Don't mess with a Buckhead Betty, whether she's hosting a charity gala, shopping at Neiman Marcus or lunching with the ladies at the Piedmont Driving Club.
That's the premise of a TV show that might end up on HBO next year.
Two Atlantans, neither native Southerners, came up with the concept, selling it to the pay cable network as "Sex and the City"-in-the-South, featuring four glitzy and glamorous friends.
Describing their Buckhead Betty characters, co-creator Tenessa Singleton, an upbeat 40-year-old Roswell choreographer, said, their lives "revolve around their social calendar. They're incredibly educated. They've been blessed with great fortune and great names."
"It will be more relatable than 'Desperate Housewives'," promised Lisa Senters, Singleton's creative partner. "There won't be murderers trapped in a basement."
Senters and Singleton plan to hatch a dark comedy. But not too dark. Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern playwright Beth Henley ("Crimes of the Heart") has been hired to write the first script.
"These are very strong women," Singleton said. "Intelligent but sassy, and sweet in a way. The Old South is still here. There are still manners and etiquette with Southern charm left."
The plan is to show the clashes that occur between longtime residents and the perpetual flow of newcomers who try to make a splash on the high-society scene.
That focus has unsettled some Betty types —- at least privately.
"Some people are nervous. Some are upset," said Kevin Knaus, a veteran Atlanta fashion designer who knows Singleton and Senters socially and works with many women who fit the "Betty" description. "But we won't know anything until we see it."
The jokey, somewhat stigmatized phrase "Buckhead Betty" has been floating around for decades.
"There is a 'Buckhead Betty' stereotype," said Holly Witten (Westminster '90, Cornell '94, Emory MBA '00), who has no shame being called one. "I'm certainly doing my part to change that."
An Atlanta native born at Piedmont Hospital, Witten married an attorney last year, runs a marketing firm and helps organize the Atlanta Two-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. For leisure, she loves to travel, having hit five continents, and shops all over Atlanta, from Boogaloos in Decatur to Nordstrom at Phipps.
"I don't think the connotation is a bad thing," said Martha Katz, director of social events at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. "It's probably a good thing. People would want to be Buckhead Betty." And while Singleton isn't necessarily a Betty, Katz adds, "I think she understands what it is and that's what's important."
Indeed, neither Senters nor Singleton considers themselves Betties —- or "Bettyz," as the show's working title spells it, because Senters said it's "snappier."
Singleton grew up in Utah and moved to Atlanta 20 years ago after she got married to a college sweetheart. A part-time actress, she said she spent 15 years teaching at the Atlanta Ballet school and once choreographed a piece for the Julliard School. After a divorce in 2003, she remarried in Italy in October to an owner of an asset management company with homes in London and New York.
Senters, 45, lives in Virginia-Highland and is an Atlanta-based vice president of sales for Marquis Jet, a New York company which enables people to buy 25 hours of private jet space at a time. A New Jersey native and divorcee, she came to Georgia in 2002.
"We didn't grow up here, so we come at it from a fresh perspective," Senters said.
The pair met at a breast cancer charity event in early 2004 at the InterContinental and quickly bonded. That night, watching Buckhead Betties come and go, the seed of the idea for the TV show was planted.
"We laughed and laughed," Senters said. "We cracked ourselves up."
They quickly figured the concept would work on HBO, which had retired its biggest female-oriented hit "Sex and the City" in 2004.
"The women in 'Sex and the City' had feelings and emotions," Senters said. "They were also funny and kooky. But there was a positive message each show. We want this show to be something women can relate to."
The pair snagged a meeting with HBO President Chris Albrecht in early 2005. He set aside 20 minutes, but they said they ended up entertaining him for more than two hours.
Albrecht couldn't be reached for comment.
Instead of handing him a script, they came prepared with a faux trailer of the show starring themselves and their friends in several Buckhead mansions and at Pano's and Paul's restaurant. (They don't plan to be cast in the actual show but the video is available at www.launchsouth.com/projects.html.)
The duo acted out potential scenes themselves, but also used 15-inch tall paper cutout dolls of play potential performers (Ashley Judd, Faith Hill) who could be the characters.
"It came out as improv," Senters said.
"We showed them characters, the families, the children," Singleton added.
Afterwards, "we ran down the street giggling like little school girls," Senters said.
They soon formed a production company, Not Reel Productions, and negotiated a deal in late spring of 2005 with HBO. Soon after, Albrecht recruited playwright Henley.
"They're the spirit of the show," Henley said of the creators. "They have a real vitality."
