For the first time in three years, it's safe to say that this is a busy but amazing time to be a MTV Reality show fan... and fitting for the thirtieth anniversary of when this incredible saga began in the Big Apple, Summer 2022 will be an absolute treat. Right now, the focus is on the second half of Season 3 of The Challenge All-Stars as a field complete of finals veterans continue to battle it out in Panama, and the drama of a show that got a head-start on the sultry level in Ex On The Beach is wrapping up its Season 5 return. And if you're a history nut in the reality sense, then you just enjoyed drama of another kind in seven strangers getting back together in New Orleans in the third Real World Homecoming.
Now, let's be honest here: I might not have been big on the Shore franchise as much as a Challenge, Real World, or even the dating shows. But fall 2017 changed all that and reaffirmed my interest in the wide array of MTV fare when Floribama Shore debuted... and over our four seasons with them, we most definitely got to enjoy the company of Nilsa, Gus 1.0, Aimee, Codi, Jeremiah, Kirk, Candace, Kortni and Mattie. But as the first one on that list is enjoying the life of being a married mom much like three of her Jersey counterparts as well as Candace joining her as a mom, the torch of friends, fun, drama, and in their case - Southern style - is now being passed on this summer to a new generation of Shore kids... and it's all right in Kirk's very own backyard in Northern Georgia.
In the past year, the city of Atlanta has celebrated a world championship when the Braves won baseball's World Series, and then a national title when the Georgia Bulldogs took the College Football Playoff... and the champs have just reminded everyone who they are with a 14-game winning spell. The region has already become a hotbed when it comes to film & TV production as "The Hollywood of The South" including hosting the most recent new season of The Real World, which you only got to watch if you have a Facebook account. And now, the Dirty South is about to become the venue for the newest addition to the global Shore family, as we're about to welcomed to Buckhead Shore, as uptown ATL will play host to what should be another summer to remember... and then some.
THE BACKDROP:
BUCKHEAD, ATL
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| Buckhead, Atlanta (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) |
City government divides the entire area within Atlanta city limits into 243 different neighborhoods -- traditional, subdivisions and groups of subdivisions... and that does not put into account the entire metro area, which also includes the college town of Athens to the east and almost 40 counties in between. Within Atlanta itself, it's divided into Downtown (with all the skyscrapers), Midtown (where Georgia Tech is located), West Midtown and the East Side in the Intown area. South of it is Southeastern and Southwestern Atlanta, while the Northwestern area welcomed the hometown Braves five years ago when they abandoned a downtown Turner Field ballpark that was the main Olympic stadium.
But north of a city that has the name "Peachtree" just about as everywhere as seeing a Coca-Cola bottle in the soda king's hometown, you will find the uptown neighborhood known as Buckhead. As the third largest neighborhood within city limits and first established in 1838, it is Atlanta's uptown commercial and residential district with high-rise office buildings, hotels, condos, eateries and shopping centers including one of America's first malls Lenox Square. Blacks first settled in Buckhead in the early 1900s, and after several attempts the community was annexed in 1952... though a referendum for secession may be put to local voters this fall due to various factors including crime and taxes.
When the area went through a economic downturn in the '80s, a law that limited parking for local bars was lifted, and opened the floodgates for Buckhead to become Atlanta's party town as a slew of bars and clubs went into business. Outkast, Usher, Jagged Edge and Jermaine Dupri all made Buckhead the center of their weekend parties. But murder cases involving Ray Lewis and the Black Mafia brought crime in the area to the forefront, and where new laws to move up closing time and tough liquor licenses changed Buckhead again. It's now become one of America's most affluent communities with an average HHI of over $280,000, and has being referred to as "Beverly Hills of the South" thanks to a slew of mansions, restaurants and shopping options popping up around the district.
WHAT TO EXPECT,
& MEET THE CAST
Names Linked to IG Profiles
As for what we can expect from Buckhead Shore, there will be something we have not had on either Jersey or Floribama but has happened before on Real World: a group of people who actually know each other even before moving into the house. Unlike their other counterparts who were cast as strangers to begin with, this bunch are longtime friends who have known each other all their lives... and there's even elements of those dating series we cover here in former flames sharing the same quarters and possible hookups. It's a house by the lake which will host their annual rite of summertime -- spending the year's hottest season relaxing by the water.
The Shore hilarity we've come to grow and love with the Jersey OG's, then with Floribama and to a degree, Mattie's Party Down South crew, will be prevalent here... and the cast who will be moving into the house have a unique dynamic that promises to have fun, drama, hook-ups and broken hearts.
