Jordan Morris: The Republic of Leva (Southern Hospitality S1E1)
When a group of youths are in charge of Leva Bonaparte's Republic it's not long before the neon glows and the jealousy shows. Can Maddi continue to run the bitch? Will Mikel make it as a bar-back? How quickly can four shirtless dudes down a bowl of fruit salad? It's the episode that introduces a spin-off, but promotes another club!
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Rob: Welcome to Vanderpump Robs, a podcast about Hollywood, the valley, sometimes Charleston and everything in between. I'm Rob Schulte. And today's guest is A first timer on this pod,
From the podcast is Jordan Jesse Go!, and Free With Ads, and the upcoming graphic novel Youth Group, [00:01:00] Jordan Morris is here.
Hey, Jordan.
Jordan: Hey, Rob. Thanks for having me. Yeah, man. To celebrate this show, I will be doing this entire episode shirtless. Much like the hunks of Southern Hospitality, if you're watching this video on Patreon, don't tell the audio listeners that I'm lying.
Rob: but I have brought a bunch of fruit salad for us that we will be sharing.
Jordan: Yes. As we learned from this episode, when bros bro down, you gotta have a little fruit salad.
Rob: You know, one thing that I, wanted to bring up, I find it so funny. I started this podcast like a little bit before lockdown. So, you know, 2019 or so. And I had emailed you back then and Vanderpump Rules was this low level reality show.
And you were very kind. You were busy the week I needed to record. And so you had to say no, but you were like, but my friend Alison Rosen would be great on this podcast. Oh yeah. Allison and I really hit it off. And in [00:02:00]fact, I've been on her show now a handful of times from that introduction you made. Oh my God, that's a great years ago.
That's so
Jordan: fun. I love to hear, love to hear that.
Rob: but you know, I wanna ask a little bit about Free With Ads, The podcast is about movies you can watch. For free, like on a 2B or a Pluto, right?
Jordan: Yeah. Uh, it is a podcast I do with a great comic named Emily Fleming and that over there on the Maximum Fun Network. And, uh, yeah, like you said, we go on, we go on one of these, uh, dark horse streaming services, a Pluto, a 2B. Um, we go on the free with ads tab, uh, on YouTube. And we just kind of watch whatever they serve to us.
And, uh, you know, sometimes it's Grease 2. Sometimes it's alien versus predator, but gosh darn it, if they don't put the Godfather up there occasionally. So, yeah, we're watching the Godfather. We're watching the sting, but also, uh, you know, some Olsen twins comedies from the nineties and, uh, all kinds of fun stuff.
Rob: I love that. I love [00:03:00] that. Well, when you are venturing into the streaming world, as we all do as cord cutters, do you ever venture into the Bravo world? I have to think that. ScandalVol went into your lexicon at some point.
Jordan: It did, yeah. I am a very occasional Bravo viewer, but I do kind of like having it explained to me.
Um, so yeah, I loved, loved asking, asking the Bravo heads in my life to explain ScandalVol. And yeah, and I catch an episode every now and then of some of these shows. And yeah, they're, they're not exactly my cup of tea, but I, I like the fun kind of communities that pop up around them. I like hearing Bravo people get excited talking about the shows with each other.
It's cool. I recognize it. And I recognize the like fun in it. I've never like locked into one myself to the point where I want to watch every week. but yeah, they're, they're, they're cool. And I invite any, any Bravo heads who might run into me on the street to, uh, please explain to me. The [00:04:00] latest bit of drama that they're watching Bravo heads.
Is that what yeah Yeah, I think
Rob: that's what we're all or you know, we're just uh, calm pumpers. I think is No Well get ready for a crash course in a Bravo head as we talk about Southern Hospitality Season one episode one. which originally aired on November 28th, 2022.
So not too long ago. it's title is The Republic of Leva. And I'd like to read the bravotv. com description. Charleston restauranteur, 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 [00:05:00] 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. I have to say that is one of the better bravotv. com descriptions. I think this was maybe before ChatGPT, so someone had to watch the episode to write
it. So, Can you believe all that stuff happened on the same day? What a weird Coincidence that that was the day the cameras were there that oh All of this stuff happened.
And Joe Bradley, he had to wear a doctor's jacket? Oh,
no, no shirt on
no shirt. No one, uh, appears to like wearing
shirts
Jordan: not a lot of shirts on the fellas in this. And the fellas, I'll say, they're in great shape.
