Naomie Olindo rejoins the Charleston-set ensemble, bringing a bit of baggage from the past and sparking fresh drama with the crew.
Ba ba doo! The Southern Charm bunch is back for season 8.
Bravo just dropped a first look at the fresh batch of episodes, which see the return of franchise fan-favorite Naomie Olindo. The L'Abeye boutique owner exited the series after season 6, but after a brief move to New York City and breakup from her longtime boyfriend, Metul Shah, she's back in Charleston ready to shake things up. The trailer quickly reveals that she and ex-boyfriend Craig Conover hooked up after her split, but before he went exclusive with his Winter House co-star, Summer House's Paige DeSorbo. Still, Craig and Naomie's shared history seems to make Paige a little nervous.
"I think hanging out one-on-one with an ex while you are dating someone is inappropriate," Paige warns Craig.
She's set to make guest appearances throughout the season, along with season 7's John Pringle. As far as full-time casting goes, OGs Shep Rose and Kathryn Dennis are back with their significant others, Taylor Ann Green and Chleb Ravenell (though he and Kathryn have seemingly broken up since filming). Leva Bonaparte, Austen Kroll and Madison LeCroy return too, joined by season 7 guest Venita Aspen. Along with Venita come newbies Olivia Flowers and Marcie Hobbs. Of course, Patricia Altschul and her son, Whitney Sudler-Smith, are part of the fold, too.
Check out the trailer here:
Romance seems to be at the center of most everyone's story this time around, with Shep and Taylor getting serious, Austen and Olivia hooking up and Madison getting engaged. But there's also some love lost, as Madison and Olivia appear to get into it (Madison is Austen's ex, after all) and Taylor and Shep hit speed bumps as they head into a future together. In one moment, Taylor confesses to Leva that she feels like she's starting to question everything.
There's also drama between the boys, as the trailer teases what looks to be a physical fight between Craig and Austen, plus a verbal altercation between Austen and Shep.
"You're a f**king joke!" Shep tells his (former?) pal. "I can't believe I'm sharing oxygen with you!"
Southern Charm season 8 premieres Thursday, June 23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Catch up on past seasons on Peacock, where you'll be able to watch new episodes the day after they air on Bravo.
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