At a recent charity luncheon on the top floor of Saks Fifth Avenue in Phipps Plaza, Singleton buzzed around about 90 "Buckhead Betty" types, many wives of wealthy doctors and lawyers in town and active on the charity circuit.
The "ladies who lunch," as they often call themselves, sipped champagne and nibbled chicken breast, angel-hair pasta and yellow squash with red peppers lightly drizzled with white truffle oil. Ten models showed off the spring 2008 Bill Blass collection, sashaying around displays selling $1,345 Emilio Pucci and $850 Vera Wang dresses. Price of admission: $125 a ticket, all going to the Marcus Institute, which provides care for disabled children. (Singleton's 11-year-old son Logan goes there.)
Many attendees knew about Singleton's TV project.
"I heard about your new show and e-mailed you, 'Way to go, you little stinker!' But you never responded!" said Danielle Berry to Singleton. A Buckhead travel agent, Berry was dressed to the nines in a black vintage capelet and Bill Blass pants and sweater.
"I think you have my old AOL e-mail," Singleton replied. "I never check that anymore." She then noted that the show was still in script form and production has yet to start.
"You better have bit parts for your old friends!" teased Berry, who said she acted in a commercial with Singleton a few years ago and has lived in the Buckhead area for decades.
Later, Berry said she knows Singleton will tweak the culture she lives in, but she isn't worried: "She's such an elegant, classy woman," Berry said. "Anything she does will have a lot of style with a bit of verve."
HBO won't divulge how many development deals it juggles at one time and the network has not guaranteed "Buckhead Bettyz" a spot in its lineup. In general, it's far pickier than the four main broadcast networks, which typically debut 10 or more new shows a year. HBO this year has launched just two original scripted series: drama "Big Love" and sitcom "Lucky Louie," which has already been cancelled.
Singleton and Senters said they cannot reveal details of the deal they signed. But HBO is allowing the pair to spread the word about the project, as long as they don't reveal plot details.
In February, they brought Henley and producer Gary Randall to Atlanta for a week-long trip through the life of a Buckhead Betty. The tour included lunch at the Swan House, dancing at Johnny's Hideaway and a private birthday party at Pano's & Paul's.
They also held a small cocktail party at the home of Valery Singleton, Tenessa's ex sister-in-law, who's also CEO and president of Ed Voyles Honda.
A Westminster grad who's active in charity circles, Valery Singleton handpicked folks in different Buckhead-ian orbits. "A lot of people outside of Atlanta don't realize we have a large Jewish population, a large gay community," she said. "I wanted to get my friends from all over."
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What is a "Buckhead Betty"? Different people have different interpretations and few will actually call themselves a Betty —- though they know plenty who are.
"The very first thing that comes to mind: They love pilates. They love to lunch. They love Cabo San Lucas. They love Saks and Neiman Marcus without question. . . . Actually, most people who are 'Buckhead Betties' don't see themselves as such." —- Carrie Carter, owner of Carter Barnes, popular hair salon for the "Betty" set
"I think their involvement in the community, the things they do for others and their welcoming attitude debunks the myth that Buckhead Betties are frivolous and mindless." —- Danielle Berry, a Buckhead travel agent at a "Buckhead Betty" type charity luncheon ("I've never been called a Buckhead Betty," she noted.)
"She's not a backstabber. She's a good friend, a good listener. She's smart, fashion conscious and savvy. She's a good cook, a good homemaker." —- Cyndae Arrendale Bussey, heir to a chicken processing magnate
"They have the SUV and a convertible to drive on the weekends, a couple of kids, involved with school, involved with charity work, shopping, going to lunch." —- London Andes, a Buckhead resident who organized a major fund-raiser at the Georgia Aquarium in 2005 that raised $5 million for the Marcus Institute. ("I don't consider myself a Buckhead Betty although I live in Buckhead and do stuff like this," she said at a Saks charity luncheon she put together Nov. 14.)
"She feels she's entitled, that the world is supposed to revolve around her. And she should be in control of things, though sometimes things do slip out of her control." —- Deborah Childs, who plays a "Buckhead Betty" type character in the popular play "Peachtree Battle."
"I think some people wear the term like badge of honor. These women really define Buckhead. When I was doing fund-raising before we got into the theater business, I saw how important these women are. They raise millions of dollars for charities and define what's in and out. I'd rather be in a meeting with a Buckhead Betty than some CEOs. At least they're going to get it done." —- John Gibson, co-creater of "Peachtree Battle."