Bravo is expanding its short-form programming strategy by tapping Southern Charm veteran Craig Conover to lead its first original scripted vertical series, Charmed by a Southern Monster. Announced ahead of Bravo Fan Fest in Charleston, South Carolina, the soap-inspired project pairs Conover with co-star Nicole Mattox and is scheduled to premiere on Monday, November 9, 2026.

While general promotional summaries from TheWrap note the series will stream on Peacock, official disclosures from NBCUniversal and Bravo specify that the project will launch exclusively on the Peacock mobile app. The rollout arrives just three days before Conover returns to linear television for Season 12 of Southern Charm on Thursday, November 12, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Inside the Plot and Production of 'Charmed by a Southern Monster'

Designed for mobile viewing in a vertical video format, Charmed by a Southern Monster mixes small-town mystery, workplace rivalry, and melodramatic romance. Conover portrays Hunter Caldwell, a reclusive local figure rumored by townspeople to be a murderer. Mattox, known for Lady Outlaw, stars opposite him as Maeve Marchant, a corporate fixer dispatched to seduce Caldwell and persuade him to sell off his family's historic estate to make way for a billion-dollar development deal.

According to the network's official logline, the transactional assignment complicates quickly when Marchant realizes the town's most feared resident may simply be misunderstood. As family secrets surface, Caldwell becomes the only person capable of protecting Marchant from her dangerous ex-boyfriend, forcing her to weigh her corporate mandate against a growing romantic entanglement.

In first-look promotional imagery reported by E! Online, the 36-year-old reality star and Sewing Down South founder leans heavily into the genre's tropes, appearing shirtless in blue jeans while holding an axe in front of a plantation-style mansion. Behind the scenes, the scripted project is produced by Micromaker and Haymaker East. Aaron Rothman, Josh Halpert, and Jesse Light serve as executive producers alongside co-executive producer Caroline Bomback, with scripts written by Lyla Trilling and direction by Yoraiia.

Bravo's Vertical Video Strategy on Peacock

The framing of the project's milestone status varies slightly across industry reports. While NBCUniversal and Bravo emphasize the show's status as the network's first original scripted microdrama, Deadline notes that it is actually Bravo's third vertical microdrama overall, following two unscripted experiments launched earlier on the Peacock mobile app.

Those initial unscripted entries also relied on established Bravo personalities and were likewise produced through the partnership between Micromaker and Haymaker East. The first, Campus Confidential: Miami, documented a day-in-the-life perspective of Georgia Gay—the daughter of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member Heather Gay—as she adjusted to college life at the University of Miami after leaving her sorority. The second vertical series, Salon Confessionals, was fronted by Conover's Southern Charm castmate Madison LeCroy.

By shifting from unscripted personality pieces to scripted melodrama, NBCUniversal is testing whether Bravo's built-in audience will follow reality stars into bite-sized fiction designed specifically for smartphones. Rather than licensing outside talent for vertical soaps, the network is utilizing its internal roster of familiar faces to cross-promote its mobile streaming ecosystem alongside its core linear broadcasts.

Conover's Expanding Acting Career and Bravo's Fall Slate

For Conover, Charmed by a Southern Monster marks his television acting debut and represents a deliberate pivot toward scripted entertainment. After launching his own banner, Plaid Horse Productions, in September 2025, Conover told Bravo Insider that he has actively sought out scripted roles, including an upcoming feature film slated for a 2027 release in which he plays an uncle to a five-year-old niece.

"I f--king love it," Conover told Bravo regarding his transition into acting. "It's because I always loved the production side of things, but I wanted to do more. I like that we shoot for 12 weeks, and it's great. I love the projects."

Despite the scripted workload and plans to publish his first children's book, Conover remains a central fixture of Bravo's unscripted lineup. When Southern Charm returns for its twelfth season on November 12, storylines will track Conover as he cautiously rebuilds his fractured friendship with castmate Austen Kroll alongside returning personalities LeCroy, Shep Rose, Venita Aspen, Salley Carson, Whitner Slagsvol, and Charley Manley.

The greenlight for Conover's microdrama was unveiled as part of a broader programming wave ahead of the one-day Bravo Fan Fest event in Charleston on Saturday, October 24, where more than 40 network personalities gathered for live panels streaming on Peacock. As reported by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the network simultaneously expanded its youth-skewing franchise by ordering Next Gen Atlanta from Blink49 Studios. Additionally, Bravo locked in renewals for Next Gen NYC (Season 3), Charleston-based spinoff Southern Hospitality (Season 5), and In The City.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes will 'Charmed by a Southern Monster' have, and is there a trailer?

Bravo and Peacock have not yet disclosed the total number of installments or the exact runtime for individual episodes. While the network released a promotional key art poster featuring Conover and Mattox on October 23, an official video trailer has not yet been released.

Where can viewers watch 'Charmed by a Southern Monster'?

The series premieres Monday, November 9, 2026, exclusively on the Peacock mobile app. Network executives have not announced whether the vertical episodes will eventually migrate to standard television interfaces on Peacock or air on the linear Bravo cable channel.

What were the previous Bravo microdramas on Peacock?

Prior to commissioning Charmed by a Southern Monster as its first scripted vertical project, Bravo released two unscripted microdramas on the Peacock mobile app: Campus Confidential: Miami, featuring Georgia Gay, and Salon Confessionals, starring Southern Charm cast member Madison LeCroy.

Sources