Kandi Burruss Says She 'Couldn't be Happier' Since LeavingRHOAas She Takes onReasonable DoubtRole (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Kandi Burruss on ‘Reasonable Doubt’ season 2.Photo:Disney/Crystal Power

Disney/Crystal Power

Kandi Burruss has a guest role in season 2 ofReasonable Doubt, which she landed after running into the show’s creator on a flightThe formerReal Housewives of Atlantastar tells PEOPLE she pulled from a real-life relationship with an addict to play someone in recovery on the Hulu seriesBurruss hopes “people will be able to see me in a different light as an actress” after her onReasonable DoubtSince announcing her departure fromReal Housewives of Atlantaearlier this year,Kandi Burrusshas stayed quite busy, most recently with a guest appearance onReasonable Doubt.The role came together after Burruss, 48, happened to run into the show’s creator Raamla Mohamed on a flight earlier this year. “She was headed to Atlanta, coming to start production on this season, and we exchanged information,” Burruss tells PEOPLE. “I remember we sat down here in Atlanta and we were talking and she was like, ‘Well, what type of role would you want to play?’ And I told her, ‘I want something that I could really show my acting chops. I want to show people something with real emotion.’”On the Oct. 3 episode, Burruss made her debut as Eboni Phillips, a recovering addict who Daniel (Tim Jo) wants to testify in the Tucker case since he took custody of her child away when she went to rehab.“To me, Eboni is an interesting person to play,’” Burruss, who will return as Eboni in the Oct. 10 episode, says. “Especially now in a world where women are being exposed in entertainment and sports for all these wild things that they were doing behind the scenes that we never knew was going on, Eboni would be one of those women that were affected in a situation like that where for so many years nobody believed Eboni was going through these things. Everybody felt like she was a person who dealt with self-destruction and instead of actually being a person who was a victim in a relationship with a powerful man.”XSCAPE stars (from left) Kandi Burruss, Tamika Scott, Tameka Cottle and LaTocha Scott at 2017 BET Awards on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles.Paras Griffin/GettyBurruss says she pulled from media headlines to prepare to play Eboni, but also had a personal touchstone that helped her relate to herReasonable Doubtcharacter.“A very long time ago, I dated a guy who actually abused prescription drugs,” Burruss reveals. “I remembered sometimes we’d be having a regular conversation, but then all of a sudden, he’ll be talking and then he start nodding off in the middle of a conversation. I took my mind back to those moments and tried to put myself in his shoes to be on the opposite side of it, to be like, ‘Okay, what was going on in his mind when he was doing this?’ and how it affected him. I really feel like people will be able to see me in a different light as an actress after seeing Eboni.”‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ season 15 stars (from left) Drew Sidora, Marlo Hampton, Sheree Whitfield, Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore and Sanya Richards Ross.AB+DM/Bravo via GettyThe former Bravo star says that getting into that headspace while filming was “not easy.”“You have to think about really sad or really dark things to put you in this place to play the role and you have to do it again and again. And even after the scene is over, you’re still feeling that emotion, that anxiety,” Burruss says. “It takes a minute to come out of it.”DespiteRHOAbeing filled with drama, Burrus found filmingReasonable Doubtto be “totally different” than shooting a reality show.“Acting is almost escapism in a way,” she says. “Being on a scripted show, when the scene is done, nobody has hard feelings. You go home and everything is at peace. But when you’re doing reality, everybody cannot wait to go in on each other. As soon as you leave the scene, you’re still mad at each other. I get home, it’s like all-out war. It’s night and day.”Along with guest-starring onReasonable Doubt, Burruss has toured withher group XSCAPE, signed on to produceOthelloon Broadwayand began filming more episodes of Showtime’sThe Chisince announcing herdeparture fromRHOAin February.“I couldn’t be happier with the way things have been going since I am not on the show,” Burruss says. “Not that I don’t like the show, I just feel like when I left, I had done 14 seasons straight. No other Housewife had done that. So a lot of times, I was filming all year-round reality, and that can be a little draining. Since I leftHousewives, I’ve done a lot of things I’m super excited about. It’s a lot happening.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.New episodes ofReasonable Doubtpremiere on Thursdays on Hulu.

