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Jersey Shore is such a success because of the icons the roommates have become. In fact, fans get territorial about the idea of rebooting the series and introducing a new generation of Jersey Shore roommates. Ironically, the show initially had an entirely different premise and casting structure.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Pauly DelVecchio, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, Jenni 'JWoww' Farley, Deena Cortese, Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola, and Vinny Guadagnino
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Pauly DelVecchio, Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Jenni ‘JWoww’ Farley, Deena Cortese, Sammi ‘Sweetheart’ Giancola, and Vinny Guadagnino | PA Images via Getty Images

‘Jersey Shore’ was initially an all male competition show 

VH1 was originally going to be the home of Jersey Shore. When it was pitched, the concept was an all-male competition show. As casting director Doron Ofir explained to Vulture, the original title was America’s Biggest Guido.

Ofir recalls Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino being one of the first people he approached about doing the show. Eventually, Ofir realized the show needed a woman’s touch. 

“Girls entered the mix, because I kept saying, ‘Look, the boys preen’ — you know, they’re peacocks — ‘but the girls fight,’ he said. 

When the roommates were auditioning for the show, they didn’t have a good understanding of what they were getting themselves into. That’s because casting directors weren’t sure which direction the show was going. When MTV picked the series up from VH1, Ofir said the show started to take shape. 

“As the concept started to build out, 495 [Productions] and SallyAnn [Salsano] were the ones that said, ‘Look, it was like zebras in the Serengeti,'” Ofir recalled.

And where is the Serengeti of the guido and guidette? The Jersey Shore, of course. 

‘Jersey Shore’ was originally supposed to have a new cast after season 1

After season 1 wrapped, the producers had every intention of bringing a new cast in. Like The Real World, MTV wanted to introduce a new group of people each season of Jersey Shore. But when the world fell in love with the original roommates, 495 Productions had no choice to bring everyone back. 

“We were actually going to have an entirely new cast come in and use the same house as we did in Jersey, with the same jobs as well,” a former producer who worked on seasons 1 through 4 admitted on Reddit. “This was another reason that it was not a big deal that Angelina left during the first season because we were intending on having a new cast come in afterward anyways.” 

According to this story producer, fans especially loved Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Pauly DelVecchio, and Sorrentino. 

“Since the viewers fell in love with [those roommates], they wanted a new season with the OG cast,” they added. 

‘Jersey Shore’ Season 2 took place in Miami to meet the demand of fans 

Jersey Shore debuted in December 2009. The roommates spent the end of that summer filming, and when fans got a taste of MTV’s latest reality television offering, they couldn’t get enough. 

“We were going to wait until [the following] summer [to film season 2],” the producer explained. “But the demand for new content was so high…” 

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495 Productions had no choice but to unite the cast sooner than summer 2010. “We decided to film around the wintertime in Miami in order to meet these demands,” said the producer. 

Fans were saddened when the original series ended in December 2012. Fortunately, the roommates reunited in 2018 for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. 

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