“Southern Charm” is a Bravo reality show that premiered in 2014 with new seasons coming out each year. “Southern Charm” follows Charleston’s elite socialites around, showing their life and drama. The last episode of each season is a recap show where the cast goes on stage with Stephen Colbert to hash things out.
The show was created and produced by Whitney Sudler-Smith who is the “aspiring artist and mama’s boy” in the show. Whitney’s mother, Patricia Altschul, embodies southern culture and immense wealth.
Whitney Sudler-Smith found the cast to be authentic which contributed to the shows overall appeal.
“You don’t have to do anything; there’s no prompting. That’s what makes them so compelling, is they have a lot going on in their lives,” Sudler-Smith said in an interview with bravotv.com.
Patricia Altschul is the figurehead for the Charleston socialites and has a no-nonsense mindset when it comes to making her party guest lists. Besides from being a socialite she also is an author and just recently released her memoir earlier this year, “Eat, Drink, and Remarry: Memories from a Lifetime of Art, Class, and Southern Charm”.
One of the main characters was Thomas Ravenel who was on the show for five seasons. His father was Arthur Ravenel Jr. who the famous Ravenel bridge was named after. Ravenel served as South Carolina’s state treasurer from January to July 2007. He resigned after being indicted on federal cocaine distribution charges and was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
When Thomas first made his appearance on the show, he was 51 and proceeded to begin a relationship with 21-year-old Kathryn Dennis, a descendent of John C. Calhoun and granddaughter of South Carolina senator Rembert Dennis.
Molly McAbee (12) has been watching “Southern Charm” with her mom for years,
“The show always has so much going on and the characters are all so interesting. My favorite character is Miss Patricia and her butler Michael. Southern Charm isn’t just any other reality show,” McAbee said.
The show strives to mix historical Charleston families with new money people. This dynamic stirs the pot amongst cast members and creates tension. Craig Conover has been on the show since season one and he is from Delaware. Craig struggles balancing his law career and party life with his southern aristocratic friends. This leads to many disputes between Craig and
Shepherd Rose, a 40-year-old bachelor from the infamous Boykin family.
Over the years, several original cast members have left to focus on their family lives. Only two current cast members were born in Charleston. Some viewers speculate the show has gone downhill and possibly lost its southern charm.
Darby Ruff (11) loves “Southern Charm” and thinks that being a teenager from the south makes it even better,
“There is always something wild happening, and considering this is reality TV, the characters are crazy. The first few seasons were top tier,” Ruff said.
