I was just talking to one of my editors yesterday about how much I love reality TV. I love watching it, I love looking at Twitter to see what people are saying about the shows I watch, etc.
I know there’s always lots of question surrounding most reality TV shows about how real it is, but for the most part, I don’t really care how real it is — it’s pure entertainment!
Between last weekend and this weekend, Bravo showed so many old episodes of “Southern Charm” — Bravo’s reality show surrounding a group of socialites in Charleston, South Carolina — that I’m now SO PUMPED for tonight’s premier of season six of “Southern Charm”!
To get us all ready, I’ve whipped up a lil recap for each season leading up to this point.
Season 1 (2014):
We meet the cast — Whitney, Thomas, Shep, Jenna, Craig, Kathryn, and Cameron. Danni, JD and Patricia are regulars on the show, but not official cast members. We learn a lot about the families and history of the cast members; Craig is the only one without an extensive family heritage in the South, and Jenna is more of an outcast.
During this season, Kathryn has a pregnancy scare and the main drama is that she slept with Shep, Thomas and Whitney within a short window of time. Thomas hosts the first of many dinner parties and shares his “wisdom” with the group, which includes a story about the one that got away… right in front of Kathryn.
Season 2 (2015):
Between seasons, Kathryn gave birth to her and Thomas’ first child, Kensington. Jenna is no longer in the cast, but Landon has been added, plus we see more of Jennifer. The main issue in this season is that Thomas announces his run for Senate and launches a campaign — complete with commercials — but ultimately only gets 4% of the vote after allegations against him come forward from a former nanny.
Season 3 (2016):
Thomas and Kathryn are officially OVER, even though she is pregnant with their second child, Saint. Naomie becomes a part of the cast as Craig’s girlfriend. Although some of Craig’s issues appeared in season 2, more of them become apparent in this season as he still hasn’t taken the Bar exam.
The cast takes a trip to the Blue Ridge mountains, where an argument goes down between Craig and Whitney over Kathryn. After Saint is born, Thomas hosts yet another dinner party that ends before it gets started, sending everyone running from his home.
Season 4 (2017):
Austen and Chelsea are added to the cast! Craig and Naomie go through issues and they are over by the end of the season. Thomas and Landon try dating, which causes issues with Kathryn. Shep is determined to move out of downtown and to the beach to change his lifestyle. At the end of the season, Cameron is pregnant with her first child.
The cast of “Southern Charm” season 6.Season 5 (2018):
Between seasons, there was “Relationshep”, a Bachelor-style show starring Shep, but he ultimately didn’t find a girlfriend. Last season, we meet Thomas’ live-in girlfriend, Ashley, who causes all kinds of drama the entire season. Shep has moved to the beach, Craig hires a life coach and Austen creates his own beer. There’s tension between Naomie and JD after rumors arise that he’s been cheating on his wife — some of this unfolded on Twitter during the season 5 premier. By the end of the season, we’ve seen an entirely new side to Kathryn and she even gets invited to Patricia’s Ball… where Ashley calls her an “egg donor” and the season ends.
The preview for season 6
In the season 6 preview, we see that the cast is Kathryn, Cameron, Craig, Shep, Austen, Chelsea, Naomie and newcomer Eliza. It also looks like Danni and Patricia will be there, plus possible appearance from Naomie’s boyfriend, Chelsea’s boyfriend, and Austen’s girlfriend… and Ashley. Thomas and JD are nowhere to be seen.
The short preview addresses Austen and Chelsea’s separate relationships and a possible second hookup between Kathryn and Whitney, plus multiple confrontations between Ashley and the cast.
The Real Dirt
So, I usually DON’T lookup anything about the show or the cast mates outside of what I see on the show. But, “Southern Charm” has had some pretty crazy rumors and happenings outside of taping that I couldn’t help myself…
I’ll start with Thomas, who was publicly fired from the show after allegations from his former nanny, Dawn, in May of last year. These allegations include rape, sexual assault, and battery.
Coincidentally, Dawn shared her deposition yesterday, which included stories about Thomas and JD doing cocaine in an Uber the night of the incident, multiple stories of domestic violence in the home over the years (including Kathryn’s time there) and she said Thomas asked her and Kathryn to sign and NDA, which she declined.
Dawn has passed a lie detector test. If what she says is true, it puts a lot of things into place as far as things that were said or alluded to in previous “Southern Charm” reunions — both Thomas and Kathryn often threatened each other to say more about what the judge knows.
It was also reported that Thomas has subpoenaed Patricia, because he believes she collided with Kathryn to get Dawn to bring these charges forward. He faces up to three years in prison.
The charges will be addressed in tonight’s season six premier, although the rumor in Charleston is that many folks are scared to say anything for fear of being sued by Thomas.
As for JD, he was arrested at the end of 2018 for writing a bad check. He was notoriously behind on the rent for his restaurant, which was forced to close. JD was also accused of drugging and raping a woman he met in a bar in 2017. After a short separation, JD and his wife Elizabeth are still together.
And what about the new cast member, Eliza? She’s third-gen Charleston and seems very driven in her family and personal business ventures, along with a love for animal rights and a desire to enter politics. We will see how she vibes with this crew!
I am so, so excited for tonight’s episode — NO ONE does a season premier like “Southern Charm”! Will you be watching?
If you’d like to see more writing from me, be sure to subscribe to this blog (look for the button on the right side…) and I curate and edit an email newsletter focused on local news and entertainment in Austin, Texas, called Inside Austin. It comes out every Tuesday and Thursday, but once I hit 3,000 subscribers, it gets a third day of publishing. Sign up to get Thursday’s newsletter and/or read past issues!
The Bitter Lemon 