Did you know MTV is planning a reboot of ‘The Hills’ with a much more diverse cast?
We didn’t — and apparently neither did any of the members of the old cast — and some of them, like Audrina Patridge, feel some type of way.
via People:
While appearing on TalkShopLive to discuss her new book, Choices: To The Hills and Back Again, Patridge, 37, shared her thoughts on MTV’s decision to revamp the franchise with a new and younger cast.
“I can’t believe they’re doing this, to be honest. We were all kind of shocked. Especially because on The Hills: New Beginnings, we had a cast of 14 and it was actually really hard to film because there were so many people and so many things going on,” she said.
“So the fact that they have a new cast of 20, I don’t know how they’re going to do that. It’s going to be a very busy show,” she continued. “I’m a little bummed out about it but I guess they want a younger generation and as you get older, you have more responsibilities and you care about your image. And we’re not in our twenties anymore, so I guess getting a new generation of kids makes sense ’cause they’re going to be carefree and wild.”
An MTV spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE in May that a new Hills series is in development. Per Deadline, the series — titled The Hills: Next Gen — will “feature a brand-new cast that is expected to be more diverse than the original.”
“The series will follow a close group of twentysomething friends and aspiring entrepreneurs who are coming of age in a very different L.A.,” the logline read. “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.”
According to Patridge, the original cast found out about the new iteration at the same time as the rest of the world.
“We all sent each other like, DMs and messages, texting of what was out there from Instagram, like, the announcement. And were like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I cannot believe they are redoing The Hills’ and like, ‘What the heck?'” she said during the live stream. “It’s kind of a shock. Also, The Hills, I feel like we ran our course. We didn’t really have too much more drama to give. We’re all, like, moms and dads and dating and like, a little bit more reserved than we used to be.”
Even though she thinks it’ll be “weird” to see the series live on without the stars who made it a success, she will tune in to watch the show.
“The Hills was such an iconic reality show. It’s an original reality show. It kind of helped start that type of soap opera reality and it is going to be really weird with new people taking over,” she said. “But I think they’re going to try to change the entire [thing]. … It’s not going to be anything like the original Hills. I can’t wait. I’m going to have to tune in and watch. There’s no way I can’t.”
The Hills originally centered around Laguna Beach alum Lauren Conrad’s life in Los Angeles. Patridge, Heidi (Montag) Pratt, Whitney Port, Spencer Pratt, Brody Jenner, Justin “Bobby” Brescia and Jason Wahler were also featured on the series.
After Conrad, 36, exited part-way through season 5, former Laguna Beach costar Kristin Cavallari became the new lead through its sixth and final season.
Though the series ended in 2010, MTV revived the show in 2019 as The Hills: New Beginnings. Several returning stars were featured, alongside newcomers like Mischa Barton and Brandon Thomas Lee, but it was canceled in January after two seasons.
Amid the cancellation news, sources confirmed that “new iterations” of The Hills “are still in the works.”
Recently, MTV also announced its plans to reboot the Jersey Shore franchise with an all-new cast. The original stars, most of whom currently star on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, issued a statement going against the network’s decision: “Please understand that we are not in support of a version that will exploit our original show.”
That’s showbiz.
