''Big Tips Texas'' is an American documentary-style series that premiered October 9, 2013, on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. Over 14 episodes, it follows two groups of four old and six new employees at

Redneck Heaven Redneck Heaven was a chain of sports bars and restaurants based in Lewisville, Texas, and with locations in several other Texas cities. The chain was known for its controversial promotions, Southern theme and scantily-clad waitresses. It was the ...

, a

breastaurant A breastaurant is a restaurant that requires female waiting staff to be skimpily-dressed. The term dates from the early 1990s, after restaurant chain Hooters opened in the United States. The format has since been adopted by other restaurants, in ...

Lewisville, Texas Lewisville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, predominantly within Denton County with a small part lying within Dallas County. As a suburban community within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census tabulated a population of 111 ...

Concept

The show title is a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

of the phrases "big tips" (i.e., tipping, or a gratuity) and "big tits" (i.e., slang for breasts). The show was filmed at and around

, a

. Before airing, ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' predicted that the show would "focus primarily on drinking, cussing, screwing, and fighting, with frequent subplots involving betrayal, name-calling, applying to Harvard, and other cable-friendly degradations of contemporary Gomorrah."

Cast

Industry sources have reported the cast members were likely paid between $1,500 and $2,500 an episode in addition to their normal compensation and tips for working at the restaurant. Reviewers have noted that the cast was split between those described by ''MTV News'' as Redneck Heaven "veterans" (Sabrina, Typhani, Claire and Amber) and "new girls" (Kristyn, Macy, Jillian, Mimi, Mercedez and Morgan). All the employees were bartenders or waitstaff except Typhani, the head of marketing. Beyond these differences, cast members have been described by reviewers as being fairly similar in appearance and background.

Episodes

Reception

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'' magazine described ''Big Tips Texas'' as "'' Coyote Ugly: The Series''". Brian Lowry categorized the Texas based show as an attempt to recreate the regional appeal of shows such as ''

Duck Dynasty ''Duck Dynasty'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E from 2012 to 2017. The series portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became successful from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, Lo ...

'', ''

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo ''Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'' was an American reality television series that aired on TLC featuring the family of child beauty pageant contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson. The show premiered on August 8, 2012, and ended on August 14, 201 ...

'', and ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

'', but criticized the "dreary sameness to these characters and situations" and said that very little of the show seemed real. Amy Kuperinsky at ''

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'' gave the show a moderately positive review (a "B"), citing cast member Amber as a particular highlight of the show. Kuperinsky drew parallels between the dramatic alcohol-fueled antics of Amber and those of

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi Nicole Elizabeth LaValle ( née Polizzi; born November 23, 1987), best known by her nickname Snooki, is an American reality television personality. She is best known for being a cast member of the MTV reality show '' Jersey Shore'' and starr ...

from ''Jersey Shore''. Kuperinsky wrote that one of the most memorable scenes involved a "Minnow Bomb" where a shot of alcohol was taken with a small live fish to be swallowed whole. Belle Cushing of ''

Grub Street Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London's impoverished Moorfields district that ran from Fore Street east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate north to Chiswell Street. It was pierced along its length with narrow entr ...

'' mentioned the drama when the Lewisville, Texas city council moved to classify body paint (like that used during Anything But Clothes events at Redneck Heaven) as nudity and drew a connection between this and the drama of the show itself. Cushing was negative about the show's drama, however, describing it as being more than "anyone should be able to humanly stand." ''

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'' was also harshly critical of ''Big Tips Texas''. In discussing the show, Hollie McKay cited numerous sources which castigated ''Big Tips Texas'' "need to sexualize... nd itslowering of good taste." The review further criticized the notion that undressing for larger tips from customers should be considered hard work and called it an insult to women taking other, non-sexualized, career paths.

References

{{MTVNetwork Shows 2010s American reality television series 2013 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings American English-language television shows Television shows set in Dallas MTV reality television series Culture of Dallas Women in Texas