My new favorite reality TV show
The other day my friends and I were bored and stumbled upon a new show to watch called Floribama Shore. Floribama Shore is an American reality show that takes place in Panama City Beach down in Florida. It is aptly named Floribama Shore because the beach stretches all the way from Alabama to Florida.
I’ve never been a huge fan of reality TV shows. I’ve sampled a few such as The Bachelor, Too Hot to Handle, Love Island, etc. They could never really keep my attention, and now I think I have discovered the reason why: they were all shows that centered around dating and relationships. Floribama Shore is a perfect reality show in my opinion because it’s just eight Southerners in their early twenties that are all chosen to live in a mediocre beach house together for the summer. Yes, some of them try to hook up with each other or other people they meet every once in a while, but generally, they are just eight friends dealing with their issues and going out every night partying.
The show consists of four men and four women: Jeremiah, Gus, Kirk, Codi, Nilsa, Candace, Kortni and Aimee. These eight people are the stars of the show and returned every summer it aired to live in the beach house with each other. Describing these eight humans is a difficult task, but I will try my best to do it briefly: Jeremiah and Gus are your typical playboy gym bros who are in a full on bromance with each other. Jeremiah has his fair share of drama, but he considers himself the dad or older brother of the house. Kirk is either the voice of reason or the most unreasonable, chaotic person of the bunch – there is no in between. Codi and Nilsa are usually the instigators of the inter-friendship drama. Codi loves to make bold statements and then deny saying them later when it comes up. Nilsa typically hears someone say something and then goes to the rest of the group to report what they said. First season Candace was pretty calm and normal, but second season Candace has dominated in the art of drama and yelling so far. Aimee is loud and opinionated, but also fragile when challenged. Last, but not least, is Kortni who is my personal favorite. While she may be a chaotic drunk with anger issues who pees in inconvenient places, she is often the most level-headed in my opinion. Only when she is sober though.
The show consists of drinking, fighting, flirting, a tiny bit of actual working, drinking, partying, friendship, bar fighting and drinking. Did I mention that there is a lot of drinking? I would say that each person maybe spends a total of two nights sober in the entire show. Most of their time is spent at the pool, the beach or at the bars. The house isn’t your typical fancy reality TV house. It consists of three bedrooms with two girls per room and four guys all sharing one room. Twin beds for everyone. You can imagine the awkwardness when any of them have an overnight guest. I can’t forget to mention their communal alligator house phone that they use to contact anyone outside of the house.
I think the lack of structure and interpersonal romance is what makes the show so enjoyable for me. It really is just about their lives and how they choose to spend their summer together. Unlike many reality shows I’ve watched, there are no rules. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility. That is probably my favorite part of the show.
I have yet to complete the series, but I have no doubt that I will in the near future.