Bravo Goes Upstairs Downstairs at an Adult Summer Camp

The real-life summer camp at the center of Bravo's new reality series Camp Getaway is described as "the opposite of adulting," and a concept, it's pretty easy to get across — adults pay big money to go back in time to relive the summer camp experiences of their childhood. Bravo has had some success with series like Below Deck, which offer a peek into these transient luxury experiences though the eyes of the staff, who are there to serve the clients and get into drama among themselves. Camp Getaway promises all that, plus some archery, lake swimming, and rural cabin accommodations.

What Is Camp Getaway: The new reality series from Bravo follows the staff of Cluib Getaway, tucked away in the Connecticut Berkshires, which on the weekends plays host to adult "campers" (i.e. large groups of revelers who have the money to throw a birthday party or an event at a weekend summer camp). The show centers on the handful of "social directors" at camp, who are tasked with keeping the party going and facilitating activities, events, and boozy reveling. With the focus on the upstairs/downstairs vibe of the staff and the guests rotating out each week, it's very much Below Deck on land.

Who Made It? The Bravo aesthetic is strong here, with the show coming from the same production company that makes Southern Charm.

Who's In Charge? Camp owner David Schreiber very much wants to create a capital-E "Experience" for his guests, which is why his mandate for the social coordinators is to "get to yes," i.e. get the guests onboard for as much of the camp experience as possible. He's given to aggrandizing statements like "People think summer camp is all sunshine and s'mores and smiles, but they're out of the f*cking mind. It's a pressure cooker, and it will break you," but in general he's the good cop. The bad cop is camp director Claire Sorrels, who says the staff are the "right kind of scared" of her, and who before the end of the first episode has reduced one of the social coordinators to tears.

Who Are These Social Coordinators? Senior coordinator Monica is a clinical psychologist during the week, while the other senior coordinator, Adam, is a perfect reality TV specimen, given to slacking off, swimming naked, and sizing up the female staff and guests for hookup prospects. Neely is a wildlife biologist and survival-skills teacher who seems relatively together and capable until she runs afoul of Claire. Nile is a handsome real-estate broker who grew up nearby the camp and doesn't hesitate to ditch his shirt at the Friday night dance party. Glen is a personal trainer, go-go dancer, and NYC tour guide who blanches at having to transport the roasted pig for the Saturday luau. Randall shows up with a boot on her injured ankle, cruises the staff for romantic prospects, and appears to come to the (logical) conclusion that this is an exhausting way to spend your weekends. Sophia … is fully not a factor in the premiere episode.

How Important Are the Guests? Judging by the first episode, not very. The featured guest in the pilot is a real-estate broker named Kash who's celebrating his 40th birthday with his wife, brother, and 25 of their closest friends. There's a moment where we get a bit of sentimental backstory for Kash, as if we were in a Queer Eye-style makeover episode, but it doesn't last long, and even Glen, the social coordinator who spurs on the discussion, is visibly not all that interested.

Is There a Lot of Sex/Hooking Up? The premise of the show seems to promise it, and even the camp directors seem resigned to the fact that their social coordinators will end up getting drunk and hooking up on the regular, but aside from Adam's skinny dipping, there aren't any hookups in the premiere.

Where and When Is It Airing? Mondays at 10:00 PM ET/PT on Bravo, with episodes streaming on the Bravo app and BravoTV.com after they air.

Dive Deeper:

• Read a recent profile of the camp in the Hartford Courant.
• Camp owner David Schreiber gives a video tour of the 300 acre camp
• Camp staffers share stories of penis paint brushes and other memorable moments at camp.

Wie've created a new area in our forums for discussion of Camp Getaway. Please join us there to talk about the show.

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.