‘Southern Hospitality’ vs. ‘Southern Charm’– the Winner Is Clear

There comes a time when a Bravo smash hit has a spin-off, and it’s often the case that the spin-off eventually outshines its predecessor. It’s the circle of life for the network, but it’s still difficult to let go of what was once great and make peace with the fact that you were wrong when you said the spin-off would be trash, that it’s your new favorite show and the other one is now a chore to watch just so you can keep up with your favorite recap podcasts. It’s time to admit that Southern Hospitality has far exceeded its predecessor. Southern Charm has been recycling the same storylines for quite some time now with a cast that has next to no chemistry. Southern Hospitality, on the other hand, has been consistently delivering, even though it’s considerably much less controversial compared to what Southern Charm and Vanderpump Rules once were.

Peter Pan Syndrome is abundant in Charleston, and that’s part of what made Southern Charm so much fun to watch in the beginning. One of the only reasons the boys weren’t nearly as loathsome or unsettling to watch is because they weren’t nearly as odius their former costar, predator-turned-felon Thomas Ravenel who did an immense amount of damage to their former costar Kathryn Dennis with their volatile relationship. Now that he’s been rightfully fired, he still casts a shadow as it’s apparent that cast members like Whitney Sudler-Smith have eerily similar traits to the man and have learned nothing from his downfall. Whitney is nearly 60 years old and the only woman he has a semblance for respect for is his mommy, Pat Altschul, who he still lives with. He had a fling with the much younger newcomer and model Molly O’Connell and still had the audacity to say that say in front of an entire group of people that she shouldn’t eat a cupcake.

The Southern Charm Men Are Holding The Show Back

Image via BravoTV.

This behavior isn’t new, he has been taking jabs and antagonizing much younger women for years, including Taylor for sending him a risqué selfie, and Kathryn, who hooked up with him and ended things with him. Worst of all, he does it alongside his mother. Instead of seeking consistency, accountability, and discipline after cheating on Taylor Green repeatedly and having an obvious issue with alcohol, Shep opted to go on an ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica instead of, you know, therapy and taking a stab at sobriety. It’s obnoxious to watch him congratulate himself on having a retreat that involved fleeting self-reflection for the first time at 44 years old.

Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover for Elite Daily.

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In order to stomach the arrested development of these men, many of the women enable it as long as it’s serving them. However, there comes a point where it’s clear that many of these girls are almost as bad as the men for making allowances for terrible behavior for some men while others that are far less objectionable get ostracized. It’s unwatchable to see the cast bully JT Thomas for rather benign things like offering Patricia Altschul a cane and subsequently getting wrongfully accused of calling her a bitch. They act like JT is the problem for questioning Austen Kroll’s sudden supposed shift in being respectful to women for the first time in his life when there are rumors swirling that he is *shockingly* unfaithful to his much younger, long-distance girlfriend. Sure, maybe Austen is finally not cheating, but it’s not out of bounds to question him. There was a time when Madison Lecroy would humble the men around her, but now she buddies up to Austen, who cheated on her, and Whitney all while belittling JT simply because he questioned why Madison’s husband frantically called him asking what his wife was doing why they were in the Bahamas together. How many times did Madison practice the line “Patricia’s not the bitch, JT. You’re the bitch” in the mirror before meeting up with him only to brutalize him for doing nothing wrong? Has this show sunk so low that she thought that would be the new viral moment for this season? Does she really expect viewers to believe that JT is objectionable while pandering to men that have a history of intentionally mistreating her and her friends?

Southern Hospitality Outshines Southern Charm In Every Way

The Southern Hospitality cast is bold and outrageous, and these kids don’t shy away from proving that they deserve the spotlight. Much like its predecessor, the men are still stunted in every conceivable way, but the women are why the show is so juicy. Maddi Reese has been shameless long before reality TV, so it makes perfect sense that she’s the sassy albeit self-absorbed protagonist of the show. After all, you have to be if you’re a DJ who openly pines after someone as unremarkable and uncharismatic as Trevor Stokes, a pedicab driver who inexplicably lives in a nice townhouse, nabs hot women, and has forever changed society’s perception of peanut butter (if you know, you know). We haven’t seen any characters like that on Southern Charm in so long, while over at Republic, we’ve got an abundance of them.

Southern Hospitality delivers on scandal that’s markedly lower stakes compared to Vanderpump Rules and Southern Charm, but they make up for it with cast chemistry and hilarious moments. Maddi, along with Emmy Sharrett, truly bring it with relationship drama with guys they can do so much better than. Mia Alario and TJ Dinch are the voices of reason, but in a way that balances out the cast instead of being sanctimonious. Mia even managed to be the voice of reason for Southern Charm, a show she’s not even on, by being a girls’ girl and letting Taylor know that Shep tried to cheat with her. Then, of course, there’s the indomitable Grace Lilly, with her boundless enthusiasm and infectious energy. She’s off in her own little world 95% of the time, but she serves as the aloof comedic relief who graces us with her unexpected wisdom that she stumbles upon while babbling about her love of lava cake, ayahuasca, and tanning.

When Southern Hospitality was announced, many Bravo fans cringed as they anticipated it to be a cheap knock-off of Vanderpump Rules and Southern Charm. Now that it’s on its third season, it’s proven to be one of the most bingeworthy new reality shows. On top of consistently delivering television that’s far more riveting than its complacent predecessor, it also doesn’t shoulder the dark history that Southern Charm has and continues to turn a blind eye to and quietly repeat with its current cast. Southern Hospitality is available to stream on Peacock in the US.