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From left: Savannah Chrisley, Lindsie Chrisley Campbell, matriarch Julie, patriarch Todd, Kyle, Chase and Grayson Chrisley.
(Tommy Garcia/USA)
Todd Chrisley may wear crisp white pants just like his wife, Julie, and conjure the "hey y'all" character from "Family Guy," but there's no question that he wears the pants in "Chrisley Knows Best."
Premiering tonight on USA, and joining what is now a multitude of reality shows set in and near Atlanta and the South, the half-hour series centers on the entire Chrisley family. Mostly how Todd and Julie Chrisley parent their five children, some grown, one just entering first grade (he's the most entertaining one). The all-controlling Todd, however, is the one who insists on keeps extreme tabs on their day-to-day lives.
Todd is a multimillionaire who made his money in real estate. The show follows him as he ventures into the fashion business by establishing a department store, one he hopes will become the "Bergdorf Goodman of the South." His ideal female shopper, he says, should meet his size 4-to-6 requirement. Julie, whose protestations often amount to little more than knowing shrug, isn't surprised.
The Chrisley patriarch likes things just so in all areas of his family and business lives. He monitors his children's whereabouts with tracking devices and probes their text messages.
"I am from South Carolina," Todd tells his 17-year-old son, Chase. "You grew up weak, in Georgia."
In another scene, Todd Chrisley pries a laptop away from his son and flings it into their pool, just to make a point. In an upcoming episode, he does the same thing with a cell phone. It probably helps that his budget can probably absorb many a replacement.
At premiere's end, "Chrisley Knows Best" comes off as a quaint glimpse into the life of a rich family that has growing pains of its own. But there's really not much conflict yet to make this show all that compelling.
The teenage Chase is the biggest source of angst here, proclaiming that his father makes a prison — an "Alcatraz" — of his life. Sensing that his son is disobeying him, Chrisley tracks Chase's location and text messages, confirms his suspicion is true, and the next day Chase finds his Range Rover grounded by a red boot and steering wheel lock.
Still, there's a hint here at problems beyond teenage angst.
Another of Chrisley's sons, Kyle, was caught with a married woman, he says, in a brief preview of plots to come.
"Your servicing the community is not the kind of community service you need to be involved in," Todd tells him. Zing!
Talking about his oldest child, Lindsie, he calls her beautiful, smart, but "bitchy." You see, she eloped with her boyfriend. Yet even if Todd and Julie are not enamored of their son-in-law, Will, they seem quite content with their baby grandson, Jackson.
But the Chrisleys' own pride and joy is their son, Grayson, who's just starting first grade. And the audience should be glad for that.
"I wanna go to Hooters!" he exclaims from his child-proof seat, his mother at the wheel.
"Chrisley Knows Best" airs 10 p.m. Tuesdays on USA, starting with two back-to-back episodes.