Rob: You know what? More power to the fellas. I think, I think we always gotta give a shout out to the, the hunky dudes out there. we must.
but you know what? We love a hunky lady
as well. Um, yes, let us not, let us not forget all the lady [00:06:00] and non binary hunks out there. There's, there's, there's hunks, there's hunks from across the gender spectrum.
Hunks are hunks no matter what. Um,
Jordan: exactly, that's what I've always said. Heh heh
Rob: uh, we learn in a brief intro that Republic is a club in Charleston that I personally could never set foot in. Uh, the staff are all friends and we'll make the party happen. Also, as we said, everyone is a hunk. Seems, seems great. I've never been to Charleston. In fact, I'm.
Kind of frightened of Charleston, but this, this seems like a sensory overload of a,
of a club.
Jordan: this is not my, like, this is not my speed. It's like a bottle service place. And I guess, and, and I just, just, you know, not to note this thing to death, but I, not knowing this world, I kind of wanted a little bit more insight into the, like, economics of what they're doing. I kind of pieced it together, like, the, the, the main job of [00:07:00] these and babes is to, like, sell.
Just kind of people on the street expensive bottle service and sell them a table for you know a couple thou or something like that and I guess that's common enough that that it keeps this place going and Yes, I I kind of pieced it together, but I kind of wanted a just somebody to sit me down and say like Here's how much the table cost.
Here's how much it costs on this night. Here's how much the table? Anyway, I was kind of curious about that end of it, but, um, I, I realize that people are more here for the drama and for the shirtlessness.
Rob: I don't know. I'm kind of on the same page, and I'm, and I'm a messy, messy boy when it comes to the drama. But I, I need to know why these people care about their job as much as they do. Yes, like you said, not to note it too much to death, but there seems to be a loyalty that I have to be like, you must be making more money than I've [00:08:00] ever experienced in
my life. Yeah, I am kind of curious about the take home, and like, obviously there's some will they get fired type drama in this, and it would be nice for the stakes of the thing to kind of know what they would be losing if they got fired. I will say, if this is profitable, there are a surprising amount of characters who live with their parents in this.
Jordan: In their mid twenties and early thirties are living with their parents in kind of giant southern mansions
Rob: Uh, yeah. And, uh, not only that. I'm not sure if they're planning for their future, not to get too dad about it, but
Jordan: yeah, so, so yeah, I wonder what the yearly take home of a hunker babe would be.
Rob: well, I'm sure I'll find out throughout this first season, but it's the owner Leva's birthday and she's entering Republic to talk to her staff before her party. They're throwing for their boss in just a few days. we meet Maddi. [00:09:00]Uh, who's 24 years old and claims to be the face of the club. Uh, her quote is, I'm the bitch who runs the bitch, which I feel like Leva might take umbrage with,
Jordan: that phrase is just made to be on a hat, right? Like that's, that's there like, okay, this is going to be our merch. Like I'm the bitch who runs the bitch.
Rob: And I'd love to see that merch somewhere. I, I have yet to see. it,
Jordan: Okay. So I Googled I'm the bitch who runs the bitch. First thing that came up is
Meredith Brooks, bitch, official music video.
Rob: you, any sort of merch is available for the taking at that point. we also learned that, uh, Leva and her husband own four restaurants on King Street and they want the staff to, you know, You know, celebrate the empire if you're busy at a Republic, then send them down to bourbon and bubbles.
But, uh, they also have like a place called messu and first place, which is like a sports bar. It feels like they've got kind of got a stranglehold on this.
Jordan: [00:10:00] Yeah, I, I will say that I really liked seeing the inside of Bourbon and Bubbles. Uh, that's, that did seem like a place that I would want to hang out.
Yeah. Yeah, that had a nice vibe. I will say that you don't get a lot of shots of the clientele at B& B, as I like to call it. Oh, yes. Um, but the, the little glimpses of the people in there you do see, it does look like people who are there for like, a work convention. Like, people who are in town because they sell like, You know, CPAP supplies or something like that.
It's the, you know, United Plastics Council convention.
Rob: they have a deal with the local hotel.
Jordan: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of, a lot of, a lot of tucked in polos, a lot of pleated khakis, but I will say that I really liked the decor and the, you know, general vibe of,
Rob: some decorating is timeless, and bourbon and bubbles is timeless, whereas Republic is, uh, is for the youth.
For the youth,
Jordan: exactly.
