‘Party Down South’ Location: Athens Mayor ‘Terribly Disappointed’ Show Is Filming In City? [VIDEO]
Though production on the second season has officially begun in Athens, Ga. the cast and crew of CMT's Party Down South could find themselves looking for yet another new filming location if the series receives a third installment.
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Following reports that the show was met strong opposition over its initial plans to film season 2 in Pensacola, Fla., it now appears that Athens will follow suit and likely not allow the show to film there in the future.
In an April 2 interview with The Florida Times-Union, Athens-Clarke County Mayor Nancy Denson expressed her disapproval of the show filming in Athens, and expressed that tighter controls on film and television production in the city could be a future concern for the local government.
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"I'm terribly disappointed that this is being filmed in our community," she said. "There's so much promise in that (TV) technology... (but) we've sunk to the lowest level. It makes me worry about our society."
Denson also said that she has always felt that the South gets a negative portrayal in media, and the show filming in the city was not officially condoned by the Mayor's office.
The hit CMT show was originally supposed to head to Pensacola, Fla. for the new season, but met a social media resistance campaign called "Locals Against Party Down South," which petitioned that the cast not be allowed to film there, citing the cast's promiscuity and drunken nights.
"Jersey Shore and Party Down South are like the TV producers big inside joke of stereotyping us," Pensacola residents Amber Kelley and Bri Snellgrove wrote in a February Facebook post. "PDS makes a mockery of our Southern pride by showing adults who claim to have manners and then cut immediately to some of the worst behavior seen outside of a frat house."
According to the Times-Union, the production company also faced the cancellation of food and lodging contracts in Pensacola, prompting the move to Athens.
The premise of season 1 saw eight young Southerners moving into a Murrells Inlet, South Carolina Vacation home to party and live together for one summer. It starred 31-year-old Josh Murray from Louise, Miss., 28-year-old Lyle Boudreaux from Lafayette, La., 33-year-old Ryan "Daddy" Richards from Orange Beach, Ala., 26-year-old Walt Windham from Frankfort, Ky., 21-year-old Lauren White from Pineville, La., 24-year-old Mattie Breaux from Gheens, La., 23-year-old Taylor "Lil Bit" Wright from Rockingham, N.C. and 25-year-old Tiffany Heinen from Eunice, La.
Part two of the Season 1 reunion show airs on CMT Thursday, April 3 at 10 p.m. Season 2 begins airing Thursday, June 5, and a special preview of the new season will air right after the CMT Music Awards on June 4.
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