The Hills: New Beginnings Explained

Genre:Reality television
Opentheme:"Unwritten (The 2019 Remix)" by Natasha Bedingfield
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:2
Num Episodes:24
Location:Los Angeles, California
Cinematography:Jason Eksuzian
Camera:Multi-Camera
Runtime:44–46 minutes
Network:MTV
Related:The Hills

The Hills: New Beginnings is an American reality television show, developed as a sequel to The Hills. The series documents the original cast members as they navigate from the carefree days that were their 20s to the more complicated reality of life in their mid 30s while still living in Los Angeles.[1] The series was canceled after two seasons in January 2022.

Production

Development

See also: The Hills (TV series). The Hills is an American reality television series that aired for six seasons on MTV from May 31, 2006, until July 13, 2010. Developed as a spin-off of ,[2] [3] the series aired six seasons and focused on the personal and professional lives of several young men and women residing in Los Angeles, California. Its premise was conceived by Adam DiVello, while Liz Gateley[4] and Sean Travis served as executive producers.[5] On August 20, 2018, at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV announced a revival of the series entitled The Hills: New Beginnings, set to air in 2019.[6] On April 2, 2019, it was announced that the series was set to premiere on June 24, 2019.[7]

On July 22, 2019, due to high viewership and ratings, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on May 12, 2021.[8] [9] Production began in early 2020, with only a few episodes completed filming before being halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was to resume mid-late summer, with MTV at one point even considering filming in a quarantine bubble.[10] The network ultimately chose against this, and normal production resumed in November 2020 with strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place after California began to lifts its lockdowns. However, due to long delay of season 2, the series received low ratings. On January 18, 2022, MTV canceled the series after two seasons.[11]

Casting

Original cast members Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Stephanie Pratt, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, Jason Wahler, Frankie Delgado and Brody Jenner were all set to return.[12] [13] It was revealed by People that Lauren Conrad, the original star of The Hills, would not return for the revival.[14] Us Weekly confirmed that Kristin Cavallari, who replaced Conrad as star of The Hills in season six, and Lo Bosworth, who was a main cast member for season six, would also not return.[15] [16] Us Weekly also reported that Cory in the House star Kyle Massey would have been part of the cast, as well as two bloggers, however, this did not eventuate. Kathy Hilton revealed daughters Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton and son Barron Hilton II were asked to join but declined.[17] Stephen Coletti also revealed he declined MTV's offer to appear on the series.[18] On October 3, 2018, it was reported that actress Mischa Barton would be joining the cast.[19] Barton starred in the Fox television series The O.C., which inspired the creation of Laguna Beach. Other new cast members included Kaitlynn Carter, Jennifer Delgado and Ashley Wahler, the wives of Jenner, Frankie Delgado and Jason Wahler, respectively.[20] On October 15, 2018, it was confirmed that Brandon Thomas Lee, son of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, would be joining the cast.[21] [22] [23]

In March 2020, Cavallari announced that she was set to appear as a guest star on the second season.[24] In late 2020, it was announced that socialite Caroline D'Amore joined the cast of the second season, while Stephanie Pratt and Mischa Barton left the series.[25]

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Guest stars

Episodes

Specials

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 45% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "For a show called New Beginnings, The Hills is unfortunately stuck in its old ways—though for fans looking to catch up with their favorite characters there is plenty of drama to dive back into."[28] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[29]

