The Real Housewives franchise was the only dramatic, guilty pleasure game in town for a while. The first entry premiered in 2006 (that would be Orange County) and since then, there have been so many spin-offs. When Southern Charm came onto the scene in 2014, there was another great option for people who wanted to tune into a ton of drama and some fights. Now any reality TV fan can watch any of these series and be in heaven.

Since these are both parts of the reality genre, it’s interesting to compare the people, environments, and all of the other things that make each one special. Here are five things that the Real Housewives franchise does better than Southern Charm, and five things that Southern Charm does better than the Real Housewives.

Real Housewives: A Great Variety Of Cities

The original Southern Charm takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, and there are two other cities now: New Orleans and Savannah. Since The Real Housewives franchise has been around a lot longer (the first show, Real Housewives Of Orange County, premiered in 2006 and Southern Charm premiered in 2014), there is a greater number and variety of cities.

New York, New Jersey, Miami, Dallas, Washington D.C., Potomac, Beverly Hills, Toronto, and Vancouver are all places that the Real Housewives franchise has gone. It’s cool to see so many cities represented. Thankfully, the drama remains no matter if it’s an east coast or beach city.

 Southern Charm: The Scenery Is, Well, Charming

Charleston is a celebrated, gorgeous Southern city, and it makes so much sense to set a reality show there. Visually speaking, this show is so interesting to tune into.

Sure, there is conflict, friends getting mad at friends, people not talking to each other, and all of the reality TV jazz that fans of the genre have come to expect. But whether it’s the pretty bridge from the opening credits or the amazing pastel-colored houses, Charleston always looks great.

Real Housewives: The Personalities Are Big & Fabulous

The sad news recently broke that Lisa Vanderpump is leaving Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It’s too bad because Lisa is one of the fabulous personalities that makes the franchise so amazing.

From Kyle Richards, the former child actor who always dresses to the nines and has a sweet family, to actress Denise Richards, who recently joined the show, RHOBH is just one of the franchise’s shows that has such fascinating women on it. Then there’s Teresa Guidice on RHONJ and Bethenny Frankel on RHONY. While the gang on Southern Charm is awesome, they’re not as well known or talked about as the housewives.

 Southern Charm: The Friend Group Feels Natural & Real

From silly and cute Shep to tell-it-like-it-is Cameran, from creative Craig to sweet Naomie, the friend group on this show honestly feels natural and real. They seem like true pals and like they would be hanging out even if the cameras weren’t rolling. That isn’t always the case with certain reality shows since people say that some series are scripted and that people are placed together for certain reasons.

It doesn’t get more real than one episode when Shep and his pals are throwing a barbeque but it takes them forever to actually, you know, get the barbeque started and cook the meat…

Real Housewives: The Incredible Vacations

Whether it’s New York, New Jersey, Orange County, or Beverly Hills, the ladies of the Real Housewives franchise have been on some incredible vacations. They have gone to Dublin, Hong Kong, Berlin, Dubai… and that’s just some of the places that they have traveled.

The gang on Southern Charm do travel together, but they go on beach vacays or sometimes on a quick weekend getaway. The places are still great and the group is still entertaining, but it doesn’t feel the same.

 Southern Charm: Friend Drama

Of course, the Real Housewives are known for their friend drama. For example, on RHOC, Vicki and Tamra have had a tough friendship and some seasons are arguing or not speaking, and other seasons, they’re best friends once again (and even seem as close as sisters).

But there’s something even more fascinating about the friend drama on Southern Charm. It might be because everyone tries their best to be as prim and proper as Southern manners often suggest, but when some of the cast is annoyed with one another, it’s just so fun to watch.

Real Housewives: The Taglines

The Real Housewives franchise definitely has epic taglines. Southern Charm doesn’t have any, but fans probably wish that they did because that would be awesome.

The taglines on this reality series are really something to talk about, preferably with some good friends, because they seem to get better with every season that comes out. On this season of RHOB, for instance, Denise Richards says, “My problem with the tabloids? My real life is so much juicier.” And Lisa Rinna’s is, “In the game of life, it’s Rinna take all.”

Southern Charm: The Theme Song

There is no Real Housewives theme song, but there is one for Southern Charm. It’s the song “It’s Easy” by Mia Sable. Some of the lyrics say, “He’s got money/He’s in magazines/He’s got more honeys/Than any honeybee.”

The chorus goes, “Ba-ba-doo, ba-ba-de-ee/It’s easy/As the birds and the bees and the 1-2-3’s.” It’s pretty much impossible not to love this song that is as charming as the rest of the show (and Charleston in general).

Real Housewives: The Crazy, Epic Fights

No one can ever forget when Teresa flipped a table on RHONJ and was acting pretty wild. She said some not-so-nice words to Danielle Staub, and this is a scene that people still chat about to this day.

The crazy, epic fights and moments like this are what the Real Housewives is known for. This show definitely does these better than Southern Charm. Even when people fight on Southern Charm, it’s generally a bunch of people screaming at a fancy function while in evening gowns… which kind of takes some of the sting and impact out of it.

 Southern Charm: Fancy Dinner Parties (Full Of Drama)

Patricia is one of the best parts of Southern Charm because she is a wonderful, fabulous lady. She’s kind of a mentor to the group and often has them over for a fancy dinner party. It’s so great because she will often wonder why they’re talking about something or why they have to act so badly at times.

These dinner parties are so fun to watch, from the way that everyone dresses up to the cocktails that are served to the drama that always goes down.