🚤 PARKER LIPMAN - He is to this group what Vinny is to Jersey: a mama's boy, but Parker is more than just a pretty face. The Lipman family owns regional fast-food chain Zaxby's, and he's hung out with hip-hop royalty and Masters champ Bubba Watson. Parker considers himself the group's "head buck" -- the glue that keeps this clique together, and as he descends on the lake house this summer he will have his hands full with his girlfriend, ex and all his friends living with him in the same place.
🚤 SAVANNAH GABRIEL - Savannah finds herself in the same spot young Kelsey was in Siesta Key five years ago: a relative newcomer having only lived in Buckhead for a few years. But her sweet & spicy personality is already catching the attention of the friend group... and now Sav's the one who lays claim to being Parker's girlfriend coming into this summer getaway. The only question going into this: how will she handle being around his ex?
🚤 KATIE CANHAM - And for this show's EOTB scenario, Katie will have to live with both her ex and his next in the Shore house. But for the "queen bae" of the clique, one who might seem to have a perfect life at first glance has actually endured so much: besides Parker, she is a crossroads when it comes to what her future career aspirations will be, all while mending a heavy heart after losing her mom. Needless to say, Katie would like to have a fresh start this summer... but anything's possible.
🚤 PAT MURESAN - Siesta fans definitely know about the King's rapper cousin Pauly... well, the Buckhead bunch has their one here when it comes to wingmen. A close friend of Parker also has his first name begin with a "P," and Pat is the one who he can count on to be there for him whenever anything bad happens. He also just so happens to be a musician as well who's gotten to mingle with Usher and is lucky to be followed on Twitter by Justin Bieber... and oh, Pat just became a daddy to a new baby.
🚤 JUJU BARNEY - The party scene Atlanta offers is aplenty even with the changes to Buckhead, and Juju feels lucky to be part of it: he's the son of the owner of renowned strip joint Magic City. The group calls him charming and suave, and who has both that easy-going personality and outlandish quips. But as the pandemic has made things tough on entertainment ventures, there may be something going on in the City business that may cause Juju to rethink his plans for this summer.
🚤 BETHANIA LOCKE - Those who watch Floribama definitely know Candace as both the voice of reason and the mom of the bunch... and in this group, Bethania takes on that role. She considers herself the "heart of the lake" who grew up in a strict household to Ethiopian and Jamaican parents. But recently, Bethania's gave up her v-card and is ready to look for her perfect match... but as is the case for Parker, she might have her own dating game scenario play out in the lake house.
🚤 ADAMO GIRALDO - Every Shore house has its own "life of the party" -- Codi in Floribama, the crazies in Geordie and the list goes on... and here, Adamo fits that title very well in Buckhead. He calls himself "fun and feisty" who loves to have a good time and loves to have an escape by the lake. But this summer, Adamo may figure out that it's not all fun at the fun house: a new relationship may pop up which may also challenge him to show off who he really is to his #1 fan: his mom.
🚤 CHELSEA PRESCOTT - Chelsea is one who the clique might think of that one who has that bubbly and charming personality who also gets into some drama along the way too. She hopes that the best life she can have is to just enjoy some time under the sun, but with the possibility that some precarious stuff may get in the way of this vacation to the lake house. Chelsea also just loves to post Instagram pictures of her big nails, too.
🚤 DJ SIMMONS - Once in a blue moon, someone comes on these shows with a link to someone well-known, and our last one stretches his lineage to music royalty. DJ is son of music producer & song-writer Daryl Simmons, who's worked with Boyz II Men, Whitney, Toni, TLC and Dru Hill, It's a tall task to follow in his dad's footsteps, but DJ may find himself getting distracted this summer by all the temptations that come with being a son in the Atlanta music scene.
For those who have been following the Shore world lately, it's been quite the leadup to this summer: the reveals of this and All-Stars, the Jersey crew not wanting to be duplicated, and Gus getting engaged. But the Buckhead group does have a good case to prove that they belong in the same world as Pauly, Nilsa, the Geordies and everyone else.
Unlike what was the case for the Playboy's cast last year, the city of Atlanta and their clubs will be open for the clique to party hard... and they have a perfect house to call home and chill out. There's also a unique dynamic that only comes with people who are hardly strangers to one another. But everything else should just about the same: the drama, the fun, the love and a whole lot of Southern hospitality. Adamo, Bethania, Chelsea, DJ, Juju, Katie, Parker, Pat and Savannah, welcome to the fam...
- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
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