{"id":3281,"date":"2026-06-11T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/2026\/06\/11\/how-southern-hospitality-became-bravos-hidden-heavyweight\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T02:00:00","slug":"how-southern-hospitality-became-bravos-hidden-heavyweight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/2026\/06\/11\/how-southern-hospitality-became-bravos-hidden-heavyweight\/","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018Southern Hospitality\u2019 Became Bravo\u2019s Hidden Heavyweight"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\t \t \t\t<\/svg>\t\tLogo text<\/span> \t<\/a> <\/p>\n

\tSouthern Hospitality<\/a><\/em> has all the makings to be part of Bravo<\/a>\u2018s upper echelon of unscripted television.<\/p>\n

\tThe show sports a dynamic cast full of a diverse group of nightclub employees based in Charleston, South Carolina. It, too, has a pre-existing link to another Bravo series, tied to Southern Charm<\/a> <\/em>alumni Leva Bonaparte who employs (most) of the cast at Republic Garden & Lounge.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\tBut the main element making Southern Hospitality <\/em>the network\u2019s hottest upcoming series is its wealth of story. Maddi Reese is one of Bravo\u2019s sprawling DJ personalities; her boyfriend, Joe Bradley, drew even more eyes to the series after an alleged hook up<\/a> with RHONY<\/em>\u2018s Countess Luann de Lesseps; Michols Pe\u00f1a, Lake Rucker and TJ Dinch have each opened up about what it\u2019s like to be gay in the South; and on season four, Grace Lilly let viewers in on her substance abuse struggles.\u00a0 \t<\/p>\n

\tIt\u2019s reminiscent of the golden days of Vanderpump Rules<\/a><\/em>, where everyone on the cast is willing to bare all for the cameras among a group of close confidantes. That rawness is part of what Kemar Bassaragh, Bravo\u2019s vp of unscripted lifestyle, tells The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> sets Southern Hospitality<\/em> apart from other reality shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey let it all out there in such an intimate way that you have no choice but to pay attention,\u201d Bassaragh says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThe cast\u2019s close bond, as most worked together at Republic nightclub before Bravo came knocking, is what makes the show work. Those closeknit relationships have also contributed to the serious tone of Southern Hospitality<\/em>\u2018s fourth season. \t<\/p>\n

\tAt the center of the conflict was a moment that played out off camera after filming for season three\u2019s reunion wrapped; Emmy Sharrett alleged that Bradley Carter made her feel \u201cunsafe\u201d after he texted her and said he could hear her having a phone conversation in her hotel room.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cUsing the verbiage \u2018unsafe,\u2019 when it comes to me, a Black man, you have no idea what that can do not only to my reputation, that can put me in jail,\u201d Carter said during a season four confessional interview. Sharrett\u2019s fellow Black co-stars, mainly her two close friends Pe\u00f1a and Rucker, attempted to explain the damage of her words throughout filming on season four (as did most of the cast) as the internet critiqued Sharrett\u2019s handling of the situation and, in some cases, called for her to be fired<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201c[Emmy] made a lot of mistakes along the way, but eventually she got herself in a place where I felt, by the time you watch the second half of the reunion, you will see a lot more growth,\u201d Bassaragh says of the conversation Carter and Sharrett have in part two of the season four reunion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tBelow, Bassaragh gets into Sharrett\u2019s season four journey, reflects on the series being recognized with a GLAAD Award, dishes on Bravo\u2019s push into Charleston-based programming (and if that could hint that another flagship franchise in the Real Housewives<\/em> could be heading to South Carolina) and shares what he sees for Southern Hospitality<\/em>\u2018s future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t***<\/p>\n

\tSouthern Hospitality<\/em> is a Bravo hidden gem. It has diversity in the cast, but also no shortage of drama. What do you think sets it apart from Bravo\u2019s slate?<\/strong> \t<\/p>\n

