You might remember Collin Varallo, a Birmingham, Alabama landscape company owner, from the first season of CMT’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” a matchmaking reality show that pitted several southern bachelors against each other for the heart of Alabama native, Devin Grissom. Now, Varallo, as well as Grissom and other eight other cast members from “Sweet Home Alabama” are living and playing together in the first season of CMT’s newest show, “Southern Nights,” set in Savannah, Georgia.
While viewers will be able to see Grissom and Varallo interact some more, Varallo said that the interactions between all of the cast members are interesting. “It’s a completely different atmosphere,” he said. “You get to see the true Collin Varallo. We get to see everybody explore everybody’s differences…that’s how we become a family. You’ll see hook-ups and break-ups–all of it is 100% real.”
Some of the drama consists of Varallo arguing with Michael “Flex” Dean–the two weren’t the best of friends on “Sweet Home Alabama,” and the two continue their disagreeable relationship on “Nights.”
“The big thing for people to see is if me and Flex get along or not?” said Varallo. “It’ll be fun to see these differences.”
While Flex and Varallo continue to have a tough relationship, Varallo and Landon “Tex” Chase clicked right away in the “Nights” house. Varallo said that Chase was his best friend in the house.
For people that might think this show is the same as “Jersey Shore,” Varallo gives two distinctions between “Shore” and “Nights.” “We’re a good-looking cast and we also party twice as hard,” he said. “We wanted to leave a scar on that town.”
“I don’t want [audiences] to be like, ‘Look at this bunch of rednecks,'” he said when elaborating on the show. “I don’t consider myself a redneck; I’m a roughneck. What that means is I’m very open-minded and very true to my word, but when I confront you, I’ll confront you. When I fight you, I fight you.”
If “Nights” gets picked up for a second season, Varallo said he would love for the show to move to Florida. “The south is known for good food and beautiful girls,” he said. “Florida has beautiful girls..there’s a lot of potential.”
No matter what happens in the next season, this season–and its developments–brought the cast close together and created a lasting bond. “We didn’t walk out of the house with a bad taste in our mouths of each other,” he said. “We still talk to each other all the time. These are memories I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
You can watch the premiere of “Southern Nights” April 7 at 10/9c on CMT. Make sure to follow Varallo on Facebook and Twitter; Varallo will also be live-tweeting during the airing of the episodes, including the season premiere.
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Official synopsis of “Southern Nights”:
CMT’s new series SOUTHERN NIGHTS brings together ten well-known cast members from SWEET HOME ALABAMA to Georgia where they will live and party together, promising more fun and more drama than ever. The cast heads to the beautiful southern city of Savannah where some relationships will begin and others will be tested as past conflicts resurface and different lifestyles collide. Throughout the eight-episode series, they will explore the best of the South — from rodeos and ranches to upscale nightclubs and tailgate parties. SOUTHERN NIGHTS premieres Saturday, April 7 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT with two back-to-back new episodes, immediately following the second season premiere of TEXAS WOMEN. New episodes will premiere weekly on Saturdays at 10:00 p.m.- 11:00p.m., ET/PT.
