We live in a world of reboots, so it shouldn’t be a huge shocker that MTV is trying to squeeze out as much content as they can from their iconic reality shows from the 2000s and 2010s. Last week while all of the television networks were promoting their upcoming lineups, MTV announced reboots of both The Hills and Jersey Shore with all new casts. E! News reported on the network’s new lineup of shows. Some people are excited, and others, not so much.
In an announcement, MTV said, “It’s been 13 years since the iconic cast of Jersey Shore fist-pumped their way into our lives and stole our hearts. Now, the time-honored tradition continues with a new group of roommates moving into their own Shore house. They may have traded their poofs for plumped pouts and UV rays for spray tans, but when things heat up in Jersey, the Shore is still the place to be to make memories all summer long.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the United States, the network plans to launch a new version of the soap opera/reality show, The Hills. They teased the new series, The Hills: Next Gen, in an announcement promising a more diverse cast. They said, “The series will follow a close group of twenty-something friends and aspiring entrepreneurs who are coming of age in a very different LA. They will navigate realities of race, class, identity, addiction, family drama along with the thrills of romance and becoming self-made amidst the exclusive enclave of the hills in Malibu.”
The reboot announcements were met with mixed reactions. Some fans feel stoked to see modern, diverse takes on these beloved shows, whereas others believe MTV should focus on developing new concepts. After all, it’s not like there’s been a lack of content from these old franchises over the years. The Hills: New Beginnings just ran for two seasons with the OG cast. Jersey Shore: Family Vacation has been on for five seasons, so someone out there is watching it.
As E! News reported, some of the biggest reboot complaints are coming from the OG cast members themselves. While The Hills cast members haven’t made a peep about their show getting the reboot treatment, the original Jersey Shore cast has made it clear that they aren’t standing behind the networks’ decision to launch a reboot.
Vinny Guadagnino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Pauly D, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, and Angelina Pivarnick shared a collective statement on Twitter along with a melodramatic hashtag #WeAreJerseyShore.
“As a cast took a chance with a network in need,” said the cast statement, which appears to have been typed up in the iPhone Notes app. “We put our most vulnerable moments on television for the world to see. We gave our all over the past 13 years, became a family and continue to open our lives for the world. So please understand that we are not in support of a version that will exploit our original show, our hard work and authenticity to gain viewers.”
The Situation took it a step further and posted a series of tweets, seemingly directed at the reboot. “Often duplicated but never replicated,” he wrote in one tweet. “There is no substitute for lightning in a bottle,” he said in another.
There are some valid points there. It will be tough for Jersey Shore 2.0 to compete with the original. You really can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice, so it kind of makes sense that the OG cast would feel threatened by the idea. But on the other hand, the cast statement makes it sound like Snooki, The Situation, and the gang came up with the premise of Jersey Shore and built it from the ground up. In reality, they were lucky enough to be cast on a show and get paid a lot of money to get drunk on vacation for years. So maybe it’s time to move on?
TELL US – ARE YOU HERE FOR JERSEY SHORE AND THE HILLS REBOOTS? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE OG JERSEY SHORE CAST SLAMMING THE REBOOT? DO YOU THINK THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO BE UPSET?
[Photo Credit: MTV]