\tIt\u2019s finding that right group of friends who are really connected. If you go back through season one, they\u2019re so interconnected on and off camera that the drama feels so real, so authentic. They\u2019re arguing about things that happened off camera, but they brought it to us like, \u201cIt\u2019s very important to me. You\u2019re going to listen to me.\u201d What sets it apart is that they\u2019re really, really raw, and so vulnerable. They let it all out there in such an intimate way that you have no choice but to pay attention, and also the fact that we all were that age. That\u2019s what connects a lot of viewers \u2014 they can relate to someone. It\u2019s such a diverse blend that there is a place for everyone to feel welcomed.<\/p>\n

\tThe show recently <\/strong>won<\/strong><\/a> a GLAAD Media Award. What did it mean for the show to receive that recognition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tA lot, because it\u2019s one of the few shows on television that shows queer life, gay life, the LGBTQ in the South. It\u2019s very important to take it out of a New York and L.A., where [in a smaller town,] a lot of times you feel alone. What [Southern Hospitality<\/em>] does is show people in smaller communities that you are not alone. It also shows how time has evolved. <\/p>\n

\tI don\u2019t think people really tap into this much; Michols and TJ are really good friends with Brad, who is a heterosexual man. They\u2019re really good friends with Joe, who is a heterosexual man, and it does not matter. No one cares who\u2019s gay or who\u2019s straight. They\u2019re just friends, and they look at each other as just people. It\u2019s special because it shows how we, as a society, not only as a network and as a community, have progressed. That was a very big thing for me, especially coming from someone who came from Jamaica, where that representation and visibility isn\u2019t so present. Them winning [a GLAAD award] was very\u2026 it touched me a lot, to be honest. Like, I cried. (Laughs<\/em>.) \t<\/p>\n

\tThis was the first year that Emmy was on the show without Will, her fianc\u00e9. Do you think that greatly impacted her dynamics with the rest of her cast members?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tIt did. And this was the first time she was really coming in on her own. She didn\u2019t have her support. If you are married and you took your first vacation without your spouse, how would you act on that vacation? I think [season four] was her trying to find her own footing, finding her own voice outside of him, because as you will see from previous seasons, she\u2019s always been lumped [in] as if she didn\u2019t have a thought for herself. <\/p>\n

\tNow that she was by herself, she had to navigate that space, and you have to give a little bit of grace navigating a space when you\u2019re always accustomed to someone being there next to you. She made a lot of mistakes along the way, but eventually she really got herself in a place where I felt, by the time you watch the second half of the reunion, you will see that there\u2019s a lot more growth, picking up those spaces where she really lapsed in the beginning of the season.<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tLeva Bonaparte, Emmy Sharrett, Michols Pe\u00f1a and Lake Rucker at the Southern Hospitality<\/em> season four reunion.<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJocelyn Prescod\/Bravo<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tAs a viewer watching the season and then the reunion, it was surprising to hear Emmy take accountability, specifically for using the word \u201cunsafe\u201d to describe Brad. Do you think she really has made progress and understands the weight of her words, or do you think the <\/strong>online backlash<\/strong><\/a> became too loud where her hand was forced into giving a sincere apology?<\/strong> \t<\/p>\n

\tA lot of people don\u2019t realize this, because she took accountability in episode 11. That was way before she saw the backlash, so she did take accountability sooner. I think it really was that she took a while to get to understanding and people really talking to her and educating her along the way. She asked me questions, she will ask the showrunners questions, she will ask Michols and Lake questions, and they were taking the time to really educate her on why these words were not okay. <\/p>\n

\tIt may take her longer than what you and I would want, but it did take time before she eventually got there on her own without the backlash. I\u2019m sure the backlash did not feel good, but I cannot say that was the real reason why she took accountability, because I know that she did take it earlier, and then the reunion was filmed a few months later.<\/p>\n

\tWhere Emmy and Brad left things at the reunion, it seemed like she is going to have to prove herself to him. Do you see a world where Brad and Emmy will be able to coexist on the show, or even forge a friendship in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tI can\u2019t speak about for the show, and the reason why is that they are in such a small town that things will happen if we\u2019re not filming. They\u2019re gonna run into each other at a bar or a club [in Charleston]. They have a history that goes so far before the show that I\u2019m sure they\u2019re both hurt by the friendship, and I think Brad needs time to really process everything that happened before he can move forward with Emmy. I think we have to allow him that space and time to feel how he feels before he moves forward. \t<\/p>\n

