Can The Hills Survive Another Casting Change?
by Nadya Vlassoff
MTV
cultivated a new brand of reality star with the
2004 premiere of the popular series, Laguna Beach:
The Real Orange County. Headed by the queen bee
herself, Kristin Cavallari, Laguna Beach followed
the lives of a wealthy group of teens from one
of the most exclusive towns in all of America.
What began as a twisted sort of social commentary
from the teens themselves soon developed into
one of the most successful spin-off franchises
on television.
After Laguna Beach ended in 2006, fans of the series followed star Lauren "LC" Conrad to the Hollywood Hills for even more drama and tears in The Hills. Lauren Conrad, Audrina Partridge, Whitney Port and Heidi Montag shared four seasons of abject hilarity interspersed with a bevy of catfights at several quaint Los Angeles eateries. Millions tuned in to The Hiils each week to see just how the lives of the four Hills girls would evolve as they balanced school and work, although not a whole lot of work was actually seen except on Whitney’s end.
Although
leaving Laguna Beach allowed Lauren Conrad to
break out on her own in The Hills, the inevitable
reunion with her old cast mates began to trickle
in as Lauren "Lo" Bosworth, Jason Wahler, and
Kristin Cavallari all made the 45 minute drive
to The Hills. However, The Hills has seen a
number of key cast changes in recent year, even
Kristin Cavallari, once the most famous high
school students in all of America, who returned
to The Hills in season five after announcing
her departure for the film world. Cavallari
signed on to The Hills for two more years, which
means fans will see two more seasons.
Whitney Port has shed her second string status for her own show, The City. Lauren Conrad has moved on to a variety of endeavours, which includes a new role as a fashion designer while also publishing a book, and most recently a cameo in an episode of Family Guy. Now that Audrina Patridge has confirmed her departure from The Hills to film a new reality series, it appears the secondary cast will be the ones to keep viewers entertained long enough for ratings to remain high.
After
an alleged rift between Audrina Patridge and
Heidi Pratt over Pratt’s performance at the
Miss Universe Pageant, Partridge’s exit couldn’t
have come at a better time. Whether there is
bad blood between Heidi and Audrina is still
up for grabs, but both are currently involved
in their own side projects. Even Heidi’s recent
marriage and new focus on a music career will
have an impact on how long she’ll stay tied
to The Hills. Heidi and her husband, Spencer
faced a barrage of criticism after their awkward
appearances on the NBC reality show I’m a Celebrity
Get Me Out of Here, which included overly dramatic
tears, anger, premature exits, indecision, and
too much baggage for one reality show to handle.
Although Spencer and Heidi are pretty in The
Hills, they were anything but on I’m a Celebrity,
which did have an impact on their collective
image, which, as one could say, impacted The
Hills to a small degree.
Of course cast turnaround on any television show is to be expected and after four seasons on The Hills, Audrina Patridge must have been itching to capitalize on her success and move into another realm of the entertainment industry. Although Patridge had been relegated to quasi-celebrity status, Audrina’s recent turn to the silver screen should expose her to more opportunities. With the release of Sorority Row this weekend, other studios may be watching to see just how bankable Audrina is beyond her comfort zone of The Hills. Patridge is slated for her own self-titled series on MTV, so we’ll have to wait and see how The Hills can compete with its former stars.
"Lose
a friend, gain an enemy" should be the new tagline
for The Hills. With two more seasons to go,
Kristin may be the only one who can keep The
Hills alive and kicking. Will Holly and Stephanie
get their chance in the limelight, or will they
be relegated to someone else’s shadow? It’s
a stretch to think that even with the departure
of its main stars and new cast changes, The
Hills will go on to become the reality version
of Law & Order in terms of longevity. However,
with Whitney, Lauren, and Audrina gone and Kristin
back for two more seasons, it’s more likely
The Hills will survive long enough to become
the reality equivalent of Baywatch in relation
to cast changes and popularity.
As for The Hills 4 orignal beautys, I respect them 1000%. Earning plenty of this fame, well deserved- as for opinions!! well Kristen, seems to want an easy $$ paycheck and her way of popularity is spending mtvs money like water!!
MTV
cultivated a new brand of reality star with the
2004 premiere of the popular series, Laguna Beach:
The Real Orange County. Headed by the queen bee
herself, Kristin Cavallari, Laguna Beach followed
the lives of a wealthy group of teens from one
of the most exclusive towns in all of America.
What began as a twisted sort of social commentary
from the teens themselves soon developed into
one of the most successful spin-off franchises
on television.
Although
leaving Laguna Beach allowed Lauren Conrad to
break out on her own in The Hills, the inevitable
reunion with her old cast mates began to trickle
in as Lauren "Lo" Bosworth, Jason Wahler, and
Kristin Cavallari all made the 45 minute drive
to The Hills. However, The Hills has seen a
number of key cast changes in recent year, even
Kristin Cavallari, once the most famous high
school students in all of America, who returned
to The Hills in season five after announcing
her departure for the film world. Cavallari
signed on to The Hills for two more years, which
means fans will see two more seasons.
After
an alleged rift between Audrina Patridge and
Heidi Pratt over Pratt’s performance at the
Miss Universe Pageant, Partridge’s exit couldn’t
have come at a better time. Whether there is
bad blood between Heidi and Audrina is still
up for grabs, but both are currently involved
in their own side projects. Even Heidi’s recent
marriage and new focus on a music career will
have an impact on how long she’ll stay tied
to The Hills. Heidi and her husband, Spencer
faced a barrage of criticism after their awkward
appearances on the NBC reality show I’m a Celebrity
Get Me Out of Here, which included overly dramatic
tears, anger, premature exits, indecision, and
too much baggage for one reality show to handle.
Although Spencer and Heidi are pretty in The
Hills, they were anything but on I’m a Celebrity,
which did have an impact on their collective
image, which, as one could say, impacted The
Hills to a small degree.
"Lose
a friend, gain an enemy" should be the new tagline
for The Hills. With two more seasons to go,
Kristin may be the only one who can keep The
Hills alive and kicking. Will Holly and Stephanie
get their chance in the limelight, or will they
be relegated to someone else’s shadow? It’s
a stretch to think that even with the departure
of its main stars and new cast changes, The
Hills will go on to become the reality version
of Law & Order in terms of longevity. However,
with Whitney, Lauren, and Audrina gone and Kristin
back for two more seasons, it’s more likely
The Hills will survive long enough to become
the reality equivalent of Baywatch in relation
to cast changes and popularity.