So MTV is doing a reality show called "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (premiering this fall) that they're describing as a real-life version of "The O.C."

Here's the press release from MTV:

MTV ANNOUNCES THE PREMIERE OF "LAGUNA BEACH - THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY," TELEVISION'S FIRST "REALITY DRAMA"

Series Gives Viewers an Honest and Unscripted Look at Seven Glamorous Teenagers Living in Orange County

New York, NY, June 28, 2004 - MTV: Music Television announced today the premiere of television's first "reality drama" series "Laguna Beach - The Real Orange County."

MTV, the network that pioneered reality television 11 years ago with the launch of "The Real World" and has a rich history of breaking new ground in programming, will be airing the first ever "reality drama," "Laguna Beach." This reality series has the look and feel of a scripted drama, without the conventions of reality television.

There are no confessionals, no interviews, and the camerawork, editing and musical score are all approached from a narrative perspective. However, all the dialogue, reactions and situations are real and unscripted. Additionally, the series was shot with multiple Panasonic DVC Pro 50 Digital Video cameras, which are currently used in many feature films and commercials.

"Laguna Beach" will explore the lives of seven beautiful teenagers who lead glamorous lives in a picturesque seaside town of pristine beaches and multi-million dollar homes. From the sandbox through high school, Stephen, Kristen, Lauren (LC), Lo, Christina, Trey and Morgan have shared their lives together, living in the same small-knit community and attending the same high school. This group is now a tight-knit clique, and they've granted MTV an all-access pass into their lives, relationships, friendships, families and homes. From spring break to prom to graduating and applying for college, they invite us along for the ride and into the real-life dramas that unfold during their pivotal junior and senior year in high school. What lies beneath the surface of this perfect community? Does everyone really get along? Who's dating who? What does the future hold?

"MTV is all about reinvention, breaking new ground and staying on the cutting edge of television. And with 'Laguna Beach,' we will explore a whole new genre - the 'reality drama,'" said Tony DiSanto, Senior Vice President of Production for MTV. "Our goal is to show the lives of this incredible group of teenagers - authentic and unscripted - yet shot look like our viewers' favorite dramatic series. It will be a unique viewing experience, unlike anything else on television, and all the more compelling because the drama is real."

"Laguna Beach" was created by Liz Gateley. Gary Auerbach, Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley are Executive Producers. Wendy Riche serves as Co-Executive Producer. Adam DiVello serves as the Development Executive for "Laguna Beach." Eugene Caldwell is Executive in Charge of Production.

I've lived in Orange County (specifically Newport Beach or Irvine) for the past 24 years. Laguna Beach is so NOT typical O.C. It's extremely gay (NTTAWWT) and very much to the left wing side of politics (most of the wealthier sea-side communities are Republican). The only real beef I have with Laguna is if you are responsible enough to drive a fully insured & legally licensed automobile, you have to have a pocket-full of quarters to feed the parking meters to park in Laguna but if you're an illegal alien looking for unreported under-the-table day labor wages, there's an officially sanctioned park available for you to gather at...complete with bathroom facilities. Michael Moore would LOVE the place.

Right. Laguna's so far removed from everything else it has really nothing to do with Orange County at all (NTTAWWT). It might as well be a series about teenagers on Catalina Island. That might even be more interesting, I think.

sigh....remember when Mtv used to show music videos?

Actually, considering how shitty and boring most videos are these days I've done a turnaround and actually am finding crapfest reality programming more enjoyable on MTV.

UPDATE: After announcing the show would premiere September 14, MTV now says the show's premiere date isn't finalized yet but that the show will definitely debut sometime this fall.



Then that may explain why MTV picked Laguna Beach. The "typical" Orange County city might be too boring and stuffy for MTV.

Actually Newport Beach (specifically the peninsula - Dennis Rodman just sold his partyhouse there - or Balboa Island), Huntington Beach (aka Surf Capital, USA) or Dana Point (aka Dana Joint) would be suitable for MTV. Laguna is very arty-farty...not really the sea-side community you think of when you think of the MTV generation...it just doesn't strike me as "youth-oriented".

Oh, this makes me weep...

I heard about this series ages ago, because I, sadly, live in Laguna Beach. And my little brother goes to that school. We moved here in '96 (I was 15 at the time) from Cypress (a north Orange County city) and I agree. Laguna is not typical Orange County at all. It's a bubble. There was a whole controversy about MTV filming on the school campus, and after the Janet Jackson thing, they voted against doing so.

