Though the cast of CMT's Party Down South hasn't reportedly received a warm welcome as they film their second season in Athens, Ga, concerns that the show is tarnishing the reputation of the city appear to have subsided.

'Party Down South' Moves To Athens, Ga For Season 2

Though the cast was ousted from their original season 2 location of Pensacola, Fla and been kicked out of bars in Athens and even earned disapproving remarks from the mayor of Athens because of their drunken and promiscuous behaviors, it appears that some have started coming around to their presence in town. There are now less concerns that the show will tarnish the reputation of Athens.

"I don't think Party Down South will negatively affect the image of Athens at all," Film Athens Executive Director Danielle Rusk told Red and Black.com April 17. "The subject matter of that show may be controversial, but Athens' reputation is not so fragile that it can't handle a reality show filming here."

'Party Down South' Cast Not Welcome In Athens, Being Kicked Out of Bars?

Rusk also said that allowing the show to film in the community can only help the region economically.

"I do think it's important that Athens has the image of being a film-friendly place for movie and TV productions to come shoot here," she added. "There are great economic benefits and educational opportunities of growing the film industry in the Athens area."

As the cast has filmed their second season, they've been met with similar resistance to the kind that ousted them from filming in Pensacola. They were welcomed into the Boars Head Lounge in Athens, but had reportedly been kicked out of other locations prior to that one.

"They were just looking for people to be friendly with them," Boars Head assistant manager Trevor Whiteman said. "A lot of people don't like them, so they were getting kicked out of a lot of different bars before they could ever get in. So they were just happy to be here, and they spent a lot of money, so there was that."

The show was previously supposed to film its second season in Pensacola Fla., but met major resistance from locals, which included the show losing a catering contract with a city business.

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.

Not much has been revealed about the second season thus far, but a photo of some of the cast members did surface on the show's Facebook page over the weekend.

"The Easter Bunny dropped off a digital camera for the cast. Looks like they're having fun! Season 2 is hoppin' your way June 5. Happy Easter!" a photo of Breaux, White and Boudreaux was captioned.

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.

Tags
Party Down South, CMT, Reality TV