Rob: And that's, that's okay, you know, we got a [00:11:00] party, we all gotta wear our neon and doctor's jackets with no shirt underneath. Uh, we're introduced then to one of the cast members that lives with their parents, Grace Lilly, who currently is the host of Bourbon and Bubbles because of some drama.
we hear from Maddi her and Grace had a falling out due to Maddi's managerial promotion at Republic. And the fighting got so bad that Leva had to separate them. Uh, and everyone's kind of, um, Not the best fan of, uh, Grace because she takes off work a lot to go on trips with, uh, with people who want to pay the bill, I guess.
Jordan: Sure, sure.
Rob: Yeah. But she's an Instagram model, essentially.
Jordan: Okay, yeah, and, uh, yeah, she's got charisma. I think at some point she, uh, Talks about the virtues of not making eye contact with people. Yes. Um, because yeah, apparently if you're not looking at someone, they want to look at you more. So I think we [00:12:00] learned some lessons about, you know, poise and presentation from, from Grace in this.
Rob: Sounds like Grace has her own updated version of the game she's been reading. Right, yes. Yeah, you know, stand up straight. Don't look at them. Arguably a, uh, much nicer version of that book for sure.
Jordan: Yeah. Relatively tame compared to the strange pickup rituals that you find in the game. But
Rob: will anyone bring runes to Republic?
That's what I want to know and read them.
Jordan: Yes. That's the question. Will anybody be peacocking? Will anyone be setting up a two set?
Rob: Uh, I recently found the TV show in some, I don't even remember what streaming service made it available or else I would totally let you know for free with ads. Not that you would need to go back and watch that show, but it was amazing to me that it still existed somewhere on the internet.
Jordan: Kind of wild, huh?
Rob: Yeah. Hey, guess what? Doesn't age well. Anyway. [00:13:00] No. No.
I, I should say just since we're on that topic, I had Lacey Skulls from Rock of Love on the show a few months back. And she said that, uh, Mystery did try and pick her and her friend up once at a, at a sugar fish and did not work.
She was like, surprise, surprise, not as smooth as he thinks.
Jordan: Right, right, right. Um, I, from what I understand, I feel like I've heard rumblings that like rock of love is having a little moment. Like maybe people are rediscovering that show on, you know, a streaming service.
Rob: I have heard the same thing and it's, it's very interesting to.
To hear people from that show, do interviews because, uh, maybe the rules were a little bit looser than say the bachelor
Jordan: and
Rob: in a fun, fun way for us to like, look back on nostalgically, not as like in a dangerous way, but, Speaking of danger, Republic is [00:14:00] full of danger and Mikel learns dangerously that you cannot promote another club.
And he, he comes in, he has to talk to Leva in this moment when they're filming with the rest of the cast that, uh, he would love his job back. And she's like, you know, you can, but, uh, you VIP manager anymore. You have to start as busboy. I love this sort of storytelling, right? Like it sure, maybe something like this could happen, but the fact that like, we know nothing of this man.
And we have to just be told, he used to be king shit at Republic, but just take our word for it, he's gonna start at the bottom now.
Jordan: Yeah, I know, it is interesting, and I guess this show is a spin off of another show, am I right about that? Yeah,
Rob: uh, Southern Charm.
Jordan: Okay. Which is,
Rob: it's fun enough, but like, it is a spinoff in the loosest way.
But it didn't even get a backdoor pilot.
Jordan: Oh my gosh. Okay. [00:15:00] So, so yeah, uh, I, I also had this sense of like, who are these people? And yeah, it, there seems to be a lot of telling and not showing, um, again, not to note this thing to death, but yeah, yeah, it would, were I producing it, you could have a moment where.
Someone's looking at their phone. It's like, have you seen this? This looks like the guy from our club. Is he promoting another rival club? And then you can have people reacting to it in real time. But there is just this moment where I did feel like I wasn't watching a pilot. I was watching, you know, season three, episode five, and maybe that's a virtue.
You know, maybe it, for some people does make you feel like the show has just been around forever and it doesn't have some of the piloty awkwardness where everything has to get set up. But I, I. Again, kind of like with the how does this bar work? Who are these people? I I did feel like I was [00:16:00] Uh not getting some information
Rob: I felt the exact same way and i've watched so many of these types of shows for the podcast that Um, you know, everyone told me going into this, Oh, you're going to love Southern Hospitality.
It's like the first season of Vanderpump rules. You're, you're, you're going to be transported back to when everyone was, was young and full of hope in their eyes and trying to make something of themselves. And although I see that partially, I also see the reality TV show machine building this type of show.
