It’s been four years and 100 episodes of Chrisley antics since Chrisley Knows Best first brought a smile to our Tuesday evenings.
And while the Chrisleys celebrated their 100th episode with an hour-long special featuring a preschool art show and neighborhood dog pageant, the Nashville-based family has come a long way since day one.
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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, dad Todd Chrisley opened up about how it feels to reach the 100-episode mark and how the show came to be such a smash hit.
“I think that certainly when we started the show, did we ever believe we would do 100 episodes? I don’t think anyone believes that,” he said. “Did we think the set was going to make it for six seasons? We certainly hoped and prayed and handed that over to the good Lord above when we started. Lord, if this is the road you’ll have us travel, then we ask that you’ll let us travel it with grace and mercy and bless it, if it’s your will. He has continued to bless it.”
The Chrisleys definitely share their goofy sides on the USA Network show, but they’ve also covered more difficult issues, such as divorce, family separation and miscarriage.
“There’s a relatability factor that has resonated so deeply, and that is the blessing,” Todd said of his family living their lives on screen. “We’re all human, we all by the grace of God go, you and I, and we’re all gonna make mistakes. We’ve all had moments of disappointment, but as a family, you’re supposed to cling together at those low points and elevate the person that’s going through the low points back to high ground. That’s what we try to do as a family, and that’s what we try to do as human beings, to lift our brother and sister in Christ up. We don’t stomp them when they’re down.”
As for whether the Chrisleys are hamming it up on screen to add to the comedic portion of their show, Todd said it’s all natural.
“No, ma’am, it is organic,” he said when asked about if the quipping and goofy storylines are planned ahead of time. Todd added that the show’s producers get access to the family’s joint calendar, and they pick what of the family’s activities they thing would be best on screen.
“It’s not hard for things to be funny,” he said. “Chase makes comments that are so dumb for somebody who has gone to one of the best private schools in the Southeast. You wanna sue the school for a refund. You’re gonna see an episode where Savannah says, ‘You know, somebody told Chase that they had a book about Kama Sutra. You know, that’s weed.’ I turned and looked at her and I said, ‘Huh?’ She said, ‘I can tell you, I heard Chase talking to one of his friends about weed, because they’ve got a book on Kama Sutra.’ I said, ‘Are you stupid? That ain’t got a damn thing to do with weed.’ And she said, ‘Yes, Daddy, it does.’ She came to me thinking, ‘Oh my God, Chase is smoking pot,’ because she heard him and his friend talking about Kama Sutra, and it scared her to death.”
He continued, “You have those moments, and for us, we’re like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ When you hear it, you’re laughing because somewhere in your life, you’ve had one of those moments.”
Here’s to 100 more episodes of Chrisley Knows Best!
Chrisley Knows Best airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Photo credit: USA
