Get your popcorn ready.

The third season of Bravo's top-rated series 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' will premiere on Oct.4 and BlackVoices.com got a sneak peek at some of what the new season has to offer.

After two seasons, as previously reported, Lisa Wu Hartwell has been cut from the cast of 'Housewives' and though it was originally believed that the aspiring actress would appear in three episodes, she doesn't turn up once in the early cut of the show that network executives sent out a few weeks back.

Instead, the new additions, Phaedra Parks, an entertainment attorney and former model Cynthia Bailey have a presence early on in the new season.


Parks, who is visibly pregnant with her first child, appears in the season premiere paying a visit to her friend and client, Dwight Eubanks who shared that Sheree Whitfield owes him tens of thousands of dollars for costs he incurred by pitching in for her underwhelming She by Sheree fashion show.

Even Nene Leakes is revealed to be not as close with her former gay BFF anymore and Kim Zolciak -- of all people -- is the one to tell the 'Never Make the Same Mistake Twice' author that Eubanks is going around town claiming that Leakes' former real estate mogul hubby owes him money.

This gets the drama kicked off early on the show's premiere episode.

Leakes and Eubanks come face-to-face at an upscale shoe boutique event and things get really ugly.

Meanwhile, it goes without saying that her marriage is skating on thin ice and having some serious issues – mostly about money. Her now being the breadwinner of the clan has caused her stress.

Zolciak, on the other hand, seems to be doing well after her modest success of her dance song, 'Tardy for the Party.' The topic of her lesbian lover comes up, but it's clear that she's moved on – and back to men as the season will later uncover.

As with every season of 'Housewives' we find Zolciak and Leakes making an effort to end their beef, but there's no telling how long their friendship will last as a teaser clip shows resident loudmouth lunging at her on a tour bus.

Kandi Burruss is back dating after the tragic loss of her ex-fiance, A.J. Jewell , who was a major part of her story line last season. The new man in her life is hunky, pro-football player Willis McGahee of the Baltimore Ravens. The 28-year-old running back and the former Xscape singer decides to take things slow, due to Burruss' vow of celibacy (for the remainder of the year). They both agree oral sex is allowed in the relationship.


On the entertainment industry front, the Grammy Awa4d winner is recording new music more in the new season and revealed to BlackVoices that she will also help write a song for Sheree's hair stylist Lawrence Washington, who's been on the show since the beginning.

Whitfield is quite serious about her acting, although her proclamation that she believes she could really win an Oscar seems to be laughable. But hey, stranger things have happened. Can't blame a girl from shooting for the stars. The single mother of two is taking acting classes -- which Leakes conveniently interrupt on the first episode.

Bailey does not appear in the first episode but we see do know that the former Essence magazine cover girl will have issues with finally tying the knot -- with hip hop marketing pioneer Peter Thomas -- after calling off three engagements. She was romantically-linked to actor Leon for most of the 1990s.

According to the network, an introduction to Bailey won't come until the episode three, where Leakes fills her in on the Eubanks drama. Leakes also tells Bailey that she got hit with more family drama and recently kicked her son Bryson Brant out of the house. The former Clark Atlanta University student was arrested early this year for possession of marijuana.

Burruss will hit the studio with Grammy Award-winner Ne-Yo, and test out some of her new material at Bailey's restaurant . Meanwhile, Zolciak is busy performing at a Palm Springs white party. Whitfield hits the town on a date with a doctor, but viewers will be most excited to see her oldest daughter, Tierra, who just moved back to Atlanta from being away at college.

This season of 'Housewives' is shaping up to provide the most honest look at the insecurities and complexities that the Georgia peaches battle in their personal lives. With pregnancy, marriage, divorce, career changes all on the horizon, there's no doubt it will be entertaining.

'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' premieres Oct. 4 at 9 pm EST.