Spring is here, which means we can finally ditch our coats, say hello to the return of the sun, and most excitingly, welcome back our favorite dysfunctional family to the summer house. Bravo’s hit show, Summer House, returned for its tenth season in early February and is halfway underway. With 10 seasons under its belt, I wanted to look back and rank every season so far.
1) Season 6
This season was the first season after COVID-19 and took place in 2021. It had peak entertainment, including the iconic dinner fight between Danielle Olivera and Ciara Miller. This was the summer before Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula’s wedding and featured a season-long will-they-won’t-they storyline that ended with them tying the knot. It also featured the powerful conversation, facilitated by Ciara and Mya Allen, about being Black in the Hamptons — one that really brought the group together, at least for a weekend. They seemed to go all out for this season and returned to the chaos of the earlier seasons — a great reminder of why I tune in season after season.
2) Season 4
Taking place in 2019, this season featured one-season wonders Jules Daoud and Jordan Verroi, which brought some interesting conflict to the house. Jordan being caught in several lies was as entertaining for the cast as it was for viewers to see happen live. It also followed Luke Gulbranson and Hannah Berner’s toxic relationship that was too messy to look away. It brought out some of my favorite friendship moments between the trio of Hannah, Amanda, and Paige Desorbo. Kyle and Amanda also faced some relationship turmoil — like every other season — but came out of it ready to plan their wedding.
3) Season 8
I loved this season for the two members it brought to the house, Jesse Solomon and West Wilson. They brought a new pace and energy, making the group come together in ways they usually don’t. Watching Ciara and West’s (for lack of better words) situationship develop and fall out by the end of the season was one of my favorite house-mances out of any season. Unfortunately, I felt I couldn’t rank it higher due to the intensity that was Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard’s engagement and relationship turmoil. Their paring as a couple was largely hated by just about every viewer and summer house guest, so seeing them try to push through their glaring differences and get married was a painful watch. There was a big sigh of relief when they eventually called it off at the end of the season with all of their fights proving they are better off as friends.
4) Season 9
With the announcement of Lindsay’s pregnancy, this was a very atypical season. The aftermath of both Carl and Lindsay’s romance and Ciara and West’s romance was more than awkward to watch, with the tensions that followed. Off-screen, we saw Paige and Craig Conover continue their relationship in her last season. The group faced other conflicts with Kyle and Amanda’s relationship going south, and newcomer Lexi Wood’s back and forth with Jesse. This season was no stranger to crazy theme parties, and the pressure cooker that was Kyle and Paige’s friendship finally bubbled over in several arguments that other housemates were witnesses to.
5) Season 3
In this season, the show’s popularity started to skyrocket, and it showed. The parties they hosted were more extravagant than ever before and their summer house was newly renovated. But this season makes my top five because of it ending with Kyle and Amanda’s engagement. Even through everything they went through, it was heartwarming to see them put everything aside and realize they still wanted to be together. While prior to this season the crew was working regular jobs Monday through Friday, in this season they were stepping into more public figures. This was also Hannah’s first season, and her energy and comedic timing were definitely a highlight of the season.
6) season 2
The star of this season was definitely “more life” Carl, who was in his party era and jarringly messy with his dating life, housemates, and career struggles. His disagreement with housemate Stephen McGee was more than awkward to watch with everyone seeing how Carl overstepped his boundaries. If anything, this season is a reflection on how much sobriety changed Carl for the better. Paired with the chaos of Lindsay and her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Everett Weston, the larger-than-life personalities made for peak reality TV.
7) Season 7
For many reasons, this season felt like a filler season and featured the housemates at their lowest. One of the iconic house duos, Danielle and Lindsay, had their friendship tested as Danielle voiced her opinion on Lindsay and Carl’s relationship moving too fast. Lindsay and Carl’s love was on full display this season, but for early fans of the show, it was slightly weird to see them interact as a couple. However, the dynamic between Ciara, Amanda, and Paige was fun to watch as always.
8) Season 1
This season deserves recognition for being the start of the whole saga and its importance for the lore. When revisiting this season, there were some good moments I forgot about, but otherwise it was just decent. With Kyle’s habit of bringing different girls to the house every night, and the screaming matches between any two housemates at any given moment, it was just insanity. This could have been just about any reality television show, rather than something uniquely Summer House, which is why I rank it second to last.
9) Season 5
My least favorite season was definitely the COVID-19 season. I can’t blame Bravo for still wanting to put a season out, but with the crew having to isolate themselves this season, it was not anything special. They started in the house in August, and with lockdown barriers broken down and no choice but to stay together 24/7, there was a lot of tension. This season had some memorable moments, like Sandwich-gate, but overall, it was a rough one. The buildup of Kyle and Hannah’s fighting led to this being her last season on the show and it was difficult to see how many bridges were burned before her exit. The death of Carl’s brother was another extremely difficult watch even if it did allow the house to temporarily come together. However, a highlight of this season was Ciara, who definitely helped in some of the season’s low moments.
As season 10 continues, I’m curious to see where it will land in my rankings, though it’s gearing up to place at least in the top five! I hope Bravo gives the people what they want and continues airing our favorite summertime Hamptons residents for many more seasons to come.