Chrisley Knows Best

''Chrisley Knows Best'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the USA Network on March 11, 2014. It revolves around the lives of Georgia real estate tycoon Todd Chrisley and his wealthy family. The show was filmed in Roswell and Alpharetta, suburbs of Atlanta, before moving primarily to Nashville during the fourth season. ''Growing Up Chrisley'', a spin-off focusing on Chase and Savannah Chrisley, premiered in 2019.

In June 2022, Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie Chrisley were found guilty on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion and submitting false documents to banks to take out loans and fund their lavish lifestyle. In November 2022, the couple was sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison.

Cast

* Michael Todd Chrisley, who goes by the name Todd, is a real-estate tycoon. Todd was born in Georgia and raised in Westminster, South Carolina. He was previously married to his high school girlfriend, Teresa Terry, before marrying Julie in 1996. He has two children with Teresa and three children with Julie. Todd said he has embraced longtime, false rumors that he is gay: "I'm flattered that people think I can get laid on both ends. So, that doesn't bother me and my wife certainly is flattered that as many men want her husband as there are women." Todd was found guilty in June 2022 of federal bank fraud and tax evasion charges that involved taking out fraudulent loans funding an extravagant way of living.
* Julie Chrisley, Todd's wife. She is also from South Carolina and is the daughter of a Baptist minister. She has three children with Todd: Chase, Savannah, and Grayson. She also has a web series, ''What’s Cooking with Julie Chrisley'', which was launched on USA Networks website. Julie was found guilty of federal bank fraud and tax evasion charges in June 2022 and was involved in defrauding banks to take out loans to fund a lavish lifestyle.
* Lindsie Chrisley Campbell is Todd's oldest daughter with ex-wife Teresa Terry. Lindsie eloped with Will Campbell in 2012, without getting her father's approval, although he eventually forgave Will. Lindsie and Will briefly separated in 2014, before reconciling. They grew apart and filed for divorce in 2016,. They later reconciled again and withdrew the divorce filing. They have a son. Lindsie made her final appearance in season 5. She and other members of the Chrisley family have made various allegations against one another since then. According to her attorney "Lindsie has been a constant target of lies, harassment and threats from her family and as a result, has been distancing herself from the Chrisley family since 2017."
* Kyle Chrisley is Todd's oldest son with ex-wife Teresa Terry. He is the father of Chloe and is a recovering addict with bipolar disorder. He appeared in the first season before getting involved in drugs again, and had been mentioned only once since then, in the second season. He announced in 2019 that he is sober again, and made an appearance in the season 8 finale in 2021.
* Chase Chrisley is Todd and Julie's oldest son.
* Savannah Chrisley is Todd and Julie's oldest daughter. She is a former beauty pageant competitor and won the Miss Tennessee Teen USA title in 2016 and placed in the Top 15 at Miss Teen USA 2016. She founded a cosmetic company.
* Grayson Chrisley is Todd and Julie's youngest son.
* Chloe Chrisley is Kyle's young daughter who is being raised by her grandparents Todd and Julie due to Kyle's problems with substance abuse.
* "Nanny" Faye Chrisley is Todd's mother. She is from Westminster, South Carolina.

Production

The series was pitched to ten networks, nine of them made offers to buy it. USA Network picked up the series in December 2013. The series was executive produced by Adam Greener, Jim Sayer, and Stephanie Chambers. Maverick TV and All3Media America were the production companies behind the series. The series producers had access to the Chrisleys' schedule and decided which events to film. The family stated that being on television made them think twice before doing things, both on and off-camera. Julie said, "People are watching, people are looking at you. Whether that be good or bad, they're gonna catch it all."

On April 14, 2014, the USA Network ordered a 12-episode second season of ''Chrisley Knows Best.'' At the time the series garnered more young viewers than any other original program on USA Network, with a median age of 36.5 years among viewers. The series aired its 100th episode in June 2018.