What worries me is that they are going to portray these kids in a more favorable light than they should... the parents and the school were worried over how the kids may appear... There's a huge drug problem in Laguna as well, so I'm hoping they don't gloss that over.

If you can't already tell, I'm not fond of the school. What? Me? Bitter? Heh. They were not very welcoming. I hate to generalize, but seriously? Total Douchebags. ;)

If they were serious about the "real" Orange County, it wouldn't even be filmed in a beach city. It would be filmed in Santa Ana, or Garden Grove, or Orange, or Anaheim, or some other inland city.

Seriously, I can't remember the last time I ventured to the beach. Probably the closest was when I had to pick someone up from the airport.

Damn it, now I'm wondering about population figures re beach versus inland and now I'll have to go look it up or it will bother me all night.

So much money in Laguna Beach. I mean billionaires. The millionaires are the working class. Laguna Beach is soooo gay and extremely White with way too many Hummers on the tiny, winding, streets. It is not youth oriented and not particularly tourist friendly. Laguna Beach was once a young, hip place and an artist colony back in the day. Now just like Santa Fe, New Mexico, there are more gays than artists and the cost of everything is just over the top. Rich people galleries still there, but not the artists. Rich, old people town.

An ex-roommate's parents retired there about 10 years ago. It's very dowdy and touristy. No edge at all. I can't speak for them, but I really can't imagine a teenager in Laguna wanting to stay there unless s/he's a stodgy, incurious, untalented trust fund brat.

You know what is a MAJOR attraction in Laguna Beach every summer? Something called the "Pageant of the Masters." It is so hokey and cheesy. People recreate famous paintings on stage. They hold the poses stark still for like 10 minutes and the audience gasps and sighs in disbelief. It's a sell out every year and has been going on since the 1920's I think. I went one time and that was enough for me. It epitomizes the Laguna Beach mind set though.

You have to bet there'll be drama around doing the "Pageant of the Masters". Isn't it really the only seasonal "thing" that goes on out there? The dowdy rich girl is frustrated and angry because the glamorous super-rich girl stole the Mona Lisa part from her.

Why oh why can't they ever have NORMAL teenagers on MTV? Why must they be "glamourous?" Hell, if I only got my glimpses of teens on MTV, I'd be left thinking that acne, obesity, split ends, gnarly teeth, and jeans from Sears were somehow just curses that were lifted after my generation grew up.

Yeah, so I say that and it's not like I won't be watching the show. I'm just that pathetic.

Yeah, I was in the Pageant of the Masters (I sang in a choir) and I honestly can't believe people pay the kind of money they do to see that.

Sigh... I can't even believe how much the idea of this show pisses me off...

Hee hee, they did that in an episode of the Gilmore Girls. (which takes place on the East Coast). But wow, I didn't know people did that in real life!

The Pageant's actually kind of cool in a hokey, Coney Island kind of way. They do Impressionist work and sculptures and I believe they've done Picassos and Matisses, too. But they take it pretty seriously. That it's gonna be featured on the show is a lock, that is if you're planning on watching it.

I've seen the Pageant a few times. I think it's actually interesting to see...especially when they show how they go from models & a set to everyone in place and the lighting going from making everyone look relatively normal to the painting looking like a flat object. If you ever saw Salma Hayek's Frida, they copy the idea a few times during the film.

Hey, I'm going to the Pageant this year so, shut up! I've never been.

I'm L.A., born and raised, most of my childhood years in the rough streets of South L.A. In all that time, the only reason my parents ever took us to OC was to go to Disneyland. Anyway, now I work in OC, near Laguna Beach, and it's such a beautiful town, and, as many people have noted, a vibrant gay scene. I hope they touch upon this on the show because it really is what makes it unique among all this whitewash and conservatism.

I agree if they wanted to show the real OC, they should have done Anaheim or Westminster. The Southeast Asian community in those cities is pretty remarkable. And I would much rather learn about what it's like to be a 1st or 2nd generation American with family struggling to make it in a foreign country rather than a bunch of rich, spoiled brats struggling over whether to get the black or silver Hummer.

