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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, one thing we like is a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best.
Our lost and found is currently filled with pants. I don't know what, I've never seen this happen.
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The cast of the Bravo reality series Summer House is currently embroiled in a scandal that is sloshing over into the real lives of its participants. All this drama because everybody couldn't just jump in a pool and laze around for a few months without making each other miserable.
Anyway, I'm Linda Holmes, and today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're talking about why people inside and outside the Bravo fandom are talking about Summer House.
On June 11th, the globe's biggest sporting event comes to North America, the FIFA World Cup. The Super Bowl, you might say, averages something over 100 million live viewers, but the World Cup final, I think like five times that much. The favorites, the underdogs, and the Americanization of the world's game. Listen now to the Sunday story from the Up First podcast on the NPR app.
Joining me today is Ronald Young Jr. He's the host of the film and television review podcast, Leaving the Theater. Hello, Ronald. Hello, Linda. All right. Also with us is the former host of Slate's internet culture podcast, ICYMI, and former Pop Culture Happy Hour producer, Candice Lim. Hello, Candice.
Hello.
It is so good to see you both. I am so excited that you are the people who are here to talk to me about Summer House. It seems perfect.
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Chapter 2: What is the scandal currently surrounding the cast of Summer House?
parties where they do all of these same things only in ridiculous costumes. Two of the core members are Kyle Cook and Amanda Batula, who got married midway through the run of the show and have always seemed sort of unhappy together to me. Before the latest season started airing, they announced their split. Since the latest season was filmed when they were still together, we see Kyle's
canned cocktail business falter and his new DJ career causing tension in the marriage. And then as the season was airing, things boiled over off screen. Amanda released a joint Instagram statement with a dude named West Wilson, confirming that They are romantically involved.
Now, West is a fellow Summer House cast member who formerly dated another castmate, Sierra Miller, who was one of Amanda's closest friends in the house. Sierra is notably one of the few Black cast members on Summer House and has spoken in the past about the difficulties of navigating interracial relationships on the series.
And while as far as we know, there was no infidelity while either Sierra and West or Kyle and Amanda were still together, Kyle was upset that his buddy started dating his ex-wife, and Sierra was deeply hurt that Amanda started dating her ex-boyfriend. Because the summer house season had been shot before all this happened, this massive complication remained offscreen forever.
until the recent reunion episodes. And by the way, this is all unfolding further on the new Bravo spinoff series, In the City. I will note there was originally a three-part reunion, but I guess now they've said there's going to be a special... Like the aftermath of the three-part reunion. It's going to go on as long as people still will watch it.
Ronald, as a Summer House viewer, I want you to kind of take the lead in explaining why Amanda and West dating is such, such a big deal to people.
Oh, my God. Where do I begin? Years ago, this country was founded on the principles of... It literally comes down to a sense of betrayal. Amanda and Ciara were ostensibly best friends in Summer House. There were three of them formerly. Paige, who used to be on the show, who left the show and now hosts her podcast, Giggly Squad.
Her, Amanda, and Sierra would hang out in this bed, and they would talk about their boy troubles. Amanda would complain about Kyle, and Sierra and Paige would go after Kyle on Amanda's behalf, and Paige and Sierra would share their boy troubles. After West and Sierra...
Their relationship runs its course or it ends with Sierra thinking that this relationship was going in a direction that most people think that West knows that it was not, meaning that it was not going towards exclusively dating together into the sunset because of that. Sierra had a lot to complain about. She complained a lot about this to Amanda. There was a lot of tension between all of them.
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Chapter 3: How did the relationship dynamics shift between Amanda and West?
Made no sense. But this story of Amanda, particularly because Amanda was the betrayed and the I have my husband on probation person, turning around and now she's the one who everybody feels is such the betrayer, has made it this kind of epic thing. Yeah.
And I think one of the things that has happened is that Amanda has not necessarily played the role of the person begging for forgiveness the way that the person in that position usually does on these shows. Carl was ready to just like walk around and be like, yes, it was all my fault. Everything is my fault. He was ready to eat dirt.
