HOLLYWOOD—Talk about stumbling on an reality TV mess. I just happened to be surfing through my streaming service Peacock, and found the reality series, “The McBee Dynasty.” It follows Steve McBee and his four sons who are managing the McBee Farm and empire in Gallatin, Missouri. Look, I have never been interested in farming, but I watched the first episode and I was hooked. Why? This family is a mess. I mean, could some of the drama be scripted? Without a doubt, but it was still fun to watch people, it truly was.
Steve is the father, and he transformed this empire after coming from nothing. I appreciated that element of the series that this guy who grew up with nothing, went for something and built an empire as a result. However, all is not great. Steve recently got divorced after being married for 28 years. Steve makes it crystal clear to his son and anyone who will listen; he NEVER intends to get married ever again.
As for his four sons, we have Steven McBee Jr., who is the brains of the company, Jesse McBee who I would call the heart and most levelheaded of the sons, Cole McBee, who is the party animal, similar to his father in more ways than I can explain, and then Brayden McBee who only makes a few appearances. There is indeed a reason for that people because Brayden still lives with his mom and has a fractured relationship with his father that Steve is trying to repair. The brothers are extremely close and that is an element that I enjoyed seeing unfold on the series, but they also have girlfriends and each of them are interesting. Steven Jr., you might remember him from the FOX reality series “Joe Millionaire.” Yes, that is the guy who was the secret millionaire on the reality series.
He has a bit of an ego and is more focused on himself and his girlfriend, Calah, than the farm at times, which is something his brothers resent. However, his smarts are a massive help with farm operations and dealing with government issues. He does clash with Cole a bit who is the muscle on the farm; he handles things that Steven doesn’t have the skillset to complete. Cole is his father personified. He likes to drink, he likes to party and he has an on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend Kacie who is quite sweet.
The girlfriends of these farmers do indeed share a bond, but I found the relationship with Kacie and Allie (Jesse’s GF) to be the most authentic. They have been around the longest and they are in relationships with guys who are not just smitten with them, but in love. Jess and Allie is indeed interesting because they have been together for over 10 years. The question everyone wants to know is when they are getting married. It is apparent Allie is annoyed by the lack of commitment from her boyfriend, who wants to pop the question, but wants to do it at his own timing, not the pressure from others.
Calah is in and out of Steven’s life, she doesn’t live on the farm with her significant other like the other ladies. She lives in Texas and travels occasionally to see Steven who some might argue is her sugar daddy. Why? Calah lets it spill to the other women that Steven just randomly gives her $10,000 to $20,000 on occasion. Yeah, Allie and Kacie didn’t like hearing that, and those details were shared with Jesse and Cole who were a bit surprised.
Cole in particular was upset because he wants a raise considering all the hard work he does on the farm, but is constantly told there is no extra money to go around. Could Steven be dabbling in company funds? He notes it is his own personal money and not the farm, but who knows. Let’s talk about Steve because the dad is a character. I mean a character. He is in his early 50s, but he operates like he is Cole’s age. He loves to plan these guy’s trips with his sons as a way to let loose. It is disguised as a business trip, but most of the ladies are well aware that is not the case. I don’t like that the dad gets his kids intermingled with his mess. I mean they have significant others and putting them in situations where temptation abounds can be hard to resist.
Cole gets caught up in a situation, but he manages to control himself thanks to Jesse looking out for his younger brother. Whereas, Steve, guy is in a hell of a predicament. He is very single, but he mingles at times with the CFO of the farm Galyna, who is smitten by this guy. Steve has made it clear to her he doesn’t want a relationship, but Galyna doesn’t seem to understand that. Steve doesn’t help by sleeping with her and letting her stay over at his place. This woman wants Steve and Steve doesn’t want her, but she is not hearing his coy cries.
The situation is made worse because Galyna has been working on a massive deal that would yield over $100 million to Steve to help battle a lot of the impending debt the farm has taken on in recent years. So Steve really can’t kick Galyna to the curb even if he wanted to because it would jeopardize that deal that as Steve puts it (could be the beginning of the end for the farm). Making matters worse Steve has been sneaking around with Brooke, a woman Galyna has no idea about. Talk about messy.
The dad is messier than the kids! It is a train wreck to watch, but as a viewer you cannot take your eyes away because it is so fascinating to witness. It also does hurt that you learn a bit about farming in the process. I found myself so intrigued by the series I watched the entire season over a two-day period and I loved every moment of it. “The McBee Dynasty” can be watched in its entirety on the Peacock streaming service.
