Summer watchlist: Watch the 25 hottest new shows of the season
By Sundi Rose
Southern Charm – Now
(Warning: Some NSFW language above, including an uncensored word, and a couple of bleeps.)
Starring: Cameron, Whitney, T-Rav, Shep, Landon, and Craig
Premise: This show is essentially about a group of super wealthy folks living in the prestigous parts of Charleston, South Carolina. They don’t really work or have any real purpose. They do a LOT of drinking, socializing, gossiping, and taking extravagant vacations. Cameron, who you might recognize from her stint on the The Real World: San Diego, is sort of the voice of reason, and works as the group’s moral center.
The show’s main source of drama stems from the relationship between 53 year old Thomas Ravenel and his 23 year old baby mama, Kathryn Dennis. Although when the show first started, they were just dating and churning around in a very toxic and dysfunctional on-again/off-again cycle, they now have two (unplanned) children together. Thomas is a former State Treasurer who went to jail for cocaine possession, whose main vices are pretty women and expensive bourbon.
The show is light and fun, but provides enough genuine relationships to suck you in and make you care about these them in a way we haven’t been able to in recent reality TV history. Aside from its comical commitment to old Southern values, it really is a study in modern friendships among a multi-generational friend group.
The buzz: Critics and audiences mostly love it. It’s a real “hate watch” situation because, like so many other Bravo shows, it examines the worst behavior of the most beautiful and successful people of the city it portrays.
Where to watch: Bravo on Mondays at 9 EST, followed by it’s spin off, Southern Charm: Savannah. You can catch up on seasons 1-3 On Demand.