HOLLYWOOD—Family, we can’t live with them and we can’t live without them. The new USA reality series “Chrisley Knows Best” may be one of the funniest, honest, no holds barred show I’ve seen in a long-time. The show centers on patriarch Todd Chrisley, who along with his wife Julie, raise their five kids in the suburbs of Atlanta.
Of course I know what you’re thinking, it’s just another reality show featuring someone’s family? Well not quite. This series, while some may want to compare to “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, has much more bite and honesty than most reality driven shows nowadays. Todd is no pushover. He’s the type of parent that I think most kids would say I would never want growing up, but if you’re an adult you might consider how things would be different if he was your parent.
He turns the table on his kids in so many ways, and it’s a true testament to the idea that there are always consequences for your actions. Just imagine how many kids would learn right from wrong if they had parents like Todd and Julie. While the series may present Todd as the true disciplinarian, his wife is no pushover either. Julie may be toned down a bit compared to her hubby, but she sees all that happens around her.
This family doesn’t sugarcoat things either. To see this father speaking honestly about his eldest son, Kyle’s drug addiction just proves to America there is no such thing as a perfect family; no matter how much we may like to think there is. While he keeps a tight leash on Kyle, that’s nothing to the antics he encounters with his combative teenage son, Chase.
Chase is more like Todd, yet refuses to acknowledge it. He will go against any rule set forward by his father in an attempt to prove him wrong. Just ask Chase what transpired when he decided to go out against his parent’s rules, let’s just say his car was parked in the driveway for quite some time. Why might you ask? His father put a boot on it. At first, I couldn’t help but laugh, but it dawned on me that’s tough love, without the guilt. He was teaching his son a lesson, a hard fought one to say the least. You may not like what I’m doing, but I’m doing it for a reason.
That brings me to Todd’s daughters Lindsie (the oldest of the bunch) andSavannah(the youngest girl). Lindsie, no longer lives with the clan as she is married to Will, who doesn’t have the best relationship with his father-in-law. Let’s just say Will and Todd don’t have much too talk about, but bond over guns and ammo during one of the episodes. That same episode saw Todd grappling with his decision to purchase new boobs for Lindsie and to surprise his daughter he gave her a boob cake. It was funny to say the least. When it comes toSavannah, she is a Southern princess, but daddy makes sure that his youngster realizes the harsh truth about boys and the world itself.
I will admit one of the funniest of the bunch has to be Grayson, the youngest of all the siblings, who for a six-year old sure delivers some of the best lines that I have ever heard. Where does he come up with this stuff? He asks his mother to tell him all about her day, and then cuts her off mid-way through to indicate he is already bored with her story.
He kind of gets what he wants at home and anyone who stands in his way; he makes it a note to crack a joke or two about them. Just imagine telling your older brother at some point during the day you plan to kick him in his private spot. While Chase may have thought of the line as a joke, Grayson was dead serious on making that goal for the day come to fruition.
I think the reason I’m so drawn to “Chrisley Knows Best” is because of its genuine honesty. I really don’t think you can make this type of stuff up. No parent just flings an expensive computer into the pool for the sake of doing so; trust me I thought it was an act, but Todd was dead serious when he flung Chase’s laptop into the pool. For those not in the know about the ins and outs of the Chrisley clan, catch “Chrisley Knows Best” Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on USA.
By LaDale Anderson
