New Jersey’s unemployment rate is about to get a little higher.
MTV is pulling the plug on its modern classic reality series Jersey Shore.
The sixth and final edition of the show recently wrapped production and will debut Thursday, Oct. 4, with the crew back in Seaside Heights for one last party. The network is also airing a retrospective Jersey Shore special titled “Gym, Tan, Look Back” that will include a first look at the final season. The special will air before the Video Music Awards on Thursday, Sept. 6. The Shore cast will make a live appearance on the red carpet during the VMAs pre-show, as well.
Shore was one of the most polarizing shows in TV history, but no one can deny its enormous success and pop culture influence. The series debuted in 2009 amid controversy from Italian-American groups, which accused the show’s self-described “guido” cast as acting like ethnic stereotypes. But MTV viewers shrugged off the complaints and, after a somewhat average series premiere, Jersey Shore quickly took off in the ratings. The show launched a whole lexicon of Shore slang (fist pumping, gym-tan-laundry, smush room, getting-it-in…) and made stars of its nickname-stuffed cast, who lined up lucrative endorsement and appearance deals.
In early 2011, Shore hit nearly 9 million viewers and became the most popular program in MTV’s history. Moreover, the basic cable reality series routinely managed to trounce major broadcast network shows on Thursday nights in the key adults 18-49 demographic. READ FULL STORY »
