Louisiana's modern day Beverly Hillbillies, the Dowdens, make their CMT debut tonight in their new reality series, "Bayou Billionaires." The Shreveport, Louisiana family was struggling to make ends meet and living from paycheck to paycheck, till they struck their own natural resource goldmine -- their home sits on the fourth largest deposit of natural gas in the United States.
On the premiere episode, we meet the extended clan, including patriarch, Gerald, his wife, Kitten, and their four children: Valerie, an outspoken, single mother of three who works for the public defender’s office in Shreveport; daughter Chantel and her rather...eccentric boyfriend Albert; son Gerald Jr. and his wife Peggy; and the youngest son Thomas, who claims he's his mother’s favorite, and his wife Mallory. Kitten’s 90-year-old father, Grandpa, is a ladies’ man, with a running count of five girlfriends this episode.
But don't think Grandpa isn't on the lookout for more, as he'll prove poolside when he hits on all the ladies at the country club -- the family is ready to check out how the other half lives and wants to see if they fit in, trying their hand at golf and tennis while Grandpa tries to score phone numbers from all the babes at the pool.
Despite their newfound wealth, years of struggling have made Gerald and Kitten not only appreciative of the fortune that has smiled on them, but they remain down to earth and humble. But certainly not thrifty.
"We're spending it, that's what it's for," says Kitten, who claimed she once wore the same pants for five years. "Just like the godfather back in New Jersey."
"Bayou Billionaire" debuts Jan. 20 and will run for 10 episodes on Saturday nights on CMT.
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