You can call it a new Situation.
The cast members of infamous reality series, “Jersey Shore,” are back… older and hopefully wiser as they reprise their roles from the original series that aired on MTV from 2009 – 2012 in a new spin-off. Titled “Jersey Shore Family Vacation,” the new show features original housemates Deena Nicole Cortese, Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino as they reunite in Miami for what is being described as the “vacation of a lifetime.”
The new “Jersey Shore” aims to match the success of the original that turned the housemates into household names.
But it also generated controversy for perpetuating stereotypes about Italian-Americans.
“That we’re just dumb, fist-pumping, uneducated idiots you know?” Vinnie Guadagnino told CTV News at a recent press stop in Toronto about how he thinks the cast is perceived.
He added, that even the smartest person the world “has gone to bars before and has gone to clubs with his friends.”
Known for being “the one with the muscles,” Ronnie Ortiz-Magro said that he wouldn’t change anything from the first time the show aired.
“When I look back, I feel like it’s lessons learned. It was such a young chapter in our lives. We were 21 and 22 and we were still kids. We were thrown into this crazy world of fame and L.A. and just doing interviews and talk shows and there was all this money. Now we get to go back and see what we want to repeat and things we never want to repeat again.”
Best remembered for his on-again and off-again relationship with Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola on the series, it appears Ronnie’s previous romance is now definitely off-again, as viewers won’t see the former lovebirds nest together this time around. Giancola (along with Angelina Pivarnick) are the only two cast-members not participating in the reboot.
“She just chose a different chapter or a different book in her life. And she felt like ‘Jersey Shore’ wasn’t going to be a part of that. We support her as long as she is happy,” Ortiz-Magro said.
For the cast members who have decided to return, there is an incentive in trying to recapture the success.
Jenni “JWoww” Farley, who got into her share of fights on the series, says that the show is responsible for everything she has accomplished, both professionally and personally. Initially portrayed as being both spontaneous and a magnet for drama, the party girl certainly seems like she has grown the most.
“It changed everything. I wouldn’t have my family if it wasn’t for ‘Jersey Shore.’ I met Roger (my husband) at the Shore. My kids came from that. My best friends came from that. My life experiences came from that. My whole life changed for the better because of MTV and ‘Jersey Shore.’”
She credits her time on the series for launching a spin-off series she starred in with Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi and new projects she has in the works including a talk show on TLC.
Deena Nicole Cortese, the last addition to the cast when she was introduced during the show’s third season in 2011, believes the reunion is happening now because enough time has passed.
“I definitely think the time is right because I think we were burnt out when we left the last Shore house. I think we had enough time to miss each other. We went in blazing this time around.”
JWoww says that there was a different feeling to this reunion.
“We partied harder than every because we knew this could really be our last time because now we have real lives outside of the show. We just went out like rock stars.”
And for haters hoping that this will be the last incarnation of the show, it won’t be. MTV has already announced that “Jersey Shore Family Vacation” has been renewed for a second season (even ahead of its first season premiere).
“‘Jersey Shore’ is iconic,” Guadagnino said. “Biggest reality show of all time, biggest pop culture drama of all time. So legendary that it had its run, took years off and is doing it all again.”
“Jersey Shore Family Vacation” premieres April 5 at 9 p.m. on MTV Canada.
