Comedy Central Jumps on “Jersey Shore” Bandwagon

Comedy Central Jumps on “Jersey Shore” Bandwagon

Television News

By our guest blogger, Emma Gray

The commercial success of “Jersey Shore” has spurred the creation of yet another copycat, this time set in the Dirty South. The producer of the hit MTV reality show, Sally Ann Solsano’s 495 Productions, is collaborating with Comedy Central to create a show with the working title “Party Down South.”

495 Productions has not only produced “Jersey Shore,” but other familiar reality titles such as “A Shot at Love.”

The new series will follow a tried and true formula – wild n’ crazy kids, all from a region rife with cultural stereotypes, partying by day and…partying more by night. According to Reuters, a network insider assures that “Party Down South” won’t be purely stereotypical.

“It’s not ‘Redneck Jersey Shore.’ We’re looking to have viewers laughing with the cast, not at them.”

One can’t help but wonder if this show could possibly avoid falling into the trap of shallow, unflattering representations. Let’s be honest. Are audiences really laughing with The Situation and Pauly D as they get in unnecessary fights, exploit women and drink excessively? Or are viewers merely unable to tear their eyes away from a train wreck?

Reality television is all about stereotypes, and it’s hard to believe that “Party Down South” will be any more substantial. As well as developing “Party Down South,” 495 Productions also has another region-based reality TV show in the works – an L.A. set “Persian Version” and “Wicked Summer” coming to none other than Boston.