And that was kind of like, You know, your friends that may watch Vanderpump rules and explain Scandaval to you may have expressed that, like, the fact is, is that these people were living in the apartments that people like us were living in when we first moved to LA, right? Like they were struggling and these people don't feel like they're actually working their way up.
It looks like they're already there. [00:17:00] but we do have a little glimpse of what's going on at Republic that night. There's successful bachelorette parties, you know, everyone's having fun cleaning up after work, which is never heard of.
then we flash forward to Sunday morning and this is where we get Grace Lilly's home with her mom. This is the part I was talking about before, But what I like about this scene is her hula hoop skills in the kitchen mirror.
She's, she's practicing that. And her mom comes in to discuss and maybe I would say gas up, uh, Grace Lily, a bit more than maybe she needs to be gassed up, you are the perfect human being and you should know that
Jordan: you live with me in your mid twenties. Yeah. Yeah. You're doing the right thing by living with me.
It is not weird.
Rob: Yeah, it's, and uh, this is one of those things where it's like, I'm always like, you know, my little, my antenna goes up a little bit when I see parents on reality shows about young people because it's kind of like, do you want to be a star [00:18:00] on this show? Because you're acting like you want to be a star on this show and that's fine, but,
Jordan: and mom, mom comes in.
Mom's got big hair and mom is like carrying a little dog and yeah, that seems to suggest to me that like, mom. Might want to be a real housewife. Uh, yeah, I, I don't know that I got any kind of charisma at all from, no. but yeah, I think as, as they're kind of building the cast of characters around this show, um, maybe the idea was that these young people would have a outrageous, uh, you know, cougar of a mom that's always getting her claws into things.
Rob: And surprisingly, the only mom we see. And that's also part of it. You know, like some of these other people that we meet live at home with their parents, but this is the only mom that wants to be on camera. Maybe it's because Grace
Jordan: is on the outs.
Rob: You never know.
Jordan: Yeah, could be. Maybe we'll get more of that story as the show [00:19:00] progresses.
Rob: Will we meet Will's mom? Sure, what's
Jordan: Will's mom like?
Rob: But we do know that Will, Bradley, TJ, and Joe Bradley I'll meet up at Will's place for a shirtless workout session. They sure
Jordan: do. Yeah. They lift cinder blocks. Uh, one guy chases him around on a riding lawnmower. That's a lot of fun. I love it. Just a bunch of bros lifting, then having some, having, having a nice fruit salad afterwards.
Rob: Having a fruit salad, sitting shirtless. One of them obviously having a pillow in front of his body because maybe he's not as ripped. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just a little bit more self conscious. That would be me. I feel bad for the
Jordan: less yoked of the guys. If you're on the show with the, with the dudes who have the abs, it's gotta be tough to be, you know, a little more of a realistic man.
Rob: It is so tough to not be chiseled in this world. the one thing that scenes like this really make me reflect on when I'm [00:20:00] watching these shows is God damn, you all have enough free time to all meet up and just eat watermelon and do pushups. Like, I don't think I've ever had that much free time since like eighth grade,
Jordan: Maybe you can, you can let me in on this as someone who, who watches these shows professionally. Um, do we still think about these shows as. the cameras are around all the time and they're just capturing these moments. Is there, is that artifice still there? I think practically, or if you're in the industry or if you've ever talked to somebody who works on one of these shows, like, these shoots are very set up, they're very produced, probably very scripted, but does the casual viewer know that or does the casual viewer think like, these cameras follow these people around all the time and that's, this is just what's happening?
Rob: for the longest time I was like, Reality TV has been happening for multiple decades at this point. This style of [00:21:00] reality TV has been happening for 15 plus years. I think we all kind of get that like as real as some of these friendships are or the works, they have a shooting schedule.
And then I interviewed someone who was like, yeah, it wasn't until ScandalVault that it clicked for me that these people like. Actually have to go somewhere and like they say, Oh, you're going to talk to Jane and Josh are going to go to the hot dog stand in Eagle Rock and have their little sit down and talk about, you have to ask
Jordan: her, how are things going with Tom?
Yes. Yes. And you guys will ever get back together.
Rob: And so I do think there is a, like, like there are a lot of people out there. who probably still just watch this at face value and haven't had to think. that much further into it. Now, I do think that changed with Scandaval and with the latest season of Summer House, which I will spare any details from for you.
