June Farms star Matt Baumgartner is just like Us when it comes to loving all things reality TV — so imagine his surprise when he got a chance to be in front of the camera himself.
“It feels like I have a master’s degree in reality TV show viewing. I’m a huge fan of Vanderpump Rules and Below Deck and a lot of the Bravo shows that are not necessarily competition shows. I love the ones that focus on [mixing] work and relationship reality,” Baumgartner exclusively told Us Weekly following the premiere of his Prime Video show earlier this month.
While filming the project, Baumgartner just wanted to celebrate his Hudson Valley farm.
“I wasn’t quite sure what level of drama the show was going to include. Quite honestly, there was a lot more drama that could have been included,” he noted. “But overall, the goal was to give a nice wedding show with a little bit of drama. They definitely managed to do that.”
Which TV Shows Are Renewed in 2025-2026?
June Farms is an unscripted series that centers around employees mixing business with pleasure at Baumgartner’s gentleman’s farm. Baumgartner had an idea of what to expect going into the show, but he didn’t want to put too much pressure on the process.
“I really wanted to go into it being as honest as possible. I never wanted to look back and say that I didn’t take it seriously. As a huge fan of reality TV, the people that I like the most are the ones that are the most raw and authentic,” he said. “They are just putting their whole lives out there, I find it very admirable and courageous and I wanted people to think of me like that when they watch.”
Baumgartner’s authenticity shines through on the series — especially as he gets more used to the cameras.
“I remember the first week was like, ‘This is so fun.’ Then it became, ‘Oh, wow. This feels like it’s starting to be a little bit invasive.’ Then the third week is when the sleep deprivation started to kick in,” he recalled. “My adrenaline was at a 10 the whole time, so I just had a hard time sleeping.”
Baumgartner continued: “The pressure that I felt to do a good job for Prime Video and for the production team — and even just for myself so they don’t look crazy — ended up almost working against me. I couldn’t really relax. But those following weeks were a little bit difficult. The pressure started to sort of kick in.”
Baumgartner quickly found himself inadvertently mirroring an iconic reality TV scene, sharing, “I’m happy with the final product. I am a social smoker though and I hated that my nieces and nephews had to see me having a cigarette. But it’s the truth. We have a smoking section at the farm that is where we all hash things out. … I remember making a decision if I should put my cigarette out. But I was like, ‘This is what we do — good or bad.’ It is how we communicate there. Also having seen Dorit Kemsley smoke a cigarette in her truck [on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills], I was like, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’”
Greta Gerwig Reveals Which Reality TV Show Makes Her ‘Happy’
Initially, the entrepreneur thought a lot about the cameras, but they later took a back seat. “The thing that I realized after about two weeks is my brain lost the ability to keep up the facade of trying to be like, like, ‘This is going to be perfect. I’m going to make everybody love me. I’m going to make everybody think my farm is perfect,’” Baumgartner told Us. “Eventually you just lose steam and you just default back into your normal behavior.”
He continued: “I remember saying to other people that before the show was filming, I had all these outfits picked out and about how good I’m going to look. I was so sloppy by week four or five. I would have grabbed anything out of the closet and just thrown it on because they are just going to see me how I normally am. If they like me, they like me. I just easily gave into the process in a way that I hope makes it look more authentic.”
The hard work ultimately paid off.
“I could recognize the benefit of doing a show like this, which hopefully means an increase in our wedding bookings and an increase in people coming to visit the farm and staying in the cabins. I’m hoping that is the No. 1 takeaway of the show,” he noted. “But I feel like in order to be given the opportunity, I had to be willing to show stuff in my personal life and show the behind the scenes of the weddings. It felt like it was worth it. Having seen the episodes, I’m very happy with how they look and how the farm looks. There were some challenges for the weddings, but I think overall people understand that we’re just trying to run a business.”
June Farms is currently streaming on Prime Video.
