Todd Chrisley has his priorities in order in the first trailer for docuseries The Chrisleys: Back to Reality — the patriarch reveals he wants to get out of prison before he needs a face lift.
On Thursday, Lifetime revealed the trailer and premiere date for the raw series documenting the Chrisley family’s fall from grace when Todd and Julie Chrisley, who starred on the popular USA Network reality series Chrisley Knows Best from 2014 to 2023, were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion in 2022 and sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison. Their prison time was drastically cut short when they were pardoned by President Donald Trump in May, but this new docuseries chronicles everything from their time in prison to their struggles when they got home and reunited with each other and their family.
Lifetime
Julie Chrisley on ‘The Chrisleys: Back to Reality’
The new footage begins with the Chrisley family in tears talking to Todd on the phone while he’s in federal prison. But Todd brings his usual irreverence when he asks, “Do you think there’s a possibility that I can get out of here before I need a face lift?”
The trailer focuses a lot on Todd and Julie’s children, Savannah Chrisley, Chase Chrisley, and Todd Chrisley, as they deal with their parents’ incarceration.
“We were filming one thing that was just happy life, [then] cameras go down and we’re also fighting a fed case,” Chase says of living a double life while filming Chrisley Knows Best. “Not having my parents around almost felt like a death.”
Savannah reveals that their parents’ legal battle unearthed family drama with estranged sibling Lindsie Chrisley, who now uses her boyfriend’s last name, Landsman.
“The prosecutors read the letter Lindsie wrote to the FBI,” Savannah says. “We’re no longer family. Lose our last name.”
Todd and Julie maintain their innocence in the trailer, and their children support their claims.
“I want people to know the truth, what actually went down with my family,” Chase says. “There’s a score to be settled. My dad is not one to play with.”
Watch the trailer below:
The Chrisley family’s rise to fame began in 2014 with the premiere of their reality series, Chrisley Knows Best, following Todd’s dealings as a successful realtor in Atlanta and then Nashville, and eventually produced the spinoff Growing Up Chrisley, which centered on Savannah and her brother Chase.
Todd and Julie were eventually accused of obtaining $30 million in fraudulent loans and evading their taxes. They were convicted in June 2022, and Julie and Todd were initially sentenced to 7 and 12 years, respectively, in prison. But Savannah sought a pardon from President Trump after her parents’ attempts to be granted appeals failed.
“Your parents are going to be free and clean,” Trump told the adult children of the former reality stars over the phone in a video posted to social media by White House aide Margo Martin. “I don’t know them, but give them my regards and wish them good luck.”
Lifetime
Julie Chrisley hugging Todd Chrisley in ‘The Chrisleys: Back to Reality’
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Grayson Chrisley, the youngest son, could be heard thanking Trump “for bringing my parents back,” to which the president replied, “They were given a pretty harsh treatment based on what I’m hearing, pretty harsh treatment.”
“Congratulate your parents… they’re terrific people, this should not have happened,” the president said at the end of the phone call. Trump has pardoned 16 individuals convicted of financial crimes since he took office in January.
The Chrisleys: Back to Reality premieres as a two-night event on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. The remaining episodes will air Tuesdays, with the finale airing Sept. 16.
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