Reality, my fat ass. I just give up on Mtv: If I say "play more videos" then they only play the same 10 or 11. If I say "Make more shows" then they only churn out a steady stream of shit with only a few good ones every now and then. Oh, and Mtv? You can stop the collective circle jerking that you've been doing over The Real World. Yes, you broke ground with it but you know what? You ruined that show years ago when you stopped hiring young adults with lives and instead started hiring moronic frat guys and empty-headed girls and putting them in the prettiest house you could find. The Real World, and your channel for that matter, hasn't been relavent for a long time. So shut the fuck up.

So the initial press release said that it would focus on 7 kids and now the commercials are showing 8 kids. Does anyone know the story behind the addition? Was there some hooking up that prompted producers to loop another kid in? Just curious. The kid they added was a junior boy named Talan, apparently. But that's all I know.

I wonder why they chose Laguna Beach instead of Laguna Hills or Laguna Niguel?

Anyway, I'm just anticipating 50 years from now when we get the follow-up series to the lives of these most likely snobby little shits...Laguna Woods.

Color me disappointed that it's Laguna instead of Newport. Laguna is so does not make me think of The OC (the county or the show). It's too exclusive and too artsy. Laguna has awesome restaurants and art galleries, but I wouldn't want to watch a show about that. But from a teens perspective may be interesting.

I saw the Pageant for the first time this year, and I'll never go back. There were one or two paintings that made me gasp, but that's it. I only really liked it when you saw the people moving and then become the painting-that was cool.

Shit, this is a reality show?! I've been seeing the promos for Laguna Beach for the past week, and thought they were making an Undressed meets the OC, or something, and hey. I dug it. But whatever, it still has my attention, so I'll watch. Probably because that guy on the promos that is mouthing the words "I love you" to his girlfriend? (According to the MTV site I am looking at now his name would be... Steven?) SMOKIN'. *wolfwhistle*

I know that I can't help myself. I'm totally gonna watch it if only to snark. I'm so MTV's bitch.

So, it's a bubble within a bubble? 'Cause heck, O.C. is the ultimate bubble. Note I said O.C. not THE O.C.. So shut up with calling it that already, traffic guys on the radio. Gah.
When I first saw the promo on MTV, I thought "Oh hell no" because given what they've done to my home on FOX, I don't know if I could stand MTV's take.
I think they chose Laguna Beach because it makes for pretty scenery and there's a shot that there will be girls in bikinis in classic MTV Spring Break style.
I can't wait to see how they are going to spin this one in to "Newport Beach Lite"

Potatotree, I'm with you. Cute guy will totally have my attention, at least for an episode or two.

So the commercial where cute guy mouths "I love you"? Anyone know the band/song in the background?

They could've at least set it in Newport, even Dana Point or San Clemente would've been better.

All I know is that this show is going to piss me off and probably half my school. At least with The OC you can shrug it off and say 'oh that's just fiction.' The hot guy is what will keep me watching though.

They did it on Arrested Development too -- add me to the list of people who are surprised that they do it in real life! I wonder if they'll do it on the show. I wonder if I'll even watch the show. Who am I kidding? I'm with Preciosa, I'll watch (at least one episode) for the snark value. Although I do wonder what kind of parent would let their teenage child be on a MTV reality show.

If you dont like it, dont watch it ya know? They do have MTV2 for all you kids who say that MTV doesnt play music any more.

And you should be so lucky that someone is doing a show based on, or around your hometown. Quit whining and being the brats the rest of the world thinks you are.

1. Not all cable providers have MTV2 as a listing.
2. This forum is for discussion and snarking, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and openly insulting other posters in the forums is not cool, so read the FAQ.

http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/me...forums_boot.gif

Yep, I think that's what this one has that the other doesn't- Reality element. (And by Reality, I mean MTV Reality not necessarily docu-reality) I'm counting on either laughing my ass off, or being highly annoyed. Or, maybe even both.

It's "Silence," by Gomez.

Yeah, I'll probably watch this too, because watching spoiled brats who are poor excuses for human beings makes me feel better about myself. And the "I love you" guy is pretty cute.

The only thing is that, in the commercials, I cannot tell any of the girls apart. All of the blondes look exactly the same!

I dunno, I think the blond who does the head nod thing in the previews right before the cute guy mouths I love you is kind of hot.

The show looks so actor-y to me, though. How is it reality?

