Bravo's latest attempt at twentysomethings behaving badly is getting called out by the East Hampton town in which the new show allegedly takes place. Summer House, Bravo's upcoming series about a group of troublemaking friends sharing a beach home, is attempting to do for Montauk what Jersey Shore did for, well, the Jersey Shore. The trailer for the series, which will debut on January 16, promises alcohol-fueled roommate drama, salacious hookups, and, above all else, plenty of township name-dropping. Here's how Blonde Rascal Archetype describes Montauk in the trailer: “The Hamptons is like your mom's friend who wears pearls... Montauk is like your mom’s friend’s daughter, who’s a little promiscuous. And by a little...I mean a lot.”
As reported by Page Six, Montauk’s Chamber of Commerce didn't take too kindly to Summer House calling the Long Island town slutty — especially since the show didn't film in Montauk in the first place. Says chamber president Paul Monte: "We are very concerned that this show promotes a false picture of Montauk as a raucous party town, when in fact the complete opposite is true... Montauk is a unique hamlet of pristine beaches and preserved parklands, and a vacation destination for families, nature lovers, and mature adults." As someone who grew up on Long Island, I wouldn't say Montauk has the reputation that Summer House describes. Montauk is where you go to get crab legs and watch fireworks that are probably/definitely illegal. Not that Bravo would know anything about that, of course, because according to the Chamber of Commerce, the show didn't even film in the East Hampton escape: "Bravo falsely puts out that Summer House was filmed in a Montauk house. In fact, the house was located in Amagansett... Furthermore, the producers were denied a permit to film on public lands anywhere in East Hampton Town, and that includes the hamlet of Montauk." Amagansett, a town over, is 13 whole miles away from Montauk. So, this is awkward. Bravo has yet to comment.