\tIf Emmy does the work that she did say she was going to do at the reunion, knowing Brad, he will, after he\u2019s processed it, give some grace and at least hear her out, because that history and that friendship goes so far back. When someone you love hurts you, the hurt cuts deeper than if it was someone that you did not care about, and I think that\u2019s what we are experiencing in real time with this friendship.<\/p>\n

\tSomething else I noticed about the reunion was Emmy made it clear that she doesn\u2019t want to discuss Will in terms of the show. She kept on specifically calling him her fianc\u00e9. Do you see that as a feasible future for the show? Will was a main cast member, he\u2019s her fiance \u2014 how is the cast expected not to bring him up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tI don\u2019t think it was in fact that she doesn\u2019t want to talk about him or bring him up. I think it was in that context where she did not want it to feel like, \u201cI don\u2019t have a brain, so this person is putting words in my mouth and telling me what to do.\u201d She was probably just saying, \u201cI don\u2019t want to speak about him because he\u2019s not telling me what to do, I have my own words, my own faults that I need to take accountability for. This is not his issue.\u201d I don\u2019t think it was more about not speaking about him and their life or anything like that. I think it was more about, \u201cDon\u2019t say I don\u2019t have a brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThere are cast members on the show who do not work at Republic anymore. Do you think as the cast continues to grow in their own careers and that transitions them out of working at Republic, this will be accepted for Southern Hospitality<\/em>? Or do you think that the show needs that core of people working at Republic?<\/strong> \t<\/p>\n

\tI\u2019m going to ask you a question off that question. What is it called? The theme of the show; Southern<\/em> what?<\/p>\n

\tHospitality.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\tThe thing about Charleston and that area that people don\u2019t realize is that hospitality is a very big, lucrative business in Charleston. The fact that the show is based off that profession gives room for it to grow in ways that other shows can\u2019t, because you\u2019re getting to follow their journey professionally in hospitality. As you see in the finale, Joe really wants to own a bar, and his issue with Leva was really more, \u201cPlease give me a chance.\u201d So whether or not he stays with Republic and grows with Leva or he goes and finds his bar to be hospitality, he\u2019s still in hospitality.<\/p>\n

\tA lot of people really make their money in hospitality [in Charleston]. TJ\u2019s hot dog business is a hospitality business. Brad\u2019s run club is a hospitality style [business]. They genuinely really want to work in this field, so that\u2019s always the good news for us. While Republic will still be the base [of the show], it gives legs to everyone to explore their careers in different ways.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

\t \t\t\t\t\tJoe Bradley, Maddie Reese and Andy Cohen at the season four reunion.<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJocelyn Prescod\/Bravo<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tWhen bringing up Joe, as a viewer, it felt like Joe, Leva and Lamar talked about going into business, but then he went on tour with Maddi, and it seemed like the conversation reignited while they were filming and Joe had this expectation they would go into business. I don\u2019t want to continue comparing the show to Vanderpump Rules<\/em>, but this was very reminiscent of that TomTom storyline with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz. Do you think that Joe thought, I could potentially have that story for myself on the show<\/em>, or did they have behind-the-scenes conversations that viewers weren\u2019t privy to?<\/strong> \t<\/p>\n

\tThere\u2019s always been talk of doing more with Joe. While you see some of the conversations play out on camera, there have been conversations that did happen off camera. As I said, their world goes whether or not the camera is on or isn\u2019t on. I\u2019m sure there have been multiple conversations, some we caught, some we didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tI do not think it was a TomTom situation, just because hospitality is Joe\u2019s life. He lives and breathes it, so I feel like he really thought he was going to do something with [Leva and Lamar]. But at the end of the day, as Leva pointed out, you can\u2019t just expect me to give you something if you\u2019re not showing me that I can rely on you, and I think that\u2019s where the disconnect between them happened.<\/p>\n

