In the United States, this may be a summer of the World Cup and a historic Knicks performance. But it is also, for many, the season of a drama-filled Bravo reunion that has millions of viewers hooked. Especially men.
“Summer House,” a reality show that revolves around the lives and romances of a group of friends who share a house in the Hamptons every summer, has ricocheted online.
Much of the drama stems from the 10th season, which aired in May. After the finale, two of the show’s main cast members — Amanda Batula, an influencer, and West Wilson, a sports journalist — revealed their secret relationship. Many viewers saw it as a betrayal of their closest friends in the house, especially Ciara Miller, a model and registered nurse, who dated Wilson in the eighth season.
This week and next, the cast is coming together for the final installments of a three-part reunion, which so far has been filled with shocking, juicy reveals and arguments.
As with many other Bravo titles, the show has long been popular with women, and many of those women have looped the men in their lives into it. Now, the men can’t look away either.
As Carl Radke, one of the cast members, said on his podcast: “Real men watch Bravo.”
Steel Russell and Sean Morrison, who host the “BravBros” podcast, said that their audience had grown significantly with this season of “Summer House” and that some episodes had as much as a tenfold increase in listeners.
“The stigma of reality TV when it comes to guys, especially straight guys, is you know, ‘That’s a girl TV show,’” said Russell, 35, who began watching Bravo with his wife. He added that the stigma was breaking down with “Summer House.”
“Dudes are relatable on a show like this,” Morrison, also 35, said, adding, “The men on the show take a bigger role than that of like a ‘Housewives’ show.” Some viewers have also pointed to the male friendships shown on the show and the range of careers, including Kyle Cooke’s business ventures and Wilson’s journalism background.
The actor Jon Hamm declared himself “Team Ciara” in an interview with the Bravo host Andy Cohen. The Cleveland Browns last month posted a video on TikTok showing football players on the field hyping themselves up and cheering. The caption read, “me when we are less than a week from summer house reunion.” The New York Giants also joined in on the fun.
In recent weeks, women have posted across social media showing their partners, brothers or fathers engrossed in the reality show. Some men have posted TikTok video explainers of all the drama across the show’s 10 seasons. One has drawn a flow chart, comparing the couples and cast members to sports teams and athletes. (The “BravBros” podcast takes a sport commentary approach to the series.)
Franklin Vuong, 40, has been a loyal “Summer House” watcher since his wife, Mallory Sills, 40, introduced it to him almost a decade ago. “I really got excited about the different themed parties and the characters,” he said. He added that he was Team Ciara, “of course.”
When Vuong found out recently that a close friend also watches “Summer House” with his wife, he started sending him memes about the show.
“He’s never cared for the ‘Real Housewives’ because he thinks everyone yells too much,” Sills said. She posted a video on TikTok last week of Vuong engrossed during the reunion.
Katie Blevins, 25, persuaded two male friends to come with her to a bar in Richmond, Va., that was hosting a watch party for the show’s finale in May. She shared a video on TikTok of both staring at the bar’s TV.
“They came along because they wanted to meet women, have some drinks, stuff like that,” she said in an interview, “but when the drama picked up, they were locked in.”
They then watched all the seasons of the show and returned to the bar with Blevins for last week’s reunion. Blevins’s boyfriend is also wrapped up in it.
“It’s gotten to the point where I’ll come home and he’s watching an episode,” she said.
It’s even crossing generations: Madeleine Byrne, 34, recently posted a TikTok featuring texts she had received about the show from her 75-year-old dad, Robert (which, in true dad fashion, often have zero punctuation or context).
“Hi Madeleine Happy Friday,” read one, “Listened to the leaked Summerhouse reunion about 5 minutes No love for Amanda and West Love Dad.”
Though they live in different cities, Byrne said, “he texts me after every single episode with his thoughts.”
She added, “He has lots of opinions.”
Russell and Morrison think the show will be a gateway for men into the Bravoverse. When they started their podcast in 2022, they got some mocking responses from friends.
“We’re like: ‘Oh, really, dude? You’re too tough for a TV show?’” recalled Steel.
Now, Morrison said, “Friends I’ve grown up with, a lot of guys who really haven’t dipped their toe into any reality TV, have been reaching out like: Where do I start with ‘Summer House’?”
Melina Delkic contributed reporting.
Alisha Haridasani Gupta is a Times reporter covering style and pop culture.
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