Yeah, the way they filmed the previews makes it look like it's fake. Like someone said in an earlier post about how it kinda looks like Undressed.

My brother (currently a senior at Laguna Beach HS) tells me he's heard it's not entirely "real." And honestly, a lot of it looks scripted. I was in the theatre department and I saw better acting there, thank you. Also, he heard from someone who saw the premiere and the verdict?

"They pretty much make everyone look like douchebags except Talon and Kristin. Kristin--they make her look like a whore."

Well, I'm on board now.

Fakest. Reality Show. Ever.

Bad

This just HAS to be fake. These people make Ally and Jamie of Rich Girls seem deep.

Very stilted. Especially the way that LC keeps saying "Hi Stephen" - it sounds so formal. Not at all the way you would greet a close friend. Also, what's with all the lingering looks? Soap opera?

Yeah it seems pretty fake to me. I don't know a lot about reality television filming, but it seems like they wouldn't be able to get those angles on a regular reality show.

Reality usually can't give you verious camera angles and mounted cameras, not ones where the people go to different locations. For example, that guy Stephen's (this IS soap, they said his name a gazillion times so we wouldn't forget) job, there's no way they have have gotten such nice clear shots of the store if the whole thing hadn't been set up before. It's all so...cheesy.

And that girl, the slutty one, looks about 35. Poor girl.

Which one was the slutty one again? I couldn't tell. Well, at least this show should make for some good snark!

Wow.... Even with all the editing that goes into making a reality show, they weren't able to edit a single one of those overprivileged assholes into a sympathetic character. And what's with MTV's promos? LC is supposed to be the heroine or something?? But--that would require her to have actual likeable qualities. Hm. And why is Kristin (the slutty one) "wrong" for Stephen when she and Lauren are the same goddamn person!!!! And... you know what, I need to stop right now. Damn you, MTV. Give me those 30 minutes of my life back.

I did think it was weird how they could get so many cuts and different angles if the show really wasn't scripted. Maybe some of the scenes were spontaneous the first time and then just done over so they could get a better shot? Or is that giving MTV too much credit... But yeah, I kinda hated the show. But I loved LC's new house. That view is amazing.

I've never seen the show "The OC" before and in fact I know very little about California so now this show has me REALLY confused and I have LOTS of questions:

The girls look alike, is that normal? I was able to tell LC and Kristin apart based on the hair length. (but technically my inability to differentiate is scientifically supported and I'm stickin to that)

When did a tan become a genetic trait that one can pass down to their children? Perhaps the ability TO tan, but not the actual tan.

Does the girl with the bunny teeth know that her friends are way prettier?

Is it wrong that I believe that bottle of "cologne" was really liquor?

Can someone define "hook-up" for me? Is it sex or kissing? Until I know the definition of this word in thier OC context I'm baffled.

Did anyone else get a gay vibe from Talan (Not that there's anything wrong with that)? But then he's always hooking up with all the ladies . . . twice. So maybe he's just sensitive.

I know someone above mentioned Undressed, but this reminded me more of those mini-shows they used to have on MMC. I think one was called Coral Cove or something and everyone was trying to get J.C. Chasez before he was an N-Syncer. Oh, it also reminds me of Nickelodeon's show 15 with that hot guy from 2 Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. That show rocked, but not as much as Swan's Crossing with Sarah Michelle Gellar, that was quality. Wait, I had a point. Is this show SUPPOSED to remind me of the influx of Teen Soap Operas which were so popular in the early 1990s?

{Off to hunt down a Swan's Crossing website}

ETA: It was called Emerald Cove and it was still better than this show.

At first, I though it might be all Brenda-Dylan-Kelly again. Except not. They shouldn't have wasted the money on film; tape would have been sufficient. I bailed out after 10 minutes.

That house is amazing!

I agree that this show is fake. Those lingering glances are obviously staged and really, what parents would allow their unaged children to be shown drinking, partying, having sex, etc.? I would imagine parents would have to sign the release for this?

As for the definition "hooking up", I am in my mid-twenties and, to me hooking up means more than making out, but not necessarily having sex. But it could mean sex. I am no help, I know!

I agree that it's pretty much set-up....but *says quietly" I sort of dug the whoreshness of it all. What can I say im MTV's biatch. Oh, and those to two dudes at the BBQ reminded me of my friends from HS