Notes and References

  1. News: The Hills cast reunites at MTV VMAs to announce reboot without Lauren Conrad or Kristin Cavallari. Carpenter. Cassie. August 21, 2018. NZ Herald. August 22, 2018. en-NZ. 1170-0777.
  2. Web site: Laguna Beach (Season 1) Ep. 101: A Black and White Affair. https://web.archive.org/web/20091016004231/http://www.mtv.com/shows/laguna_beach/season_1/episode.jhtml?episodeID=79288. dead. October 16, 2009. MTV. Viacom. September 28, 2004. May 16, 2013.
  3. Web site: The real Laguna Beach disdains its MTV image. Laura Bly. USA Today. Gannett Company. March 2, 2006. May 16, 2013.
  4. Web site: An MTV Coming of Age That Went Far on Charm. Margy Rochlin. The New York Times. August 30, 2005. May 16, 2013.
  5. Web site: Interview: "The Hills" & "The City" Creator Adam Divello. Jim Halterman. The Futon Critic. April 27, 2010. May 16, 2013.
  6. News: OMFG 'The Hills' Is Coming Back to MTV. August 21, 2018. Cosmopolitan. August 22, 2018. en-US.
  7. Web site: 'The Hills: New Beginnings' Gets MTV Premiere Date & First-Look Promo . Deadline Hollywood . Denise . Petski . April 2, 2019 . April 2, 2019.
  8. Web site: 'The Hills' Revival Renewed For Season 2 At MTV. Deadline Hollywood. Patrick. Hipes. July 22, 2019. July 22, 2019.
  9. Web site: Kristin Cavallari Returns to The Hills in New Beginnings Season 2 Trailer. TVLine. Andy. Swift. April 13, 2021. April 13, 2021.
  10. Web site: The Hills: New Beginnings Jersey Shore Style for Season 2??? Bubble's the Way to Go. TMZ. August 24, 2020. April 13, 2021.
  11. Web site: 'The Hills: New Beginnings' Canceled By MTV After 2 Seasons . Deadline Hollywood. Nellie. Andreeva. January 18, 2022. January 18, 2022.
  12. Web site: 'The Hills' Is Returning to MTV With 'New Beginnings': Watch First Teaser. Longeretta. Emily. Us Weekly. August 20, 2018.
  13. News: Whitney Port Confirms She's Joining 'The Hills' Revival As Brody Jenner's 'Negotiating' His Return. Rogers. Chris. August 22, 2018. Hollywood Life. August 22, 2018. en-US. August 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180822063020/https://hollywoodlife.com/2018/08/21/whitney-port-returning-the-hills-reboot-brody-jenner-negotiating/. dead.
  14. Web site: Lauren Conrad Won't Be Part of The Hills Reboot but 'Wishes Everyone the Best,' Source Says. Nahas. Aili. People. August 20, 2018.
  15. Web site: Are Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari Joining 'The Hills' Revival? . Hearon. Sarah. Us Weekly. August 20, 2018.
  16. News: See where 'The Hills' cast is now and who will be in the MTV reboot. EW.com. August 22, 2018. en.
  17. Web site: Paris and Nicky Hilton Almost Joined the Cast of 'The Hills: New Beginnings'. Mandi Kerr. CheatSheet. June 25, 2019. July 2, 2019.
  18. Web site: Stephen Colletti Reveals MTV Asked Him to Join 'The Hills' Revival. US Weekly. Longeretta. Emily. 3 March 2020 . March 13, 2020.
  19. Web site: The O.C. Star Mischa Barton Joins the Cast of The Hills Reboot. PEOPLE.com.
  20. Web site: Mischa Barton Is Joining The Hills Revival, the Real Real O.C.. Jackson. McHenry. October 3, 2018. Vulture.
  21. Web site: 'The Hills: New Beginnings': Brandon Thomas Lee Joins MTV Reboot. Deadline Hollywood. Petski. Denise. 15 October 2018 . January 4, 2019.
  22. Web site: Brandon Thomas Lee Joins 'The Hills' Reboot. The Hollywood Reporter. Real. Evan. 15 October 2018 . January 4, 2019.
  23. Web site: Brandon Thomas Lee Is Joining The Hills: New Beginnings. https://web.archive.org/web/20181018102424/http://www.mtv.com/news/3101621/brandon-lee-the-hills-new-beginnings/. dead. October 18, 2018. MTV. Ossad. Jordana. January 4, 2019.
  24. Web site: Kristin Cavallari Returning to The Hills: New Beginnings for Season 2 Cameo: 'I'm Excited'. People. Guglielmi. Jodi. March 31, 2020.
  25. Web site: The Hills: New Beginnings Will Head Into Production on Season 2 in November: Source. People. Nahas. Aili. Merrett. Robyn. November 10, 2020.
  26. thehills. The Hills. 1140805875629789188. THE REMIX. THE SMOLDERS. SPENCER'S CRYSTAL… HERE FOR THIS Try to keep your cool while watching the new opening credits for #TheHills: New Beginnings!. June 17, 2019. June 24, 2019.
  27. Web site: Video: MTV Unveils First Look of "The Hills: New Beginnings" - TheFutonCritic.com. www.thefutoncritic.com.
  28. Web site: The Hills: New Beginnings: Season 1 (2019). Fandango Media. Rotten Tomatoes. August 26, 2019.
  29. Web site: The Hills: New Beginning. CBS. Metacritic. August 26, 2019.