But, uh, it really has broken that artifice, I think. And a lot of people are now like [00:22:00] discovering all of these, you know, subreddits and Facebook groups and stuff where people are talking about, you know, breaking up the fourth wall and stuff. So it's interesting. Joe Bradley does open up about his crush with Maddi and all the guys are like, you know, you got to shoot your shot, bro.
and I think that what they should be telling him is that, like, you know, the ladies always know, and it doesn't. And that's just this particular situation. The crush knows.
Jordan: Probably aware. Yeah. You know,
Rob: the, the crush knows. And, and so it's, it's not like you have to work too hard.
You just have to say what you are thinking and then you can have that conversation, which is tough. It's tough. the most yokest of hunks can still have their heartbroken.
Jordan: Absolutely. It doesn't matter how yoked you are. Yeah. Self conscious and, uh, and speaking of Maddi, the crush E.
And Mikel go shopping for shoes, I guess. Yeah, sneakers, kicks, perhaps,
Rob: bright colors. apparently Maddi's a big Ed Hardy fan, [00:23:00] uh, with her jacket. It's coming back. Trucker hats. but this is where part of the, what you get paid comes into play here because. Mikel talks about how when he was a VIP manager, he was like partying on yachts and we got like the photo montage of this and I was like,
Jordan: yeah, that's this, this show support statements with pics that at least you assume are from social media.
So when somebody is talking about, you know, a trip to Tulum, you see some shots that. You are meant to think are from Tulum.
Rob: Yeah. And not at all from, you know, South beach or something. A water park in Charleston. Yeah. you know, we do get a little bit of closure on the Joe Bradley, Maddi thing where she's just like, yeah, I know he's obsessed with me, but he won't make a move.
And it's like, and that's always, that, that cements the point, man. And, uh, it's at this point where we take a quick break and we'll be right back. [00:24:00] So Maddi and Joe, tension is high, Jordan. You can just squeeze it. And uh, so they have to head out to lunch together.
Drink the tension out of an ice luge. Exactly. Which We'll be showing up soon in the last, which will be coming up later in, in the show, and Joe talks about what he wants in a woman, you know, and what would be perfect for him someone with confidence, I think is what he says.
Jordan: right?
Rob: But then he quickly pivots to, you've got confidence, mad. Let's open a club together one day. but we do get this little bit of backstory that I enjoyed that Maddi, uh, grew up a hard knock life in NYC started drinking and doing drugs at 12 and that she's sober now,
Jordan: Yeah, I thought this was really interesting. This is like a cool wrinkle. I, I feel like again, as a casual viewer, it seems that these [00:25:00] shows, you know, everyone's always got a drink in their hand. Everyone's always partying and maybe you can explain some of this like extreme behavior on, Oh, these people are just always drunk.
They're always getting just fed drinks on camera, off camera. And they, that. That causes this wild behavior and it's in everybody's best interest that these people just be drunken and sane as much as possible. Uh, so yeah, it is interesting having a sober character. I think it's like cool. I think it's, yeah, I don't know.
It, it, I, I, again, I, I don't watch a ton of these, but, but this to me seemed like a new, uh, yeah, new, a new little, little detail you don't, you don't often see.
Rob: Yeah, absolutely. And I, you know, I, I am, as I talk about on the podcast, I am a sober person. And I think that. Being able to have that person who's not like making excuses for their actions because like you'll see on vanderpump rules where, and this is no judgment to people who struggle with substances or anything like this, but you'll see like a [00:26:00] James Kennedy who will be like, alcohol is the problem.
So I just stopped drinking alcohol and now I'm a good person. This is someone who seems to be like, I recognized a problem, and now I'm like a manager at one of the hottest clubs in town, and I can handle my business. Yeah,
Jordan: and it is like, it's totally compelling that someone whose job it is to like, get the party started, to sell alcohol, is, is sober.
It's, it's neat. She's a neat, she's a neat character.
Rob: I like that. And then I like that she turns to the hipster bartender and is like, you should come to Republic. And I am like thinking this person's like, I will never set foot in Republic.
Jordan: Yeah, they are at a more kind of crafty hipster cocktail bar while this is happening.
And the bartender at that bar Looks like they probably make zines on the side or draw web comics. Like, Hey, might even have a podcast,
Rob: you know?
Jordan: Yeah. They might even have a podcast about Dr. [00:27:00] Who or Sailor Moon. Like that is the vibe of this bartender. And yeah, I also had that feeling of like, this person is probably just like, fuck no.
