After transforming eight humble and hardworking kids from the quiet, genial heartland of New Jersey into self-important egoists who emit cheap franchises like so much citrus-flavored musk, MTV is reportedly planning to recast the Jersey Shore after the upcoming fifth season. This rumor has been floated before—specifically any time their contracts come up for renewal, and they all demand a shitload more money—but Us Magazine quotes an “insider” that this time it’s for real, and that the next round of episodes to be filmed in Seaside (after the gang gets done ruining America’s relationship with Italy) will be the last for Snooki, The Situation, et al.
Obviously the next crop of kids will be “a lot cheaper” than the current $100,000 per cast member rate—though given how many young Jerseyites have no doubt used the show as a model for amping up their already inflated self-esteem, that cheapness will likely extend to their knock-off personalities. Anyway, this is all still unconfirmed, but even if it does happen, considering almost every single person in the original Jersey Shore cast has a spin-off in the works—not to mention an apparently bottomless barrel of merchandising opportunities, as evidenced by Snooki’s pickle-themed flip-flops—we suspect they’ll survive. Don’t waste your time worrying about them and their chances for exposure. Really, you should be worrying about other things. [via NYP]
UPDATE: MTV has denied the reports: "We love the present cast, and their summer adventures have just begun," a network spokesperson tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We currently have no plans to recast the show." Of course, "currently" could still mean "before we can get through the fourth season and properly promote the fifth one as the final outing," but that's the official word as of today.