On August 13, 2019, during the seventh season of the show, Todd and Julie were indicted by the Georgia Department of Revenue on multiple tax evasion and bank fraud charges. They turned themselves in on August 14 and were later released on a $100,000 bond. Despite the charges, the series was renewed for an eighth season. The couple settled the case with the Georgia Department of Revenue but still faced multiple federal charges including tax evasion. The federal trial began on May 17, 2022, and ended on June 7; they were convicted on each of the charges against them. On November 21, 2022, Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced to 12 and 7 years in prison respectively. Both the series and the ''Growing Up Chrisley'' spin-off were canceled, although a handful of episodes from the previously-renewed tenth season of ''Chrisley Knows Best'', filmed prior to the trial, began airing on USA Network in 2023.

Episodes

Broadcast and streaming

''Chrisley Knows Best'' is broadcast on USA Network in the United States. In the UK, it airs on ITVBe. ''Chrisley Knows Best'' reruns can be seen on E!, USA Network, Bravo, and video on demand.

In Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Ireland the first two seasons can be streamed on Netflix. In the United States, all seasons of ''Chrisley Knows Best'' can be streamed on Hulu + Live TV and Peacock.

Reception

''Chrisley Knows Best'' received "mixed or average" reviews according to Metacritic, based on five reviews from the first two seasons. Tom Gliatto and Liza Hamm of ''People'' gave a positive review, saying "This is the best 'family' reality series since '' Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'' or even ''The Osbournes'' from several centuries ago." Hillary Busis of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave a mixed review, saying "If you can get past the canned lines and sub-sitcom storylines, the Chrisley crew can be fun".

Brian Lowry of ''Variety'' gave the show a mixed review, stating that it is "intended to elicit sniggering" regarding Todd Chrisley's "'flamboyant'" personality. In his review of the show's second season, Lowry described it as "a throwback that recycles old sitcom plots, under the guise of an unscripted series".

From 2015 to 2017, the series won the NATPE's Reality Breakthrough award for best docusoap. In 2016, it was nominated at the 22nd Critics' Choice Awards for "Best Unstructured Reality Series", but lost to '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown''.

In July 2022, Matt Roush, a television critic for ''TV Insider'' publicly expressed his disgust over the show's return the previous month in light of Todd and Julie's recent criminal convictions.

Related projects

Todd was busy in 2015 developing a talk-show with USA Network; he mentioned early plans for a spin-off that would focus on Chase and Savannah.

''According to Chrisley''

In August 2017, it was announced that USA Network had ordered a half-hour after show titled ''According to Chrisley''. ''According to Chrisley'' is hosted by Todd and features him "tackling the truth about marriage, parenting, sex and relationships." Each episode also features a member of the Chrisley family and a celebrity guest. The show premiered on September 12, 2017. It was canceled after one season due to poor ratings.

''What's Cooking With Julie Chrisley''

On October 3, 2017, USA Network's website launched ''What's Cooking With Julie Chrisley'', a 10-episode web series with Julie sharing her favorite recipes.

''Growing Up Chrisley''

In January 2019, it was announced that Chase and Savannah would star in their own spin-off titled ''Growing Up Chrisley''. The show follows the two as they "embark on a road trip from Nashville to Los Angeles to prove their independence". It premiered on April 2, 2019, on the USA Network. The second season of the show premiered on August 6, 2019. The third season premiered on E! August 12, 2021. The series was canceled alongside ''Chrisley Knows Best'' in November 2022. The cancellation happened a month after ''Growing Up Chrisley'''s fourth season aired.

''Chrisley Confessions''

In August 2018, iHeartRadio released the trailer and first episode of Todd and Julie's podcast titled ''Chrisley Confessions.''

''Love Limo''

In May 2022, E! greenlit the dating series ''Love Limo''. It would have been hosted by Todd Chrisley, who also would have been the executive producer. On the show Chrisley would have tried to help single people form relationships through speed dating. In November 2022, the series was scrapped.

References

External links

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{{USANetwork Shows, state=collapsed

2010s American reality television series
2020s American reality television series
2014 American television series debuts
English-language television shows
Television shows set in Atlanta
Television shows filmed in Atlanta
USA Network original programming
Television series by All3Media