‘Jersey Shore’: Here’s Why The Roommates Party So Much On the Show
Jersey Shore is full of quotable quotes — most of which are said under the influence of alcohol. As a show about a group of young people spending their summer at the Jersey Shore, the highlight happens to be drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Fans might be surprised to know why the cast of Jersey Shore partied so frequently.
The ‘Jersey Shore’ cast is limited in their activity choices
On the original Jersey Shore, the roommates would often go to the same clubs. From Karma to Headliners and Bamboo, the roommates “beat the beat up” at hand-selected bars and clubs. “The only thing we have is a book that tells us the places that we’re allowed to film,” Pauly DelVecchio told Bustle. “We tell the producers where we wanna go [and] we can’t go alone.” That’s so producers don’t miss out on any valuable scenes for the series.
SallyAnn Salsano and her team scout locations and obtain permission from each venue before Jersey Shore can film. All of the approved sites live in a binder for the cast to flip through. Regardless of the limited areas the roommates have to go, they always seemed to find the party.
Another limited activity is personal calls, according to a former story and field producer for the MTV series on Reddit. They shared a behind the scenes look explaining how the roommates were allowed one personal call a week with privacy. That rule has since changed with Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, as many of the roommates use their cell phones.
Just because they can’t do much doesn’t mean ‘Jersey Shore’ is scripted
Many people think reality TV shows are scripted. Just because production limits where the cast of Jersey Shore can go doesn’t mean the show isn’t authentic. “We don’t have a script,” DelVecchio told Bustle. “Never had a script for 10 years, not even a little bit.” Regardless of whether the cast are fed lines or not, some viewers think the show is overly produced. DelVecchio challenges that, too! “We’re not produced. Everything that happen[s] that we were watching, that sh*t happened,” he said.
In allowing the cast to be themselves, Salsano captures hilariously relatable moments and formats them in a way that’s entertaining to the masses. “I feel like people in life do [what we do on the show], they just don’t put it on film,” DelVecchio said.
Partying was one of the only things the ‘Jersey Shore’ roommates could do with ease
The former producer, who worked on the first two seasons of the show, said the cast of Jersey Shore drank so much because it was one of the only things they could do. “We limited personal phone calls to once a week,” they said. “There was no television, no cell phones, no computers, no writing notes, no going off anywhere in private without a producer.” With a fridge fully stocked with alcohol, “partying was their only form of entertainment.”
Since Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, things have changed slightly for the roommates. Just as the cast has evolved, so too, has what they’re allowed to do on camera. Now, they’re allowed to use their phones or interact with their families more frequently, as seen on the show.
