up as one of the best since Season 6. It’s been a long time coming, but Atlanta may regain its crown.

The new cast is turning out to be a chef’s kiss

This season’s newbies are Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole and reality TV veteran and singer K. Michelle. Neither is new to Atlanta. Pinky, a Baltimore transplant, has longstanding business roots in the area and ties to several of the cast members, namely Shamea Morton Mwangi, Phaedra Parks and Kelli Ferrell, the latter due to them being in the restaurant business. And we know K. Michelle from shaking tables throughout her time on Love & Hip Hop and her online beefs with anyone who dares to try her.

In the premiere episode, both ladies bring the razzle-dazzle. It seems K. Michelle is trying to semi-retire some of her firecracker ways and ease into the Bravo social circle. While we don’t necessarily want K. eviscerating the cast with her one-liners each episode, we do want her to keep it real and not be afraid to get in the mix. Already, K. Michelle is bringing the comedy, most notably in one scene alongside Charles Oakley. Those two seem to make an unexpected dynamic duo with their fodder. Whatever is going to transpire between her and Drew Sidora has yet to unfold, but it’ll be the battle of which peach in the A has the better vocals.

What we hope to see from K. Michelle is her forming genuine friendships with a few women on the cast. She’s long been known to be able to stand alone and hold her own. But what makes a good housewife is her ability to manage conflict and still maintain relationships. A softer side of K., in her role as a wife and mother, learning to get along with women — mixed with her hilarity and shade — would round her out well.

We didn’t know what to expect from Pinky, but she’s turning out to be a pleasant surprise. She has enough juicy business drama to keep us tuned in with the ever-evolving dealings of Slutty Vegan and her recent bankruptcy filing, but she also quickly gets into the mess with the cast. Newbies are typically hazed or try too hard to have moments. Pinky is effortless. She has the makings of what a peach holder needs to shine: the business acumen, the family, the connections and the personality. Hopefully, she learns from her good friend Shamea’s downfalls during her first season as a full-time housewife and really bites into her peach, versus letting it rot.

But the cast is crowded

Despite enjoying the new girls, the cast seems a bit crowded. With 42 minutes per episode, depending on commercial breaks, it’s a lot of personal storyline to try to fit in, combined with getting to know two new full-time cast members in a condensed season. Gone are the glory days of Real Housewives when we got 25 episodes. Nowadays, we get 18 max in a good season. Eight characters on this show is too much. We need to revert back to Seasons 5-6 and keep it at six peach holders. That’s more than enough story to follow.

Already over the Shamea of it all

Shamea has been the biggest disappointment in RHOA casting since Marlo Hampton transitioned from friend to full-time after a decade on the show and traded in her obsession with fashion for being obsessed with curating a beef with Kandi Burruss. Shamea’s disappointing first full-time season should be studied. She preferred to play second fiddle to Porsha to stay in good standing with her inconsistent friend rather than lean into her greatness. And in the premiere episode, it seems more of the same.

The self-proclaimed female Jamie Foxx and Atlanta’s best friend is now BFFs with Kelli, Porsha’s nemesis, which is already strategic and problematic. Both Shamea and Porsha make it clear in their confessionals and respective conversations with other cast members that they aren’t interested in reconciling but want to remain cordial. However, Shamea is still making her fallout with Porsha — and how she’ll interact with her as a result — a focal point of her storyline, and we’re already over it. She also gets into a tiff with Drew Sidora in the premiere episode as if trying to prove to herself and the audience that she’s not to be played with. The issue is that she came in hot toward Drew, seemingly unwarranted, so the attitude is misplaced.

The ongoing issue with Shamea, throughout her entire time on the show, is that she seems more concerned with being liked and putting on this “I want to be cool with everybody” facade, and it’s not doable. She has what it takes to actually be the quintessential peach holder, but she’s not secure enough in who she is or willing to be real enough to be so.

Phaedra’s performance antics remain

From the moment we met her in Season 3, when Phaedra Parks lied about her due date to cover up the fact that she got pregnant before getting married, the performance has continued. However, viewers remain mixed as Phaedra wants to present both as a Southern belle and a city girl.

Fresh off Junebug-gate from last season, she and Angela Oakley are in a weird place. Phaedra insists she had nothing to do with spreading rumors about Angela’s husband, Charles, cheating on her, while Angela says Phaedra sent her goons to threaten her at an Atlanta Hawks game. This dominoes into a story about Phaedra being able to prove that such never happened because she was able to pull the security tapes from said game to disprove Angela’s version of events. When a producer asks what was on the alleged security tapes, Phaedra admits in the confessional that she didn’t actually view them.

Phaedra has long been able to mask what’s going on in her real life — i.e., her ex-husband’s fraudulent activities, issues as a lawyer, etc. — with colloquialisms, images of her making jams and lemonade on Sundays, and overall fallacies. Yes, she’s entertaining. But the lines between real and fake in her world have always been blurred. And this season, she may finally be confronted with it — and we’re here to see it.

Why watch?

There are highs and lows with each season, and while some of what is taking place is frustrating, there’s overall hope. Angela remains an MVP. She seems to have gotten Charles together about his shenanigans last season, and he’s stepping up to the plate. We can always count on Cynthia “50 Cynt” Bailey to give us a good read and a good look. Kelli is short but mighty. Drew remains constant with her aloofness, yet she always gives a strong storyline. And we will see Porsha finally step into her queer years after the Season 9 drama with her and Kandi. That’s been a long time coming — but keep the storylines going, Porsha.