Rob: I'll be polite because you're being nice to me, but it does remind me of like the instance in high school where like. You make a funny joke and maybe I'm speaking only about myself, but, uh, you make a funny joke and the popular girl goes, Rob, you're so funny. And then you go, Oh, I can't, I'm flying too close to the sun.
I have to get out of here. so we move over to bourbon and bubbles where VIP concierge Grace Lilly is welcoming her airport patrons who just got done selling bourbon. Um, bathroom fixtures at the local hotel, um, but Maddi comes in to speak with Grace about how everyone that works at Leva's restaurants is a team and everyone's a little frustrated with Grace taking so much time off.
Grace then discusses the rockiness in their friendship. And I found this very interesting that Grace and Maddi [00:28:00] moved to Tulum over COVID.
Jordan: Right.
Rob: Then they got in a huge fight over the men they hung out with,
Jordan: This is a strange little piece of backstory that feels like it needs more explanation.
They just kind of wave it off. It's like, Oh, well, yeah, of course, during COVID, we moved to Tulum and fought over men.
And also, maybe kind of points to like, I don't know if I want to hear about what anyone on this show thinks about vaccines.
Yeah, exactly. Let's not bring it up. We don't need to have Let's not talk about where the microchips are. Let's not talk about what affects your sperm. Yes. Let's just maybe not ask anybody here.
Rob: also in the show this is a spinoff from, there is a character who, maybe gets sucked into YouTube a little too far.
Okay, not surprised, not surprised. Yep, yep, Charleston, you're on watch, okay? Grace makes the amazing point that her life does not revolve around levis bars.
Jordan: work life balance.
Rob: Did you ever work in any place where, uh, cause I had worked in a [00:29:00] lot of bars and like music, punk music venues when I lived in Kansas and it did feel like there was that weird thing where you just do it, you know, you might be getting paid for shit, but like, you gotta respect the establishment you're working in.
And especially when it's a punk bar, when you're just kind of like, you might. Am I supposed to respect establishment or am I supposed to be counter culture here? Yeah, tell my boss to fuck off.
Jordan: Right, is that better that I'm respectful or am I a worse employee because I'm not giving people the finger?
Yeah, I'm sure that's a hard line to tow. Um, yeah, you know, I've never really, I haven't had that much food service experience. I was a barista a couple of times. I was pretty bad at it. I am, I am very, very lucky that I've been able to. Uh, work in the entertainment industry for me. I'm lucky for many reasons, but sure, but chiefest of which is that I was such a fucking bad barista and food service employee, and it's good that I got out of [00:30:00] that.
And, uh, yeah, God bless. God bless anybody who who does that. Well, it takes it seriously.
Rob: I completely, completely understand. I I too have had a lot of ups and downs and luckily more ups than downs. But one of them is I am never going to be able to get your order right. It's just not, not going to happen. So we're preparing for Leva's birthday party.
And, uh, you know, McKell and Grace, they're outcasts. So they're going to go together. Uh, Joe Bradley wants the young folks on the patio and out of the bar area. You know, there's a dress code, but we want to welcome everyone, uh, coded language and Maddi and the staff remind each other, love it, love it.
Turns 43, not 42, which is a cake, a fiasco signage
Jordan: says 42, but the ice luge is 43, right? The ice luge.
Rob: And that's the thing that needs to be right. It's right at the front door. It's got to be correct. Um, I wanted to see an ice swan as well. In fact, I wanted [00:31:00] to see a guy with a chainsaw carving ice sculptures, but it's probably really hot out there and I get it.
Jordan: Can I make a stray observation about the music throughout the episode?
Rob: Yes, please.
Jordan: Uh, yeah, I so every I was very annoyed by the soundtrack of this. It's a nightclub. I feel like I feel like the music should be pumping me up. And you know, I don't know what music is available to them. Every song sounded like the venga bus.
Every song was just this annoying, Ba ba ba. And I, again, what music is playing at a modern nightclub I sure, I sure don't know. Maybe it's this. But everything was so cool. That's fucking high pitched and repetitive and annoying. There's gotta be library music that's
Rob: better than this, right? You would think just opening JinglePunks and [00:32:00] saying, like, Pump Up Music would offer tons of options for you.
But,
Jordan: It's so annoying.
Rob: I am waiting for the Six Flag guy to come dance his way through Republic. That is what it
Jordan: sounded like.
