Basketball Wives LA

Basketball Wives LA
Genre	Reality
Created by	Tom Huffman
Starring	Kimsha Artest Jackie Christie Gloria Govan Laura Govan Draya Michele Malaysia Pargo Imani Showalter Tanya Williams Brooke Bailey Sundy Carter Brandi Maxiell Brittish Williams Mehgan James Shaunie O'Neal Angel Brinks LaTosha Duffey Angel Love Tami Roman
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	70 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Shaunie O'Neal Steven Weinstock Glenda Hersh Lauren Eskelin Lorraine Haughton-Lawson Julie "Bob" Lombardi Paula Arnada Jennifer Aguirre Kenny Loeliger-Myers Mark Seliga Alissa Horowitz Yessica Garcia Katie Sole
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	42 to 44 minutes
Production company	Shed Media
Original release
Network	VH1
Release	August 29, 2011 (2011-08-29) – October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)
Release	October 9, 2023 (2023-10-09) – present (present)
Related
Basketball Wives

Basketball Wives LA is an American reality television series on VH1. It chronicles the everyday lives of women romantically linked to men in the professional basketball industry, based in Los Angeles, California. Developed as the second installment of the Basketball Wives franchise, the series premiered on August 29, 2011; and ran for five seasons until October 23, 2016.

On March 27, 2017, VH1 announced that Basketball Wives would be revived for a sixth season, with its setting relocated to Los Angeles, effectively combining the casts of both the original series and its spinoff. ^[1] Subsequent seasons have also featured this hybrid cast. ^[2]

Overview and casting

Seasons 1–2

On June 20, 2011, VH1 announced that they had expanded the franchise to Los Angeles. ^[3] The announced cast for Basketball Wives LA included Kimsha Artest, wife of Ron Artest, Gloria Govan and her sister Laura Govan, Jackie Christie, wife of Doug Christie, and Imani Showalter, ex-fiancée of Stephen Jackson. Malaysia Pargo, wife of Jannero Pargo, and Draya Michele, a model and aspiring actress with a history of dating basketball players, were announced as cast members a month later. ^[4] Tanya Williams, wife of Jayson Williams, would also appear, however, was quickly phased out of the show along with Kimsha Artest, who admittedly stopped showing up for filming because of the "shenanigans and drama". ^[5] The series premiered on August 29, 2011, to 1.81 million viewers. ^[6]

The show was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 10, 2012, ^[7] attracting 1.82 million viewers. ^[8] Imani Showalter quit the show and moved back to New York, ^[9] and was replaced by Brooke Bailey, girlfriend of Vernon Macklin. Adiz "Bambi" Benson, Malaysia's friend and an aspiring rapper, appeared in a supporting role.

Season 3

Following the cancellation of the original Basketball Wives, executive producer Shaunie O'Neal announced that the cast of Basketball Wives LA would be retooled for season three. ^[10] Filming began in August 2013, with new members British Williams, fiancée of Lorenzo Gordon, Brandi Maxiell, wife of Jason Maxiell, and Sundy Carter, mother of Larry Hughes's daughter. ^[10] Gloria and Laura Govan confirmed their exit, ^[11] as did Brooke Bailey. ^{[12] [13]} The third-season premiere acquired 1.95 million viewers, the show's highest-rated at the time. ^[14] This season is also the first and only of the series to reach over 2 million viewers for six consecutive weeks.

Seasons 4–5

Season four began production in November 2014 and wrapped in April 2015. The season premiered on July 12, 2015, to 1.90 million viewers, moving from Monday to Sunday nights. ^[15] Shaunie O'Neal and Bad Girls Club 's Mehgan James joined the cast, with Tyreke Evans's ex-girlfriend Angel Brinks, Eddy Curry's wife Patrice Curry, and Tami Roman appearing in supporting roles. ^[16]

On September 23, 2015, the show was renewed for a fifth season. ^[17] Filming began in January 2016 and wrapped in June, with Draya Michele and Mehgan James departing from the show. They were replaced by Tami Roman and Angel Brinks, who were promoted to the main cast, and new cast members LaTosha Duffey, fiancée of Iman Shokuohizadeh, and Angel Love, girlfriend of DeJuan Blair. ^[18] It premiered on July 17, 2016, to 1.58 million viewers and a 0.5 in the adults 18–49 rating demographic, making it the lowest rated premiere for the series. ^[19] It was followed by the spin-off, Shaunie's Home Court, starring Shaunie O'Neal, which aired on VH1 for two seasons. ^[20]

On March 27, 2017, VH1 announced that the original Basketball Wives would be renewed for a sixth season after nearly four years off the air, however, would be relocated to Los Angeles and feature a hybrid cast from the Miami-based series and its Los Angeles-based spin-off. The revival of the sixth season premiered on April 17, 2017.

