When Summer House: Martha's Vineyard premiered, it should have been a cultural moment. A group of successful, attractive Black professionals vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard? Historic. Elevated. Necessary.
But instead of fireworks… we got fizzling sparklers.
Let’s talk about it.
⏰ Wrong Time on TV?
The biggest issue? Placement.
Coming off the heels of heavy-hitting drama from The Real Housewives of Potomac, viewers were already emotionally full. RHOP brings:
Betrayals
Shade assassinations
Real friendships turned enemies
Meme-worthy one-liners
Then Martha’s Vineyard comes on with calm beach conversations and “let’s discuss our feelings.”
The energy shift was drastic.
Reality TV is about momentum. If you feed audiences filet mignon drama, you can’t immediately follow it with cucumber salad vibes.
Timing matters.
💔 The Real Problem: No Dating, No Stakes
Let’s be honest.
Summer House (the original) thrives because:
People hook up.
People fight.
People regret hooking up.
Then they hook up again.
Romantic tension fuels the chaos.
But on Martha’s Vineyard?
Season 1: Very little cross-dating.
Season 2: Producers clearly tried to “match-fix” situations.
And when producers start pushing storylines, viewers can feel it.
It went from:
“We’re organic friends on vacation.”
To:
“Okay… who’s dating who this season? Somebody kiss somebody.”
And when the cast isn’t naturally connecting romantically, the show starts to feel forced.
🎭 Producers vs. Cast: Who’s Steering the Boat?
Here’s the uncomfortable question:
Did producers try to engineer chemistry that wasn’t there?
Because you could feel the setup energy in Season 2. Conversations felt strategic. Pairings felt encouraged. Drama felt… nudged.
But you can’t manufacture sparks if the cast doesn’t genuinely like each other like that.
And that’s not necessarily the cast’s fault.
These weren’t messy 23-year-olds trying to figure life out.
These were grown professionals protecting their reputations.
That changes everything.
🏖️ Too Much of Nothing?
The show leaned heavily into:
“Black excellence”
Generational wealth discussions
Vineyard history
Relationship therapy-style conversations
And while those conversations matter…
Reality TV needs balance.
You need:
Fun
Flirting
Petty arguments
Silly jealousy
A little delusion
Instead, sometimes it felt like a brunch panel discussion with cocktails.
🚧 The Wrong Road for This Cast
Maybe the issue wasn’t timing.
Maybe it was format.
What if Martha’s Vineyard would have thrived as:
A docu-series about Black vacation culture?
A luxury lifestyle series?
A couples retreat show?
Or even something closer to a travel + friendship vibe?
Trying to force it into the traditional Summer House chaos formula might’ve been the misstep.
Because these cast members weren’t trying to ruin their careers for a meme moment.
And that restraint showed.
💭 So What Went Wrong?
Was it:
The scheduling after RHOP?
Lack of organic dating?
Producer interference?
Or a cast too polished for messy reality TV?
The concept was strong. The location was beautiful. The representation mattered.
But execution? Questionable.
🗣️ My Final Thought
Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t bad.
It just wasn’t chaotic enough for the franchise it was attached to.
And when viewers expect fireworks, you can’t give them soft jazz and expect applause.
What do you think?
Did Martha’s Vineyard get a fair shot…
or was it always headed down the wrong road? 🌴
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