Where does a reality star earn a living once the cameras cut and the prison gates open? For the cast of Chrisley Knows Best, the answer isn't one job. It's a patchwork: a Lifetime docuseries, a pair of podcasts, real estate deals, direct-to-consumer products. Nobody in this family clocks in anywhere.
Start with the basics. Todd and Julie Chrisley served more than two years in federal custody after their 2022 fraud convictions. A presidential pardon brought them home in May 2025. The pardon ended the prison time. It did nothing for the bill, because millions in court-ordered restitution and back taxes followed them out the door. Their original USA Network show is long gone, so the money now comes from commercial podcasts, independent production contracts, social platforms, and property. Turns out, rebuilding a career after a federal sentence means treating your family like an ongoing commercial enterprise, whether you planned it that way or not.
Todd Chrisley and the Post-Release Hustle
Todd Chrisley was a real estate guy before television ever found him. His company, Chrisley Asset Management, funded the family's lavish Atlanta lifestyle, and that image carried them onto cable in 2014. He's circling back to that lane now, doing property consulting while picking up featured television work again.
The TV work is the steady paycheck. Todd and Julie debuted on Lifetime's docuseries The Chrisleys: Back to Reality in late 2025, a show that follows their release from federal custody and their attempt to pull the household back together. The contract pays baseline production fees. His overall finances stay messy, though. Court records from the criminal trial cited over $30 million in fraudulent loans, which left Todd holding roughly $17 million in court-ordered restitution, and that number didn't vanish when the pardon came through. A presidential pardon clears the custodial sentence. It does not wipe out civil restitution or back taxes.
Away from the cameras, Todd books paid speaking engagements about criminal justice reform and his Christian faith. He has teased consulting projects with commercial developers too. Standard executive corporate roles are mostly closed to him. A high-profile felony surfaces on every background check, so independent consulting contracts and unscripted entertainment remain his primary income sources.
Julie Chrisley: Cooking Formats and Entertainment Gigs
Julie Chrisley served more than two years at a federal medical facility before her sentence was commuted and she was pardoned alongside Todd. Her rebuild looks nothing like his. She has pointed herself at the domestic lifestyle space: food programming, home content, and guest appearances on broadcast reality competitions.
Food and hospitality were always her lane. She spent recent months pitching and developing a digital cooking series, built on the interest in Southern home recipes and family meal prep. Nine seasons of Chrisley Knows Best left her with unscripted network relationships, and those are what keep the reality competition guest spots coming. It's a quieter playbook than Todd's. It's also built entirely on what audiences already expect from her.
Here's the whole family side by side:
| Cast Member | Primary Revenue Channels | Core Work Obstacle | Main 2026 Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Chrisley | Lifetime unscripted series, real estate consulting, speaking | $17M restitution and tax overhang | The Chrisleys: Back to Reality |
| Julie Chrisley | Television appearances, culinary content, lifestyle deals | Re-establishing solo brand identity | Digital cooking show development |
| Savannah Chrisley | Podcast production, brand sponsorships, media appearances | High production costs and management overhead | Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley |
| Chase Chrisley | Real estate investment, e-commerce products, endorsements | Volatile commission and transaction timing | Independent property portfolio |
| Lindsie Chrisley | Podcast hosting, subscriber Patreon, affiliate marketing | Legal estrangements from family productions | The Southern Tea |
Savannah Chrisley Built an Independent Media Company
Savannah Chrisley became the family's financial anchor while her parents were locked up. She took custody of her younger brother Grayson and her niece Chloe, stepped into full-time media management, and somewhere in the middle of all that built a broadcasting operation that runs without a studio behind it. No nine-to-five for her.
Her setup pulls in money from four separate streams:
- Weekly podcast syndication: Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley puts out regular episodes through major distributors like PodcastOne and iHeart, and the show draws significant advertising spend.
- National direct-response sponsors: long-term promotional contracts with auto insurers, health apps, and meal-kit delivery brands bring in recurring monthly revenue.
- Paid political and media appearances: speaking at events like the 2024 Republican National Convention opened doors to paid speaking and broadcast panelist work.
- Creator commerce: sponsored social campaigns and consumer beauty licensing deals monetize her following without needing a network production crew.
The podcast runs like a small digital agency. She hires editors, books guests, manages ad reads, and handles distribution across YouTube and audio feeds. Every dollar of it lives outside traditional Hollywood studio control.
