'Summer House' Reality Series Could Come To Water Mill

There is good news for Montauk residents frustrated with the summer party crowd, but it may spell bad news for like-minded Water Mill community members.

According to Southampton Town Deputy Clerk Kimberly Ottati, the film crew for the Bravo reality show “Summer House” has submitted a filming application to shoot a second season at a private residence in Water Mill. The Water Mill house is a change in location from the show’s first season, which was filmed at a private residence on Napeague Harbor Road last summer. The filming offended many Montauk locals who felt that the show sent the wrong message about their community, as it revolved around the antics of nine New York City residents who spent their time drinking, partying and “hooking up.”

While the Bravo network picked up the show for a second season in early May, the show’s crew was denied permission to film the new season at the Napeague Harbor Road residence this coming summer by the Town of East Hampton. The show’s production company was issued a letter of denial on May 10 citing that the filming would violate town zoning code by being a “commercial operation” and for housing more than four people not related to each other. The letter also said that the show’s cast living in the house was already violating town registry code.

Carol Klein—the vice president of the show’s production company, Truly Original productions, who was issued the letter of denial—could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The new private residence at 1451 Deerfield Road sits on more than five acres of land and features a three-car garage, a balcony, a basement with entertainment center and pool table, eight bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, along with a heated pool, hot tub, and tennis court in the backyard. The residence, owned by Brian Ammar of Water Mill, was originally built in 2006 and was last listed for sale in February for more than $4.9 million.

According to the application provided by the town clerk’s office and filled out by Ms. Klein, the show’s film crew would set up to film on June 21 and 22 and then move out of the residence on September 5 and 6. Between the set-up and load out, the film crew and cast of 35 people requested 36 days to film the show throughout the summer, with all of shooting days occurring on Fridays through Sundays in June, July, August and September, with 11 of those shoots happening at night. The supplement to the application said that the film crew will shoot the weekend of and on the day of July 4 and Labor Day this year. The supplement also states that the filming wouldn’t require many vehicles, preventing any further buildup of traffic in the area.