• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 30, 2008

Bravo continues to have faith that sometimes desperate housewives who tool around in pricey cars can also drive ratings. The network is launching its third iteration of its "Real Housewives" franchise and heading to Georgia.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" follows Orange County and New York editions on the reality-heavy network. It will be a seven-episode season, and a preview special will air on July 30. (An exact premiere date was not announced.)

The show chronicles five wealthy women, including wives of prominent athletes.

In the copycat TV business, the "Real Housewives of Orange County" was at least partly conceived in 2006 as a fusion of two hot TV series: ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (which remains so) and MTV's "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County." It also borrowed from Fox's "The OC." Suddenly, the "little boxes" in Orange County suburbia was chic. This year, New York followed.

Bravo General Manager Frances Berwick said the Atlanta women "let us peek inside their exclusive, affluent community and see how they live their often dramatic lives and manage families and careers."