There was never much doubt that The Real Housewives of Atlanta would be back for a fourth season.

Averaging nearly three million viewers per episode last season, it is the most popular of the Housewives franchise, so its renewal was certain.

What wasn’t a sure thing, though, was the issue of whether all six ladies (Phaedra Parks, Kim Zolciak, Kandi Burruss, Sheree Whitfield, Cynthia Bailey and NeNe Leakes) would be coming back. Since the shows inception, cast members have been added, and some, like DeShawn Snow and Lisa Wu Hartwell, have been told that their services were no longer needed.

Curiosity about the cast changing rose yet again after NeNe hinted that she planned to leave the show, saying “contracts can be broken” in response to ex-friend Kim’s quip that they were all legally bound to return. True, but seems that in this case, NeNe's is still intact.

Production for the show is set to begin this month.

(Photo: Bravo)