Barstool Spring Break Vegas: Is it Time to Hit the Panic Button?

The week is flying by in Vegas, as we are now two nights into Barstool’s 2nd edition of their reality social world with a cast of party heavy-hitter employees. Early reactions, though, have many leaning over the panic button, with Dave Portnoy already sending home two cast members and questioning the crew still there. We know sequels are truly the hardest thing to stick in Hollywood, and the same may ring true in Vegas this week.

We all love Barstool for realizing the fans were enthralled by the Beach House and trying to give us another edition, even adding in new cast members mixed with some Beach House favorites. Though through two nights, the response has not been up to the "numbies" we saw this past summer. Really, two of the biggest moments were mainly generated by Dave himself, with his riling up of Annika on night one and Nicky Smokes this morning on Wake Up Barstool. After Rico and Doitche were already sent home, you have to wonder if someone else is next. We did see new blood last night in Tommy Smokes (or Tommy Two Blondes) and Kelly Keegs, but yet again, the night overall still did not click as "viral" material.

So why? What’s different? Let's take a look at three things that may be holding back this second go-around of Beach House.

1. Lack of Drama

This one is the obvious, glaring issue right now; there has been little to no hook to pull us in. We can sit back and try to point fingers or put the blame on the cast, but that's also not fair. You can't expect them to fake or make up drama, as we would then see the internet all over them and Barstool for being fake or manufacturing clicks. Really, we just have to hope it manifests itself.

Of course, we all enjoy Katic, Ella, Dante, and others with their partying abilities, but it's the lack of drama of Nicky and Bri, Dante and Oona, or the blossoming of a REAL relationship like Danny and Jackie (literally still together) that is leaving a hole in Vegas. Again, though, you can't fake those things; we may have just struck gold with the perfect storm of those happening all at once. This time maybe the drama comes between content & social rather than just content to content...anything to get this jumpstarted at this point!

2. No Breakout Stars

No one new has popped yet. In the first rendition, we saw America discover Katic, Ella, Danny Conrad, and even the villain, Nicky Smokes. There was that "new" factor that the internet loved; they got to see all of them rise to stardom each night with something new to mesmerize the social media world. Hell you could even throw in Meek Phil.

Now, fast forward to Vegas; while Katic, Ella, and Smokes return and aren't necessarily doing anything wrong, but no one new has taken the world by storm. Many had hoped for Maddie, Kelly, or even Doitche to be the breakouts. The girls have tried but just haven't captured that magic, while Doitche just felt out of place from the jump and was sent home before night two even hit. The closest to really trying to jumpstart drama and breakout is Dani Jackel... but she is leaving the show early due to other commitments. The lack of new firepower is a HUGE miss so far. We still have time, though, for Maddie, Kelly, and now Keegs to pop and bring this show back fully.

3. Time Zone

This might be the one that gets some head turns or odd looks, BUT being in the West Coast time zone feels like it could be hurting the view counts. Let's first be honest about the fact that Barstool is much bigger in the Eastern and Central time zones. For the first edition, they were in the Eastern time zone, so going out from 10 PM to 2 AM felt more doable for people to keep up in real time.

Now, being in the West Coast time zone, they really aren't even starting the night of possible drama or shenanigans until 1 or even 2 AM on the East Coast. Now, this is coming from someone who grew up in the West Coast time zone and is now living in the East. I could be way off on it, but it just feels like it could factor in a little bit... right? This is content that is best followed along live, so it's tough for many to do on a Sunday night when it doesn't even get going until 1 AM or later. On the other side, you can wake up at 6 or 7 AM and see them strolling back in after a night out, but you have to play catch-up first to know the full story.

The Verdict

Let's remember we are only two nights in, but also, we only get a week! That means we are already about 33% done with Spring Break, so the panic button has to be at least in the conversation. We know it after hearing from Dave, and even Ohio's Tate said the need for drama is evident. But again, you can't fake drama or else you are in a whole other shit-storm.

Here is to hoping for a Rone recap to get the cast going, or else it's not just time to hover over that panic button—it's time to smash that thing!