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A new season of Southern Hospitality dropped after the new year, and it started off with a bang. Joe Bradley and Maddi Reese are in a relationship, TJ Dinch is trying to find romance in Charleston, Emmy Sharrett and Will Kulp are still very much in love, and Grace Lilly is on her healing journey that consists of seeing Bob Marley while using ayahuasca.
When the show first aired in late 2022, it was a spin-off of Bravo’s beloved series Southern Charm as it centers around the employees at Leva Bonaparte’s Republic Garden & Lounge in Charleston, South Carolina. In fact, it also resembles Vanderpump Rules in a way, with Leva often giving out free advice to her employees, who all have their own personal issues aside from being servers, bartenders, and managers.
Unfortunately, Leva had to come to the defense of her show after some had called it fake.
Leva Bonaparte Defended Her Southern Hospitality Cast After Rumors That The Show Was Faked
Southern Hospitality is like Southern Charm and Vanderpump Rules all mixed into one. Employees at Leva’s Republic Garden & Lounge work alongside one another in a fast-paced club environment while also dealing with the ups and downs of maintaining romantic relationships and friendships.
However, there’s been chatter among viewers that the show was faked from the cast to the drama. While reality TV shows have been known to be scripted, Leva came after trolls to let them know that everything that’s seen on our television screens is 100% real.
During an interview with Parade, Leva shared:
“There’s not an ounce of anything contrived or fake. I remember I got so much smoke for that like, ‘Leva hired models.’ No I didn’t! The models are in New York and LA!'”
Leva assured viewers that the work, drama and conversations we see happening at Republic are all real. That also includes the cast, as people have alleged that they were just hired actors who know how to stir up a fake storyline.
“I really do love my group, and I love what hospitality does for people. It’s one of the few industries where people from so many different worlds meet and I think there’s not a lot of that. That makes for a beautiful show,” she added.
Viewers Believed The Cast Were Not Really Employees At Republic Garden & Lounge
When Southern Hospitality first aired, viewers had mixed reactions from stating that the storylines were contrived and that the cast aren’t really employees at Republic. Comments on a Reddit thread discussing SoHo read:
- “I can’t help but feel like this is going to be a knock off version of Season 1 of VPR. I feel like the cast aren’t actually working at this place everyday and they’re all acting for fame.”
- “I get that all reality shows are scripted, but this pilot was waaaaayyyyy overproduced. I was cringing throughout most of the episode.”
- “I was excited for a show centered around a restaurant like VPR was when it first came out. The preview was disappointing.. the usual fake people living fake lives.”
- “Ooh it’s like 5 minutes in and I hate them already. Also hilarious that they have this girl at the front door of Bourbon & Bubbles which is not exclusive whatsoever. The velvet rope is such a joke.”
However, in her aforementioned interview with Parade, Leva shared that her cast differs from that of VPR because, unlike former VPR cast members who all wanted to be in the entertainment industry, her employees want to work in hospitality.
Besides Republic, Leva and her husband, Lamar Bonaparte also own Bourbon N’ Bubbles, an upscale restaurant and cocktail bar, MESU, a Mexican cuisine and sushi fusion resturant, and Lamar’s Sporting Club, a premium sports bar.
After pointing out that the cast worked for her restaurant before the cameras came in, stating that they had “years of history,” she added, “And they all really want to be in this industry. It’s not like they came working for me because they thought like ‘Oh I want to be a comedian one day’ or whatever it was.'”
The reality star and restaurant owner did add that the only person that wanted to work outside of hospitality was Maddi. Ever since Season 1, viewers have followed her dreams of becoming a DJ.
Leva Believes Southern Hospitality Is Totally Different From Southern Charm
Southern Hospitality is a lot different from Southern Charm as it showcases the lives of a much younger group of people. When Southern Charm first aired in 2014, fans were introduced to cast members of varying ages and stages in their lives, including a much-older politician by the name of Thomas Ravenel, a young Kathryn Dennis, and Craig Conover, who had dreams of becoming a lawyer.
When speaking to Parade, Leva shared that her cast are “unhinged,” but in the best way possible. They are young and refreshing, and all having a good time while also understanding the importance of being present at work. She also pointed out that the show differs from others because the cast is made up of a group of people of varying races and sexual orientation.
“This generation, they don’t have to pick a lane, they don’t have to live in a box.”
She added that what made the cast real and good for TV was that “they’re so uninhibited. They don’t care. It’s not even that they’re green or naive, there’s no box you have to live in now, if you are working and filming a reality TV show.”
And, fans have agreed that the show offers something different. A Reddit thread discussing if the show was worth watching had most commenters stating that while it may take an episode or two to get the feel of it, it’s become a must-see.
“I like it. It’s basically the Charleston 20-something nightclub scene, featuring behind the scenes at Republic,” a comment read. “I just binged it in 2 days and loved it. Reminded me of the old days of VPR,” another read.
“YES! I really liked it & didn’t think I would.”
Southern Hospitality
- Release Date
- November 28, 2022
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Cast
- Leva Nowroozyani Bonaparte , Grace Lilly , Maddi Reese , Emmy Sharrett , Mia Alario , Will Kulp
- Seasons
- 3
