Southern Charm is back, y’all: same Lost Boys, bolder women?

I’m excited to welcome Sara Pacifici to reality blurred to cover Bravo’s Southern Charm. As a writer who lives in Charleston, Sara brings a perspective most of us don’t have—and affection for the show itself.

In this piece, Sara catches us up on what’s happened and what’s to come, in addition to introducing us to herself and what she loves about this cast and setting. —Andy Dehnart

Southern Charm is back this week and just in time as a new South Carolina emerges from the recent election. While progress is being made at the cultural and political level, if you’re wondering if things have changed for some of the cast members—especially the men—think again.

I’ve watched since the beginning, hoping Shep Rose, Craig Conover, Austen Kroll, and Whitney Sudler-Smith would surprise me, and for years I ended up disappointed.

The season opens with a bombshell allegation, one I must admit I never saw coming. Is this Southern Charm season 12 the season that changes everything? Before we dive into what’s to come, let’s briefly go back to 2014.

Southern Charm: a brief history

In season one, Charleston is introduced as a playground for men who don’t want to grow up. The first episode is titled “Peter Pan Sin-drome.” The pun was cute, but many years later, I think it’s safe to say it’s an actual syndrome, and lucky for viewers, the men are unapologetic about their condition.

The cameras roll no matter how bad the behavior or how “in the cups” they are. It’s good to be a Lost Boy—or so they tell themselves.

You could plop each of these men, who are now in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s, back in episode one, and the storyline would be the same. In the show’s history, the only thing that forced a Lost Boy to leave Neverland is parenthood.

Season one ended with Thomas Ravenel and Kathryn Dennis announcing the birth of their daughter, and season 12 opens with the insinuation that another male cast member has fathered a baby—and there are pictures to prove it! If it’s true, I hope things go differently than it did for T-Rav and Kathryn.

The allegation is a great teaser, but season after season, the same patterns return—the men misbehave, and the women are the voice of reason.

To be fair to the fellas, it has made for good television, and when the show aired, it filled a gap in a market ruled by female-centered drama from the likes of The Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules.

Even Jon Hamm has said Southern Charm is his favorite reality show because of its focus on the men, whom he jokingly called “three dumbass, glorious dummies bumbling through life” whom he wants to “hit on the head” and give them a hug.

It worked for over a decade, but I’m ready to see more from the women.

The cast from last season returns along with last season’s new girl, Charley Manley, newcomer Allie Newman, a Charleston-based model, who falls right into a lost boy love triangle, and the return of Taylor Ann Green, who falls right back into the arms of her long-lost love, Shep Rose.

Let’s catch up and preview what may be coming:

• Shep Rose’s dating life was quiet for several seasons, but with Taylor returning, will they finally make a life together in his newly renovated Sullivan’s Island home?
• Madison LeCroy, the sharp-tongued mother of two, assumes her post as the voice of reason, occasional shit stirrer, and the woman who knows how to put the men in their place.
• Will Salley Carson learn from Madison and drop Austen, who called her a “bar rat,” and embrace the bubbly, successful, independent woman that she is?
• Beer entrepreneur and cat dad Austen Kroll is back at it with more of the same, hooking up with fellow castmates. At least his long-time friendship with Craig seems to be on less shaky ground.
• Speaking of Craig Conover, the pillow king has written a children’s book and looks better than ever. Maybe writing a children’s book about bullying has taught him how to…not bully his castmates?
• Molly O’Connell is a breath of fresh air, and we need more of the euphonium-playing, reptile-owning, former model with a quirky sense of humor the cast needed, and it looks like she brings the drama this season we’ve been waiting for.
• Speaking of quirky, Rodrigo Reyes doesn’t get enough credit for his hilarious quips, grounded perspective, and that he’s the only male cast member in a serious, committed relationship. I’m advocating for more Rodrigo screen time!
• Venita Aspen is back this season, bringing poise, a clear voice, style, and a new relationship with Whitner Slagsvol?
• Whitner was a newcomer last season, and while he didn’t bring much drama, what we learned about him is that he went to law school with Craig, has an incredibly funny mother, a family compound that looks like something the Kennedys would own, and a fatal flaw of talking about himself too much.

And if you still want to peek behind the iron gate of the ruling class of Charleston, have no fear, Patricia Altschul is back throwing lavish parties in glittering caftans, dripping in diamonds while holding a martini glass filled to the brim with her daily “medicine.”

Meanwhile, her son Whitney-Sudler Smith pops in this season in true executive producer and show creator form to drop the love child allegation while sitting at the head of a dinner party table.

‘Chicks before dicks’

To refresh my memory and prepare to properly recap each episode for you, I rewatched season 11. A few moments from the reunion irked me to my core, and I can’t let them go.

Indulge me talking through my feelings for a moment, because I have a feeling this is relevant for what’s to come.

At the end of season 11, Andy Cohen puts Austen and Salley in the spotlight about their relationship. Austen swears there isn’t one; Salley stares at him in disbelief as moments before, she joked about having his babies. Andy mentions that Salley’s therapist advised that if she wants to be a wife, she needs to act like a wife. He then turns to Madison for her opinion, and she agrees.

In the words of Miss Pat, I think it’s time for my medicine after that one. Was there a blip in the time continuum I didn’t know about? It’s 2026, right? Salley, if you want to be a wife, act like yourself, bar star and all! I hope we will watch her do just that.

The moments when the men come between the women are the hardest to watch. They sit on the sideline, eating popcorn while the women duke it out. Venita’s raw emotion when talking about her fractured friendship with Salley, thanks to some drama I still don’t understand with Craig, was genuinely sad.

Madison confirmed that their friendship is real, and you could feel it through the screen. I’m hopeful they turn the corner and choose each other.

“Chicks before dicks,” as Madison says in the season twelve trailer. Damn right. With this stylish group of ladies, “clothes over bros” would be more appropriate. Thank you, Brooke Davis. IYKYK. (Yes, I am an older millennial in case that didn’t make it blaringly obvious.)

A Charlestonian to guide us through the mess

As your millennial Charlestonian guide this season, my take will be a little different from most you’ll find online as you peruse for spoilers and snark.

Each week, you’ll get my local perspective and insider knowledge on what’s really going on behind the gates because here, context, culture, and history matter. The Charleston you see in the episodes is more beautiful in person, so are the people, the food, and the fun.

Shout out to Bravo for showcasing Charleston as the main character. She’s stylish and sophisticated with a laissez-faire attitude because the city has experienced it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And let’s be honest, the ugliest times in history. Now, like our cast, she just wants to have a good time.

That brings us back to the beginning. Will the women continue to be the voice of reason, or will they be allowed to have a good time and misbehave like the lost boys? I certainly hope it’s the latter!

For the men, it seems like old cycles continue, and maybe the only way to add excitement to this tired storyline is to throw a secret baby into the mix.

I’ll be watching, as always, for the Charleston setting as backdrop for the cast’s real friendship and romantic drama to unfold—the juxtaposition that makes this show irresistible. Maybe there’s a baby, maybe not. (My theory is that it could be Whitney’s! Oh, wouldn’t Patricia be thrilled!)

While it is the season hook, it’s not what I’m interested in. I’m here for the women getting their own messy storylines, while the men (minus Rodrigo) continue to play their Lost Boy games.

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