\tAnother story I appreciated this season was Grace Lilly. At the reunion, she said that she believes that her <\/strong>charges<\/strong><\/a> will get dropped. Do you think that we will continue to see the rest of her story, not only with her arrest, more so with her recovery on Southern Hospitality<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tThat will be a stay tuned. (Laughs<\/em>.) The one thing I would say about Grace, there is nobody like Grace. Grace Lilly magic is real. I love her. I think she is a star. She sparkles, and we\u2019re all rooting for her to take the steps, get the help that she needs, and come out of this stronger and better.<\/p>\n

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\t \t\t\t\t\tLeva Bonaparte, Joe Bradley, Maddie Reese, TJ Dinch, Molly Moore, Bradley Carter, Mia Alario, Andy Cohen, Lake Rucker, Michols Pen?a, Justin Assada, Emmy Sharrett, Grace Lilly.<\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClifton Prescod\/Bravo<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\tLet\u2019s talk about Bravo\u2019s Charleston-based projects. There\u2019s Southern Hospitality<\/em>, which was birthed out of Southern Charm<\/em>. Also, Bravo <\/strong>FanFest<\/strong><\/a> is going to be held in Charleston later this year. Why do you think that Charleston was picked as the next location for FanFest?<\/strong> \t<\/p>\n

\tWe have to take Bravo everywhere! Like, we\u2019ve done Miami [FanFest], why not Charleston? Charleston has given us many seasons of good television, so why not go back there and honor it with a Bravo FanFest, and show the love they\u2019ve given us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tDoes this lean into Charleston-based programming and events hint at anything else in Bravo\u2019s future? It\u2019s been long speculated that maybe <\/strong>Housewives<\/em><\/strong> would go to Charleston.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tOoh, that would probably be a good one, but I cannot speak about that. I do not know. But we have a lot of great Housewives<\/em> now, so (laughs<\/em>). But I know everyone always wants a new one. I can always say you never know.<\/p>\n

\tWhat is the status with <\/strong>Southern Hospitality<\/em><\/strong>? I don\u2019t think that it hasn\u2019t been renewed for season five yet, has it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tWe are still in discussions, but I\u2019m very hopeful.<\/p>\n

\tWhile you are in discussions about the future, do you have an idea of who from the cast would potentially come back?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tAh, maybe, maybe not (laughs<\/em>.) You just have to stay tuned.<\/p>\n

\tWhat hopes do you have for the future of <\/strong>Southern Hospitality<\/em><\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tThe hopes that I have for it is that people will realize how amazing of a show it is. Yes, we tackle some tough subjects, but what I love about this group of friends is that they do not live in the negativity. I think that sets an example for a lot of shows in the future; that you can bicker, but you can still have fun. The future of it is only going to be bigger, and it\u2019s going to be better. It\u2019s going to still have that close knit group of friends, and it\u2019s going to still have a lot of fun, and a lot of tears, and a lot of laughs. \t<\/p>\n

\t***
Southern Hospitality season four is now streaming on Peacock.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Logo text Southern Hospitality has all the makings to be part of Bravo\u2018s upper echelon of unscripted television. The show sports a dynamic cast full of a diverse group of nightclub employees based in Charleston, South Carolina. It, too, has a pre-existing link to another Bravo series, tied to Southern Charm alumni Leva Bonaparte who employs (most) of the cast at Republic Garden & Lounge.\u00a0 But the main element making Southern Hospitality the network\u2019s hottest upcoming series is its wealth of story. Maddi Reese is one of Bravo\u2019s sprawling DJ personalities; her boyfriend, Joe Bradley, drew even more eyes to the series after an alleged hook up with RHONY\u2018s Countess […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187,2,34,1132,1904,85,335,773],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bravo","category-hollywood","category-reality-tv","category-southern-charm","category-southern-hospitality","category-tv","category-tv-features","category-vanderpump-rules"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}