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For Bravo, thriving
on the do in Dixie

Just how real it all may be is beside the point

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Oct 22, 2009

It's debatable just how much of "The Real Housewives" franchise is actually real, from their hair to their chests to the fact that many of the women featured in the series actually work outside the house or aren't even married.

But the reality franchise has turned into a real hit for Bravo, where season two of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" wraps up tonight at 10 p.m.

There are now five editions of the "Housewives" franchise, including the most recent addition, Washington, D.C., which will premiere next year. The New Jersey wives are the top-rated, averaging 1.9 million adults 18-49 in their first season, but Orange County, New York and Atlanta also draw strong numbers.

"Atlanta" has averaged 1.56 million women 18-49 this season, according to Nielsen, up 189 percent from the first season of "Real Housewives of Orange County" in 2006. "Atlanta" ranks first in its timeslot on basic cable among both women and adults 18-49 during its run.

That's undoubtedly why NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has cleared a syndicated version of "Housewives," based on the first 100 episodes of the series, in about 60 percent of the country. It will debut next year.

While there are differences in each "Housewives" franchise, the main driver is conflict, between the women and their spouses and their children, and there's plenty of that in tonight's finale.

Sheree's new clothing line is about to bow, but Nene turns into a drama queen at the show, fighting with Kandi and later Kim.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ESPN	“College Football” (S)	Good ACC game between Florida State and North Carolina.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	The residents must explain when a burn victim dies in the ER.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Office” (C)	Jim and Pam receive surprising news upon return from their honeymoon.
9 p.m.	Comedy Central	“The Jeff Dunham Show” (C)	Series premiere. The ventriloquist gets his own show.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Private Practice” (D)	Violet has bad memories after she counsels a pregnant rape victim.
10 p.m.	Bravo	“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (R)	Season finale. NeNe and Kandi get into it as Sheree debuts her clothing line.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Country star Tim McGraw performs.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Ghost Whisperer” (D)	Melinda helps a man who thinks his sister is haunting him.
8 p.m.	CW	“Smallville” (D)	Oliver is kidnapped and later he’s jailed for murder.
8 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Wizards of Waverly Place” (K)	Justin tries to complete wizard training by becoming a monster hunter.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Medium” (D)	Joe thinks Allison is overly concerned with a kidnapped boy.
10 p.m.	USA	“White Collar” (D)	Series premiere. A con man helps solve white collar crimes in order to avoid jail time.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
3:30 p.m.	NBC	“College Football” (S)	Notre Dame tries to beat Boston College for the first time since 2000.
7:30 p.m.	ESPN	“College Football” (S)	SEC game between Florida and Mississippi State.
7:30 p.m.	Versus	“College Football” (S)	A game between two good-but-overlooked teams: BYU and TCU.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Cops in Vegas try to chase down a stolen car.
9 p.m.	CBS	“48 Hours Mystery” (N)	The first of back-to-back episodes.
10:15 p.m.	HBO	“Pacquiao/Cotto 24/7” (S)	First episode in the buildup to the big Pacquiao/Cotto fight.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
1:30 p.m.	ABC	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	A Sprint Cup race from Martinsville, Va.
8:15 p.m.	NBC	“Sunday Night Football” (S)	The Cardinals travel to the Big Apple to take on the Giants.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Desperate Housewives” (D)	Gaby does whatever she can do to prove that she’s a good mother.
9 p.m.	HBO	“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (C)	Larry and Jerry kick around ideas for the “Seinfeld” reunion.
9 p.m.	Showtime	“Dexter” (D)	Dexter tries to solve the Trinity Killer case by himself.
10 p.m.	AMC	“Mad Men” (D)	A key client returns to Sterling Cooper.
10 p.m.	VH1	“My Antonio” (R)	Season (and hopefully series) finale. Antonio selects his winner.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.