However, for as long as it took, because he was just trying to get back on her good side. And for a long time, that was the West and Sierra story, too, right? He was just trying after they broke up. I just want to be friends again. I just want to be friends again. Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me. But Amanda is kind of like, I'm sorry. What do you want me to say?
But I'm going to keep dating. I'm not going to break up with them. I know I shouldn't have lied. And that's about it. And I think she has not performed her half of this dance the way that people are used to, the way that Carl did, the way that Kyle used to, the way that some of the housewives do when they know that it is actually their fault. So that is my crackpot theory of Summer House.
On every season of Below Deck, there is betrayal, either from the staff, perceived betrayal from the staff to the guests, as in, did they hold up their head of the bargain? Did I get my seafood extravaganza? Between them, I like the chef first. Why are you now hooking up with the chef? There's so many versions of it that happen that are small and large.
And it is, in a lot of ways, the engine of drama that is... Bravo television. Is so-and-so going to fight so-and-so? Is so-and-so going to forgive so-and-so? And I think I'm fine with that because the tension brewing is how it all works out. But I do want to point out one thing. This is also the plot of The Gilded Age, which another show that I love. on HBO and HBO Max. It is the same plot.
The reason why we are tuning in every week to watch The Gilded Age is to watch the tension simmer and see what it boils into because all of the perceived slights on that show end up being stupid stuff. They didn't show up to my party. They were late to the party. They didn't bring a gift. They threw a party at the same time as my party. Oh no, they're opening their own opera house. Right.
And there's something fascinating about that type of interaction, which is why I think this is hitting so well. But I think betrayal is very relatable. I'll just I'll leave it at that. Betrayal is very relatable for most of us.
Yeah. I mean, I think the reason why betrayal is the catalyst, the stake at hand is forgiveness. I think it's because grudge is a narrative on Summer House, especially for the last three seasons. I would say that they have now figured out a formula. We are now 10 seasons into the show. They have figured out a formula, especially for newbies. So this is like the Jesse Solomon.
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Chapter 4: Why is the friendship between Amanda and Ciara significant in this drama?
Exactly, yes. And it seems like there's a way in which you could come up off of this. But I will say, I would love it if every time in my personal life that I was misused. by someone, I somehow got a giant career step forward out of it. It just does not usually happen.
No, it feels like that's where I feel like as a viewer, as a consumer, I feel this sort of disconnect because I'm just like, well, that just doesn't happen for regular people, but it does happen for y'all. So good for you. And no, I won't watch Dancing with the Stars, but I'm glad that you'll be on it. So I have weird feelings about it.
Yeah, you know what? I have to say I don't have weird feelings about it. So my whole thing on this is that, like, look, we saw it with Ariana Maddox after Scandival when she was kind of made out to be the wronged woman.
She got brand deals up the wazoo, and I would say the greatest one of all is hosting Love Island USA to the point where when I watched Love Island USA, I completely forget Ariana was... you know, made famous on Vanderpump Rules. I think of her like, no, she's the host of Love Island USA.
And I think the reason why that's kind of interesting is because, look, is Scandival the best thing to happen to Vanderpump Rules? Yeah, it is. It is.
That show was almost over and it got like another two seasons out of it.
Exactly. And I think that is also evidence that the show itself, Vanderpump, and I'm going to say Summer House as well. I think as a viewer, we are starting to see Summer House on a bit of its last legs. And I'm not going to say that like this scandal was orchestrated to like, you know, raise numbers or whatever.
But I almost wonder if people on the cast kind of had this feeling of like, I have so little gas in the tank for this entire enterprise. Like how how much longer do I have to spend every summer in the Hamptons with you guys? I think out of Vanderpump Rules, Ariana became the lasting figure to walk out, maybe not unscathed, but empowered, the most famous of them all.
And I think Sierra is going to be that person where even when Summer House ends, she's going to be the person that is still out there booking jobs. I mean, I will say the scandal she's done so well. She is in a scary movie promo. With Regina Holland on it. Ferris the Wayans brothers. She did like a Sonic ad with Ariana Maddox. I totally get why there is some ickiness to that.
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Chapter 5: What role does betrayal play in the narrative of Summer House?
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