Chase Chrisley: Property Projects and Retail Products
Chase keeps a lower profile on broadcast networks than his siblings, and that's deliberate. He appeared alongside Savannah on the spinoff Growing Up Chrisley, but his week-to-week work centers on property acquisitions and small business retail. He scouts residential deals across Tennessee and Georgia and partners with local developers on renovations and resales. Retail runs on a second track: he launched a signature candle and home fragrance collection that sells straight to consumers through e-commerce storefronts.
Thing is, he figured out early that relying exclusively on network pickups is a risky way to pay a mortgage. When television offers do come in, he books them as short-term production gigs and gets back to his own projects.
Lindsie Chrisley: Podcasting Without the Family Network
Lindsie Chrisley operates completely apart from Todd, Julie, and Savannah. Long-standing public estrangements and family disputes pushed her career outside the main household's productions, and it has stayed there.
Her lane is podcasting. Income comes from her weekly show The Southern Tea plus past residual earnings from Coffee Convos.
She runs it on a strict weekly production schedule. Multiple episodes recorded each week, paid guest appearances managed, and a dedicated Patreon community where subscribers pay monthly for bonus content and Q&A sessions. She avoids joint productions with the main family. Podcast advertising networks, affiliate marketing deals, and direct subscriber revenue make up the living.
Grayson, Chloe, Kyle, and Nanny Faye
The rest of the family works on a different clock:
- Grayson Chrisley: an adult now, Grayson works mainly behind the scenes and takes occasional paid guest spots on his siblings' podcasts.
- Chloe Chrisley: still in school, no formal employment outside occasional appearances on family media channels.
- Kyle Chrisley: Todd's oldest son stays largely separated from the family's media productions and holds private, non-entertainment employment.
- Nanny Faye Chrisley: Todd's mother remains a fan favorite, earning talent fees for appearances on family shows and joining occasional merchandise campaigns.
How Convicted Reality Personalities Re-Enter the Workforce
Federal time leaves a mark on any job search, pardon or no pardon. The standard corporate hiring pipeline screens people out before a human ever reads the application. Background checks flag the felony. ATS filters knock it down automatically. Reputational risk assessments ask whether the company wants a high-profile bank fraud case anywhere near its name, and to be honest, most employers won't take on that kind of public scrutiny.
That leaves self-employment and contractor work as the only realistic paths to substantial earnings for public figures like the Chrisleys. Todd and Julie operate on 1099 production contracts, LLC-based consulting arrangements, and digital media partnerships. These structures let them negotiate fees directly with production houses like Lifetime instead of going through standard HR screening pipelines that would stop them cold.
Digital creator platforms handle the rest. Podcasts, YouTube channels, and subscriber platforms like Patreon monetize attention directly, and advertisers buy audience reach rather than auditing the personal criminal history of the person on the microphone. The family converted its legal battles, prison sentences, and personal conflicts into consumable weekly content. In the gig economy, dramatic life events become monetization assets.
Practical Steps for Independent Media and Post-Crisis Rebuilding
None of this happened by accident. The Chrisleys run their working lives with real business discipline, and the same tactics apply to any independent creator or consultant digging out of a crisis:
- Establish a solo production LLC. Route every production fee, brand sponsorship, and speaking honorarium through an independent corporate entity so operational expenses and tax obligations stay clean.
- Diversify media revenue. Don't live on a single network contract. Pair audio podcasting with YouTube ad revenue, subscriber tiers, and direct affiliate sponsorships.
- Use direct-to-consumer platforms. Subscription tiers on Patreon or Substack create steady monthly cash flow that traditional media cancelations can't wipe out.
- Negotiate contractor agreements. When you return to unscripted TV, push for executive producer or consulting credits to lock in back-end royalties and recurring talent fees.
- Separate personal and business balance sheets. Keep personal legal liabilities and court restitution out of working business accounts, or one ruling can stall the entire operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Todd Chrisley have a regular corporate job?
No. Todd works as an independent media personality and real estate consultant, not a corporate executive. His income comes from unscripted television fees, property consulting, and speaking engagements.
Do presidential pardons wipe out the Chrisleys' financial restitution?
No. A presidential pardon forgives the criminal conviction and eliminates the remaining prison sentence, but it doesn't automatically clear court-ordered restitution, civil tax penalties, or outstanding commercial debts.
How does Savannah Chrisley earn most of her income?
Her weekly podcast Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley drives the bulk of it. The show generates money through major brand sponsorships, digital advertising networks, and YouTube syndication.
Is the original Chrisley Knows Best returning to air?
No. USA Network canceled Chrisley Knows Best in 2022 following the fraud convictions. The family's television work moved to Lifetime with the docuseries The Chrisleys: Back to Reality. If you want to see what the family does next, that's where to watch.