Rob: Man, I, I think I get so tuned out and I almost wonder if there's some sort of psy op with the music they do in these shows to make you feel a certain way, you know? Uh, not to get too Charleston on us here, I think we should just skip forward a little bit you know, there's beef.
People, you know, Mikel's back, but he's not really vibing with everyone. Mikel's like snarky to some of the other employees who are like, you can't promote this other club. TJ, who's one of the shirtless hunks from earlier says that he doesn't side with Mikel's views because these people love their job that much that like, you can't go against [00:33:00] our job.
The man promoted a party. That happened over a weekend on Instagram. Like I, there is a little bit of give and take here, I think that needs to happen. but Maddi's ex Trevor shows up looking like. Tommy Lee's son. Yeah.
Jordan: Backwards hat, I don't know if he is a pedicab driver or if he just has one or if he stole one, but he rolls up on a, on a, on a pedicab and, and takes her away with it.
Rob: Joe's pissed. Joe's
Jordan: pissed. Joe is not happy.
Somebody stole his shirt. His girl's going away with some petty cab loser.
Rob: Oh, man, but he's not alone. All of the other ladies are there saying she's digmatized. Yes, they are.
Jordan: Digmatized. Another good catchphrase.
Rob: I get it. Put it on a whoopee cushion.
Put it on
Jordan: a hat.
Rob: but then, you know, Maddi leaves, and the next day The ladies head to the pool, grace shows off her strawberry birthmark, but gets a call from [00:34:00]lava
Jordan: I, every time I do dip into one of these shows, um, I am always surprised how much, but we see on.
Cable TV these days. Tell me about it. There's a lot, a button, these kinds of shows, you'll get just a lot of leering shots at women's kind of thong butts. Yes. Uh, no male butts kind of interesting.
Rob: I feel very similar because I, I, I think at one point in time, like even Survivor would like blur out a thong, right, on TV, when it would probably be the most modest of bathing suits this day and age.
But, uh, but yeah, it does, I say bring, bring back the male thong and let's just, let's see everyone in thongs. Um, these
Jordan: guys in some Borat suits, that'd be fun.
Rob: I think we need it, and not just on Love Island, and we need it on shows like this. Uh, essentially, Maddi had brought a, a, like a bachelorette party of ladies to [00:35:00] Bourbon and Bubbles, but Grace had left early.
Mm hmm. And Leva wasn't happy about that. And she tears up at the pool party and says she can't make everyone happy. And that's something that's troubling her. And it's probably going to go into the next episode, Jordan. So very relatable. I mean, putting the burden of the world on Grace Lily's shoulders is just something she cannot bear or any of us.
She's a she's Sisyphus in this moment, I think. But I do think I like Gracefully the best, but that probably segments or transitions us into this great segment. I'm calling bourbon and bubbles What is your bourbon of the episode jordan? And what is your bubble of the episode bourbon being something?
Negative, right? Maybe it's a little bit more bitter tasting, but bubbly is good. So, okay. Is there anything that jumps out to you in this?
Jordan: Yeah. Well, I'll, I'll do the good first. Okay. I'll do my bubble first. If you don't mind, [00:36:00] I think we, we talked about this, but you do have that sober character, really interesting.
And I could see, you know, in the discussions of who to have on the show and who to feature. I could see. a less interesting choice being like, let's not mention her sobriety. Let's give her non alcoholic drinks to make her look like she's drinking because that's so much of a part of these shows. Um, so yeah, I think a really cool, a really cool move.
Really interesting. Yeah. Not just like for, you know, setting a good example for people who are trying to get sober, but also just like dramatically it's, it's really interesting having a character that is in this party. Sell booze business who is sober kind of cool, uh, negative most other things that happened on the show.
Yes Not a not a ton of charisma on display here Uh, you're like, okay So the most time i've spent [00:37:00] with like a bravo person is I got very into dancing with the stars this. Ah, yes ariana from vanderpump rules and I really at the end of that show You Was rooting for her. I thought she was really cool and like really saw reality show person charisma on display and it's different than actor charisma.
It's a different kind of thing. Like there's a reason why we stopped putting reality people in scripted movies and TV. It doesn't work. It's different. Whatever they have, which can be very effective is just different. But I'm like, I kind of get it. I kind of get wanting to spend time with these people kind of being a little more of a, this like simulating when there's drama in your friend group, it kind of being a little more, it feeling a little more close to home than watching a, you know, [00:38:00] prescriptive TV show or a movie.