Cast timeline

Main cast members

Cast member	Seasons
	1	2	3	4	5
Kimsha Artest	Main [lower-alpha 1]
Jackie Christie	Main
Gloria Govan	Main
Laura Govan	Main				Guest
Draya Michele	Main
Malaysia Pargo	Main
Imani Showalter	Main	Guest
Tanya Williams	Main [lower-alpha 2]
Brooke Bailey		Main			Guest
Sundy Carter		Guest	Main		Guest
Brandi Maxiell			Main
Brittish Williams			Main
Mehgan James				Main
Shaunie O'Neal				Main
Angel Brinks				Friend	Main
LaTosha Duffey					Main
Angel Love					Main
Tami Roman				Friend	Main
Friends of the wives
Bambi Benson		Friend
Chantel Christie	Guest		Friend	Guest
Patrice Curry				Friend

1. Appears in 1 episode only.
2. Appears in 2 episodes only.

Series overview

See also: List of Basketball Wives LA episodes

Basketball Wives LA episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired		Average Viewers (millions)
			First aired	Last aired
1	14		August 29, 2011 (2011-08-29)	November 28, 2011 (2011-11-28)	1.70
2	16		September 10, 2012 (2012-09-10)	December 17, 2012 (2012-12-17)	1.75
3	11		February 17, 2014 (2014-02-17)	April 28, 2014 (2014-04-28)	2.06
4	13		July 12, 2015 (2015-07-12)	October 11, 2015 (2015-10-11)	1.43
5	16		July 17, 2016 (2016-07-17)	October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)	1.37

Specials

Basketball Wives LA Overtime Special

On October 31, 2011, Tami Roman hosted a half-hour Basketball Wives LA overtime special in which she sat down with Jackie Christie and Laura Govan about the change of tide in episode ten and what it may mean to the ladies in the final episodes of the first season. ^[21]

References

1. "Breaking News - VH1's "Basketball Wives" Premieres Monday, April 17th at 9PM". TheFutonCritic.com. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
2. "VH1's "Basketball Wives" Returns on a New Night Beginning Wednesday, June 19". The Futon Critic . May 22, 2019.
3. "VH1 Gives the Greenlight to Two New Series – "Basketball Wives: Los Angeles" and a Dating Series Starring New York's Hottest Matchmaker, "Siggy Flicker"". The Futon Critic (Press release). June 20, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
4. ""Basketball Wives LA" Premieres On VH1 Monday, August 29 at 8PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic (Press release). July 28, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
5. Eskridge, Sonya (October 5, 2011). "Kimsha Artest quit 'Basketball Wives: LA'". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
6. Gorman, Bill (August 30, 2011). "Monday Cable: 'WWE RAW' Tops Night, 'Ridiculousness,', 'American Chopper,' 'Basketball Wives LA,' 'Carfellas' & Much More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011.
7. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 3, 2012). "VH1 Heads Back to Screen With Returning Fan Favorites 'TI & Tiny', 'Basketball Wives' & New Series 'Ev & Ocho'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012.
8. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 11, 2012). "Monday Cable Ratings: Monday Night Football Rules Night, + 'Monday Night Raw', 'SportsCenter', 'TI & Tiny', 'Basketball Wives', 'Major Crimes' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012.
9. Black, Elizabeth (September 11, 2012). "Imani Showalter Tweets About Why She's Not Returning To Basketball Wives L.A." VH1 Blog. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012.
10. Scott, Tracy (August 17, 2013). "Shaunie O'Neal talks 'BBW' season 5, L.A. cast changes". Sister2Sister Magazine. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
11. Scott, Tracy (August 22, 2013). "Govan sisters getting their own reality TV show?". Sister2Sister Magazine. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
12. "Brooke Bailey — Twitter Status". Twitter. September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
13. ""Basketball Wives: LA" Returns with Three New Cast Members and Three Returning Fan Favorites for a Slam-Dunk Third Season". The Futon Critic (Press release). VH1. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
14. Bibel, Sara (February 19, 2014). "Monday Cable Ratings:'WWE Raw' Wins Night, 'Basketball Wives', 'Single Ladies', 'Teen Wolf', 'Switched at Birth' & Mo". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
15. Bibel, Sara (July 14, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Naked and Afraid XL' Wins Night, 'True Detective', 'Basketball Wives', 'Ballers', 'The Strain' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
16. "VH1 Announces Summer Lineup Including Love & Hip Hop Live: The Wedding & More". VH1. April 29, 2015. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
17. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 23, 2015). "'Basketball Wives: LA' Renewed for a Fifth Season". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
18. Black, Elizabeth (June 24, 2016). "Basketball Wives LA Returns July 17 - VH1". VH1. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
19. Porter, Rick (July 18, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Power' Season 3 premiere sets a record for Starz". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
20. "Breaking News - "Basketball Wives" Star Shaunie O'Neal Takes "Shaunie's Home Court" New Series Debuts on VH1 Sunday, July 17th at 10:30 PM ET/PT". TheFutonCritic.com. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
21. . TheFutonCritic.com. October 27, 2011 http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/10/27/basketball-wives-la-goes-into-overtime-during-the-season-finale-and-two-part-reunion-special-626010/20111027vh102/.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Official website
• Basketball Wives LA at IMDb