'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Draws Biggest Premiere Ratings for Franchise

Bravo

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta"

There's no slump here. The Real Housewives of Atlanta returned for season four on Sunday night and episode reached the series' highest premiere ratings, according to Nielsen.

The season opener drew 2.9 million total viewers at 9 p.m. on Bravo, a 20-percent improvement from the previous year's comparable telecast. (The third season premiere averaged 2.4 million viewers last October.) About 1.9 million were in the ad-coveted 18-49 demographic, an improvement of 10 percent.

If Atlanta wants to reach its series high, that will be a tall order: that number was reached for the season three finale that aired at the end of January, drawing about 4.4 million to the telecast.

Additionally, the Real Housewives of Atlanta premiere marks the franchise's most-watched season premiere. Considering how many editions there are (Miami, Orange County, Beverly Hills, D.C., Atlanta, New York, New Jersey), that is a difficult feat to accomplish.

Next week's episode sees NeNe taking a break from Atlanta by taking a weekend getaway trip with Cynthia and Kandi in Miami, Phaedra explores opening a funeral business, while Sheree and Kim discuss Kim's plans.