Since announcing her departure fromReal Housewives of Atlantaearlier this year,Kandi Burrusshas stayed quite busy, most recently with a guest appearance onReasonable Doubt.

The role came together after Burruss, 48, happened to run into the show’s creator Raamla Mohamed on a flight earlier this year. “She was headed to Atlanta, coming to start production on this season, and we exchanged information,” Burruss tells PEOPLE. “I remember we sat down here in Atlanta and we were talking and she was like, ‘Well, what type of role would you want to play?’ And I told her, ‘I want something that I could really show my acting chops. I want to show people something with real emotion.’”

On the Oct. 3 episode, Burruss made her debut as Eboni Phillips, a recovering addict who Daniel (Tim Jo) wants to testify in the Tucker case since he took custody of her child away when she went to rehab.

“To me, Eboni is an interesting person to play,’” Burruss, who will return as Eboni in the Oct. 10 episode, says. “Especially now in a world where women are being exposed in entertainment and sports for all these wild things that they were doing behind the scenes that we never knew was going on, Eboni would be one of those women that were affected in a situation like that where for so many years nobody believed Eboni was going through these things. Everybody felt like she was a person who dealt with self-destruction and instead of actually being a person who was a victim in a relationship with a powerful man.”

XSCAPE stars (from left) Kandi Burruss, Tamika Scott, Tameka Cottle and LaTocha Scott at 2017 BET Awards on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles.Paras Griffin/Getty

Burruss says she pulled from media headlines to prepare to play Eboni, but also had a personal touchstone that helped her relate to herReasonable Doubtcharacter.

“A very long time ago, I dated a guy who actually abused prescription drugs,” Burruss reveals. “I remembered sometimes we’d be having a regular conversation, but then all of a sudden, he’ll be talking and then he start nodding off in the middle of a conversation. I took my mind back to those moments and tried to put myself in his shoes to be on the opposite side of it, to be like, ‘Okay, what was going on in his mind when he was doing this?’ and how it affected him. I really feel like people will be able to see me in a different light as an actress after seeing Eboni.”

‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ season 15 stars (from left) Drew Sidora, Marlo Hampton, Sheree Whitfield, Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore and Sanya Richards Ross.AB+DM/Bravo via Getty

AB+DM/Bravo via Getty

The former Bravo star says that getting into that headspace while filming was “not easy.”

“You have to think about really sad or really dark things to put you in this place to play the role and you have to do it again and again. And even after the scene is over, you’re still feeling that emotion, that anxiety,” Burruss says. “It takes a minute to come out of it.”

DespiteRHOAbeing filled with drama, Burrus found filmingReasonable Doubtto be “totally different” than shooting a reality show.

“Acting is almost escapism in a way,” she says. “Being on a scripted show, when the scene is done, nobody has hard feelings. You go home and everything is at peace. But when you’re doing reality, everybody cannot wait to go in on each other. As soon as you leave the scene, you’re still mad at each other. I get home, it’s like all-out war. It’s night and day.”

Along with guest-starring onReasonable Doubt, Burruss has toured withher group XSCAPE, signed on to produceOthelloon Broadwayand began filming more episodes of Showtime’sThe Chisince announcing herdeparture fromRHOAin February.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way things have been going since I am not on the show,” Burruss says. “Not that I don’t like the show, I just feel like when I left, I had done 14 seasons straight. No other Housewife had done that. So a lot of times, I was filming all year-round reality, and that can be a little draining. Since I leftHousewives, I’ve done a lot of things I’m super excited about. It’s a lot happening.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

New episodes ofReasonable Doubtpremiere on Thursdays on Hulu.

source: people.com