‘Jersey Shore’: A Former Producer Reveals What Is ‘Slightly Inauthentic’ About the Show
In 2009, MTV introduced the world to Jersey Shore, a show about a group of strangers living together for the summer. Much of the show’s appeal came from the authentic drama that living with strangers creates. However, a former producer says one aspect of the show is “slightly inauthentic,” especially during the early seasons of Jersey Shore.
Many people think ‘Jersey Shore’ is a scripted series, but it’s not
“I feel like people in life do [what we do on the show], they just don’t put it on film,” Pauly DelVecchio once told Bustle. “We don’t have a script,” he added.
From where they go to the activities they get into — including the fights — everything that happens on Jersey Shore is as authentic as it gets. “What has everybody else done when they were 21 years old?” Angelina Pivarnick challenged, adding: “I bet if there [were] a camera on most people, you would be shocked.” 495 Productions’ SallyAnn Salsano always encourages the cast of Jersey Shore to be themselves. This allows her to create the best content for MTV.
The lack of a script is what makes ‘Jersey Shore’ relatable
Part of the reason viewers love the MTV series is that it’s not scripted. Sure, production has forced some situations to happen, like the speech at Pivarnick’s wedding, but that doesn’t make the roommate’s interactions any less authentic.
Fan-favorite DelVecchio has a theory when it comes to what makes the series so relatable. “[Jersey Shore is] like music,” he told Vulture. “The music that works is the music that’s relatable. Like Taylor Swift songs — when [you go through] a breakup, you put those on, ‘cause they’re relatable. You wanna party, you put on a Lil Jon track.” Jersey Shore offers viewers eight vastly different personalities, giving them something to relate to when they tune in. A former producer for the series confirmed the show’s authenticity on Reddit: “When I worked on the show, I can honestly say that not much was staged.”
The hookups after ‘Jersey Shore’ Season 1 may have been ‘slightly inauthentic’
I know what you’re thinking — what happened to Jersey Shore not being staged?! The same producer who says not that much was staged spoke out regarding their experience. According to them, “The hookups after the first season were slightly inauthentic.”
Much of Jersey Shore‘s earlier seasons revolve around the romantic endeavors of each roommate. During season 1, the cast would go to various nightclubs looking for “girls” or “juiceheads,” as Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi refers to muscular men. After season 1, guests were hand-selected on behalf of production crews. “When I worked in the field, we had to go out to malls, restaurants, and cafes and find girls, then invite them back to the nightclubs that evening with VIP passes,” the former producer said. “We would also get them to sign film release documents at that time too. When they would arrive to the club, we directed them to interact with the cast, and then it would play out from there.” The rest is reality television history.
Production was responsible for getting men and women to the clubs to interact with the Jersey Shore roomies. “We were glorified club promoters,” the previous story producer said. “The girls on the show were quicker to rebuff people,” they added. “H*ll, they even would shoo away girls that wanted to just talk to them.”
Despite some situations being coerced on the show, Jersey Shore is, for the most part, one of the most authentic reality shows on television.