And again, this is the first season of this. Maybe these kids will get more comfortable on camera. Maybe the production will figure out what to do with them more, but like, wow, everyone here just seemed like they were describing a car wreck on the local news. That is the kind of. panache that was on display.
Just very blasé, saying something that maybe a producer off camera is telling them to say. it was rough. I think some people handled it better than others, but, but by and large, I did not feel like the camera should have been pointed at anyone.
Rob: I. Understand where you're coming from and I think that you have a lot of valid points and I have yet to been Enchanted I think by any of these cast members really but I will say with my my bubble Right that like you you had Maddi on there.
I think she's great as well. [00:39:00] But in terms of like this world I think Grace Lilly is a ridiculous character that I need to see more of, right? Like I need to see where a person like this who, who does hula hoop tricks in front of her mom and her house at 25 goes. And I think my bourbon, everything you said, plus the fact that like how many times like you could play a drinking game on this of how many times people talk about how much they love their job, right?
And I feel like. I don't want to dissuade anyone, you can enjoy what you do, you can love it, but I think like blind loyalty to a bartending gig is a little awkward when it makes you aggressive against your co employees, right?
Jordan: Yeah, and I can kind of hear the notes in that. I think like when something an experience I've had with writing scripted television A note you will [00:40:00] often get is you need to like remind the audience that the characters are friends. I think that like there is a feeling that people will tune out if Things get too negative. And it feels like maybe that's a note here of like, we can't make it seem like these people are dicking around.
They, we have to make the nightclub seem cool and we have to make it seem like they want to work there. So it seems like perhaps there's an executive behind the scenes going, like. They need to say before every act break that they love their job and they love working there. Right. It, it does seem like a, we don't really trust the viewer to be paying attention.
So let's just say it. Ten times.
Rob: Especially if this is following, like, the premiere of Real Housewives of Dubai or something, Of course. Like, everyone's tuning in. We have to remind people because this is just going to still play. After this, and they're just going to be on, we need, we need that, like every six minute reminder of something.
Jordan: And I think these [00:41:00] shows, I get the impression are still probably widely watched on cable TV. These are probably watched on cable more than they're streamed. So there's probably a, we got to hook them before the commercial kind of mentality.
Rob: Absolutely. I mean, and then people watch them on like TikTok lives and Twitch and stuff.
So like, Some way people people these are shows people don't want to wait the next day from Peacock, right? They want to be able to watch it live and they want to watch you live Jordan, but they can't so instead Why don't you let people know where they can find some of your work your writing your podcast all that sort of stuff
Jordan: Yeah, I am, uh, encouraging people to check out a upcoming graphic novel that I wrote. It is called Youth Group. The art is by a great artist named Bowen McGurdy. Um, it is a YA horror comedy about teenage girls. Exorcists, um, it is set in kind of a goofy bible study.
I grew up in one and these are all the specifics [00:42:00] from my From my childhood. Uh, yeah, it's kind of spooky. It's kind of funny. Got a little bit of romance a lot of friendship Um, yeah, and uh, yeah, it's if you if you like buffy the vampire slayer if you like sean of the dead Please check out Youth Group, um, if you're listening to this, uh, on or after July 16th, it is in stores now.
If you're listening to this before July 16th, oh boy, we would love a pre order. Uh, pre orders, very helpful for books, very helpful for comics. So, uh, yeah, if you go to bit. ly slash youth group book, bit. ly slash youth group book, uh, you can check out, uh, you can check out Bowen's gorgeous cover, you can check out, uh, some of the first pages, and you can get all those.
Pre order links, uh, Amazon, Barnes Noble, better yet, your local indie bookstore. Check out, uh, Youth Group. We would love it if you would.
Rob: I promise you listeners, you will love anything Jordan has made, especially if you like Vanderpump Robs, I will also put that link in the show notes. So
Jordan: thank you.
Rob: Go forth and do it while you're listening right now.
Easy [00:43:00] thumb push. And, uh, if you like this podcast, make sure to support it over at patreon. com slash Vanderpump Robs, where you get bonus and ad free episodes and even some video episodes. Jordan. Thank you so much for joining me today. It's been a long time coming. I really appreciate it.
Jordan: Thank you so much.
This was a total blast. A, a really, a really fun excuse to, to dip my toes into this fun and funky world of shirtless ice luge servers.
Rob: Uh, well everyone have a hunky day. We'll see you next time on Vanderpump Robs.