The Real Reason Real Housewives Of Atlanta Had To Put Filming On Hold

The Real Housewives of, well, any city are known for bringing the drama. Whether it's alcohol-infused bickering, fighting over a he-said-she-said plot, or attacking the character of a castmate, viewers are always in for a tumultuous time.

However, the latest Housewives news didn't stem from any sort of malice between the castmates. The Real Housewives of Atlanta crew had to abruptly halt production as they were filming Season 13, as The Jasmine Brand first reported. The new season will feature Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, Kenya Moore, Porsha Williams, and newcomer Drew Sidora (per People). The news came less than a month before the season's scheduled premiere date of Dec. 6, 2020 on Bravo. 

None of the Atlanta housewives have publicly commented on the shutdown. At the time of this writing, both Kandi Burruss and Drew Sidora had promos for the new Housewives season on their Instagram stories as they looked toward the future. So, why the sudden pause? Here is the real reason The Real Housewives of Atlanta had to put filming on hold.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta had to pause filming because a crew member tested positive for COVID-19, per The Jasmine Brand. "The set follows rigorous COVID-19 safety protocols including contract tracing," a trusted source told People. "Out of an abundance of caution, production is shutting down for two weeks."

Page Six caught up with Housewife Cynthia Bailey prior to the coronavirus news, and she seemed to be happy with Bravo's serious concern about the pandemic. "Kudos to Bravo. Like they figured it out," she said. "We get tested every Monday and we do the temperature checks. We can't have... that many production people in the house now. A lot of times... like three people can come in and five people sit down in their cars directing the scenes and stuff. It's so crazy," she explained. Bailey also had to postpone her Let's Get Poppin' pop-up shop event due to the diagnosis, The Jasmine Brand reported.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta isn't the only Bravo series affected by the coronavirus. Earlier in November 2020, Family Karma halted filming due to a crew member contracting coronavirus, and in October 2020, The Real Housewives of New York City partially suspended production after a positive COVID test as well, per People. 

Until the two-week hiatus is over, the Housewives can enjoy some extra time to themselves. "We're at home a lot more," Bailey said of filming during the pandemic.