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Real Housewives' of Atlanta legend Kandi Burruss is dropping names of former Housewives she'd love to see return to the franchise, including OG NeNe Leakes who she admits is "good TV," even if they "don't necessarily get along."
As rumors abound of a major cast shakeup for the upcoming 16th season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kandi Burruss is weighing in on some familiar faces she'd love to see return, including OG Nene Leakes.
Burruss joined the franchise in Season 2 and now sits as the longest-running Housewife across all franchises, a factoid she told Access Hollywood she keeps forgetting all about. Does that make her uniquely qualified to weigh in on casting?
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View StoryEven if it does, Burruss admitted that producers don't tell her anything, but maybe they're listening to what she has to say out in the wild. Never shy about expressing her thoughts or opinions, Burruss opened up about who she'd like to see back.
One name she quickly brought up was Leakes, admitting, "We don't necessarily get along all the time but I think she's good TV." Leakes quickly became one of the franchise's first major breakout stars with her outspoken ways and larger-than-life personality.
The Housewives OG stepped away from the franchise after Season 12 due to a contract dispute. She later sued the franchise for what she called a "toxic" work environment, but has since dropped that.
In fact, Leakes may have set the stage for a possible return more recently by expressing she no longer has any hard feelings for executive producer Andy Cohen. She also recently shared some social media snaps of herself mingling in the Housewives worled with some Dubai ladies, as well as her RHOA family, Porsha Williams and Cynthia Bailey.
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View StoryBailey was among the names Burruss was dropping as part of her RHOA dream team for Season 16. She also threw out the names Kenya Moore and Eva Marcille "to balance out all that energy."
Bailey was on the show from Seasons 3 to 13, while Marcille lingered from Seasons 10 through 13. Moore joined in Season 5 and remains part of the cast to this day.
Also part of the current cast, but not mentioned by Burruss, are Shereé Whitfield, Drew Sidoria, and newcomers Marlo Hampton, and Sanya Richards-Ross. According to Burruss, she believes there's truth to rumors of a mix of "previous cast coming back as well as newbies."
Burruss' comments about a Leakes return echo what she said back in August after Leakes slammed her as someone she doesn't see as "the star," rather suggesting she's better as a supporting player.
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Kandi Burruss on NeNe Leakes Saying She's Not a Star, Who She'd Like Back on RHOA
View Story"I am the longest-running Housewife of any franchise. So, you may not think that I'm good television, but somebody does," Burruss shot back to ET.
"She may be hot when she's with us, but how hot is she when she's not with us?" Burruss added then. "And that's what I would have to say. I think NeNe is amazing. But it's like ... what are you doing other than talking about us?"
That's actually one of the reasons she said she'd like to see Leakes come back to the franchise, "because she has so much to say about us."
Amid a lackluster response to Season 15 from fans, it seems a shakeup of some kind is in order, but it remains to be seen if it will be slight or closer to the major overhaul that hit RHONY, which saw a whole new cast enter for Season 14.
