Meet the Momagers—and Coaches—Who Really Run Sorority Rush

When you were casting the mother-daughter pairs, what qualities attracted you?

It’s so funny because there are certain formulas that people might have, and I don’t know that we necessarily had a formula. We were very familiar with this world, especially the online world, and I was always curious to know more about the girls who gave us their OOTDs [Outfit of the Day]. We thought about how they might present on TikTok, how in-depth we felt we could go with their stories, and we weighed how comfortable they were with sharing.

One of the first casting tapes to come through would be our first episode. It was Carol Anne [an Auburn alum who loved her sorority] and Emily [Carol Anne’s daughter and a rising Auburn freshman who was feeling nervous about rushing]. The pure excitement, the stakes, and a little bit of fear—all of that just came through so loud and clear. The dynamic between Emily and her mom, it was really compelling in a way that extended well beyond sorority rush.

Authenticity was a huge thing for us. I think we all look for authenticity when we’re watching creators online, but for us, we wanted to make sure that we were filming with people who were very comfortable being open and sharing their experience with us and sharing the struggles.

The show focuses on the way that rush is a rite of passage, a ritualized series of steps to move from childhood to adulthood. But Alverson and Bradley are so helpful in explaining how sorority culture and aesthetics are attainable with some money and the right approach. The real challenge of rush is figuring out if you actually want to be a part of it. In a certain way, the particularities of each sorority are far in the background of the show. Was that intentional?

The sororities are really in the background. They weren’t our priority, and they only came up to the extent with Carol Anne and Emily because there was a personal connection to them, so that was important for them. For us, it’s not really about the sororities at all. It’s about the young women and the rite of passage that they’re going through. The sororities are obviously part of it, but the sororities really are in the background. It’s not about them. There can be secrecy around Greek life, but that’s not what we were interested in investigating.

I don’t know how the sororities themselves feel about the show, but I think we’re really good at knowing where that line is and walking right up to it. There’s a little bit of mischief in this show too—whether it’s through Bill or whether it’s these girls telling their own stories and putting their stories out there into the world. And I think that the young women that we follow have so much agency.

Did you guys have conversations about what would happen if a given girl didn’t get a bid? Were you worried it might be narratively unsatisfying?