The premiere of Bravo\u2019s \u201cIn The City,\u201d a \u201cSummer House\u201d spinoff, is one of the best series debuts I\u2019ve seen in a long time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The series follows original \u201cSummer House\u201d cast members Lindsay Hubbard, Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula as they navigate the next phases of adulthood in New York City alongside a bevy of new friends. In Bravo-specific terms, it\u2019s on par with the launch of \u201cVanderpump Rules,\u201d because, similar to how that show was born as a backdoor pilot on \u201cThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,\u201d the \u201cSummer House\u201d finale allowed for a near-seamless roll into the \u201cIn The City\u201d pilot. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Near-<\/em>seamless because, as any \u201cSummer House\u201d viewer knows by now, the idea of Amanda hooking up with fellow cast member West Wilson, the ex-boyfriend of her supposed bestie and co-worker Ciara Miller, blew everyone\u2019s mind and threw everything into chaos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So much so that seconds after we watch the \u201cIn The City\u201d cast roll into Manhattan, we have to jump ahead to April 9 to watch Kyle and Amanda discuss recent events and whether she had been checked out of their marriage while they were filming this spinoff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In sum, Amanda continues to mumble and play dumb about the betrayal and behavior caught on camera, and Kyle, while no saint, is heartbroken yet continues to try to shield her from the backlash. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Following that awkward moment, the show rewinds seven months to where it was designed to begin, as we join Lindsay in her gorgeous, spacious apartment with her daughter Gemma, whose face we are now allowed to see.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lindsay, an influencer, is the kind of person meant not only to be on reality television but to also be the center of this kind of aspirational series set in NYC. Among this crew are doctors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and, naturally, hopeless romantics. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The \u201cIn The City\u201d premiere features an interesting collective and also offers a more interesting presentation of New York itself than the past few seasons of the rebooted \u201cThe Real Housewives of New York.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The network, seeing the success of \u201cThe Valley,\u201d wanted to find its East Coast counterpart, and \u201cIn The City\u201d is a more inspiring counterbalance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, when the trailer for \u201cIn The City\u201d <\/span>debuted<\/span><\/a> last month, there were complaints about the apparent lack of diversity in the cast. These complaints won\u2019t be quelled by the premiere.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHow can a show set in NYC not feature more people of color?\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n While I always want to see every type of person on television, I\u2019m largely not among the crowd clamoring for representation in every social circle on a reality show. This criticism obscures the reality that Americans don\u2019t co-mingle as much as some TV shows suggest. NYC may be the most populous and diverse city in the nation, but it\u2019s <\/span>long been a symbol of school segregation<\/span><\/a>, too. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n What\u2019s not often said on these shows and in everyday conversation is that it requires a certain level of social mobility and economic means to be included in the friend groups featured on Bravo. And in America writ large. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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