Southern Hospitality is an American reality television series which has been broadcast on Bravo since November 28, 2022. The show is the third spin-off of Southern Charm.
The series follows Southern Charm's Leva Bonaparte and the staff at her restaurants and bars: Republic Lounge & Garden and Bourbon and Bubbles Restaurant & Bar.
Overview
Southern Hospitality focuses on the careers and personal lives of the staff at Leva Bonaparte's restaurants and bars. The series is primarily centered around Republic Lounge & Garden, but occasionally features Bonaparte's other property Bourbon and Bubbles Restaurant & Bar.[1]
The first season aired from November 28, 2022, to January 23, 2023. The original cast consisted of Bradley Carter, Emmy Sharrett, Grace Lilly, Joe Bradley, Lucía Peña, Maddi Reese, Mia Alario, Mikel Simmons, TJ Dinch, Will Kulp, and Leva Bonaparte as series regulars, with Maddi's boyfriend Trevor Stokes as a recurring cast member.[2]
The second season premiered on December 7, 2023.[3]
Charleston restaurateur Leva Bonaparte celebrates her birthday at her hugely successful club, Republic, but fighting between her young, attractive staff threatens to disrupt the party. Grace Lilly feels betrayed by former best friend Maddi for calling out her failings at work. Mikel faces discipline from Leva and outrage from the staff when he's caught promoting another club. Joe Bradley reveals romantic feelings for Maddi but realizes he may be too late when her ex-boyfriend steps back into the picture.
Leva brings Mikel back to Republic but makes him prove his dedication by doing dirty work. Grace Lilly fires back at TJ for attacking her work ethic and judging her steamy social media posts. Maddi makes Joe Bradley jealous by bringing her ex-boyfriend to a work event. Mikel risks losing his best friend from the church when he reveals the truth about his sexuality.
Mia faces pressure from her dad about her career choices and love life. A back injury leaves Joe on the floor, making room for Mikel to earn back his spot as VIP host. TJ continues to fuel the fire with Mikel, causing a blow up at Grace Lilly's Alice in Wonderland birthday party. Nothing can bring Grace down, however, when she's given another chance to prove herself at Republic.
When Grace Lily's birthday party takes a turn, Mikel questions if he can continue to work at Republic. Grace's enthusiasm gets her back into Leva's good graces, but Will's wild night rubs his co-workers the wrong way. Maddi invites everyone to a NASCAR race in her hometown of Charlotte, where Trevor meets her parents for the very first time since their breakup.
The Republic crew parties on Lake Norman, but when Leva sees their inappropriate Instagram posts, she threatens to fire people. After Grace Lilly learns that Mia's friend went on a date with her crush, her emotional outburst leaves her on the outs with the group. Mikel takes a leap of faith and invites a romantic interest to their party, but things take an awkward turn when his date is interrogated by Emmy.
Grace Lilly tries to impress Leva by creating a new event at Bourbon and Bubbles but worries no one will support her after the disastrous trip to Charlotte. Joe Bradley pursues a promotion that could impact his budding romance with Mia. The return of a controversial Republic employee causes division among the crew and unearths a scandalous rumor.
Leva needs the Republic team to work together for Pride weekend, but tensions run high in the aftermath of an explosive fight. Will decides whether to fulfill Emmy's hopes and go to law school or pursue his own dream of running a restaurant. Mikel and TJ put their differences aside to host an event. When Maddi drops an accusation against Bradley, he fires back.
Grace Lilly throws an upscale event to host Leva's friends. Emmy urges Will to apply to law school. Lucía fights to save her impaired relationship with her son's father. After a record-breaking summer at Republic, Leva rewards the team with a luxurious yacht day where Joe Bradley finally admits his romantic feelings for Maddi, leading to a showdown with her boyfriend. Later on, when Mia finds out Joe professed romantic feelings for both her and Maddi, both women explode on him at Republic, landing Joe in hot water with Leva.
Writing for Common Sense Media, reviewer Melissa Camacho said, "While the overall series will remind you of unscripted shows like Vanderpump Rules, Southern Hospitality remains true to its roots by attempting to contextualize all of this within Southern culture and community, a few of which border on stereotypes about women, clothes, and attitudes. Folks who aren't drawn to this type of entertainment won't find much here. Meanwhile, if you're a fan of the franchise, you'll find the series to be a bit of a departure from its predecessors."[17]
