The Chrisley family’s grand return to TV after Todd and Julie’s pardon releases from prison is marred by family strife that grew during the years of lockup.
The Chrisley family is finally back together again, but a set of federal prison sentences may have been the least of their problems.
The Chrisleys: Back to Reality, Lifetime’s latest addition to the armada of reality series chronicling the private lives of the TV dynasty, catches up with the Chrisleys at the tail end of Todd and Julie’s time in lockup. The patriarch and matriarch of the real estate empire and figureheads of the USA Network’s popular Chrisley Knows Best were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion in 2022 and sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison. Their daughter, Savannah, worked tirelessly to earn her parents a presidential pardon, which Donald Trump granted in May.
But Back to Reality shows that the long shadow cast by Todd and Julie’s imprisonment allowed for a dangerous kind of rot to fester back home.
In a prescient phone call from prison included in the first episode of Back to Reality, Julie shared that her “greatest worry while being in prison is my children. I worry that they’re okay. I worry that they’re getting along because I’m not there to wrangle everyone and diffuse a situation.”
She specifically pointed to Chase and Savannah, the eldest son and daughter she shares with Todd, who “have fought since they were teenagers. And that worries me, because I feel like the divide is just going to get bigger and bigger.”
Back to Reality proves just that, and it’s not just Julie who’s worried. Todd’s colorful mother Nanny Faye, a popular recurring character on Chrisley Knows Best, shared her own concerns with Julie’s mother, Pam Hughes. “Well, Pam, me, and you have got to come up with a solution to help everyone out. What are we going to do with Chase and Savannah?” she wonders, adding that because of Todd and Julie’s absences, “This family’s been torn apart.”
Chase and Savannah both chose to participate in Back to Reality, and had quite a bit to say about the feud themselves. “Since my mom and dad have been away, we haven’t been in the same room all together let alone sat down for dinner with everybody,” Chase revealed. “I know there’s some tension there between me and Savannah.”
Though Savannah fondly recalled that “growing up, I feel like we were always best friends. We did everything together,” Chase’s view of the time has altered in retrospect. In a call from prison, Todd shared, “I always told Savannah, you can do anything a boy can do. In fact, nine times out of 10, you can probably do it better. And Chase would say to me, ‘Yeah, and look what you raised: a monster.'”
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“Chase and I are definitely on rocky terms, because over the past two and a half years, he has not helped me at all. I mean, when it comes to the kids, financially, mom and dad – he has not picked up a single ounce of slack, and he’s been given ample opportunity to do so,” Savannah explained.
While Todd and Julie were in prison, Savannah stepped up to parent their other minor children – Grayson, 18, and Chloe, 12. She was also open about having to make major lifestyle shifts that came with the new economic burden, and dedicated herself to advocating for a pardon, going as far as the 2024 Republican National Convention to demand one.
During the family dinner that concludes episode 1 of Back to Reality, Chase conceded to Savannah’s hard work. But he’s skeptical about her claim that she was forced to rough it alone. “Savannah wants help on Savannah’s time,” he said. “As much as Savannah says she wants my help, I don’t think Savannah actually wants any help, because she wants to be able to say she did it on her own.”
Savannah, meanwhile, said she believes that “Any time Chase tries to connect with me, it is strictly performative, because there is always something he wants to get.” She solemnly warned, “There is a lot of resentment. So when things are said and done, I don’t forgive it. I don’t know if it can ever be repaired, honestly. Once I shut someone off, I shut them off.”
The Chrisleys: Back to Reality premieres as a two-night event on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. The remaining episodes will air Tuesdays, with the finale airing Sept. 16.
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