MTV: Music Television announced the greenlight for a third season of the hit series LAGUNA BEACH: THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY, returning in 2006. The network also greenlit new reality drama series 8TH AND OCEAN, set to premiere in Q1 2006.
From the team behind MTV´s genre-bending series LAGUNA BEACH, 8TH AND OCEAN will capture the real lives of the cast but will have the look and feel of a scripted drama. Telling the story of 10 young male and female models living together in a beachfront apartment complex while enduring the cut-throat world of fashion, this reality drama is shot in the style of a narrative film, but with an "indie edge." There are no interviews or confessionals the stories are told purely through probing camerawork, eclectic music and unscripted dialogue.
Every year thousands of potential models converge on the sun-drenched, bikini-clad town of South Beach, Miami with the hopes of making it big. Drama unfolds when competitive and interpersonal relationships heat up as these aspiring models hustle off to casting calls, sexy photo shoots and client go-sees while enjoying the seductive South Beach scene. Their agency, Irene Marie, a pioneer in the modeling industry in South Beach, and its booking agents work to guide these naïve and often self-doubting models in the hopes of turning them into successful pros. Underneath their flawless looks lies a bed of insecurity, uncertainty and apprehension about succeeding in this new world, but ultimately only the strong will survive.
All living in agency-owned apartments, the models work to make their dreams come true while dealing with the highs and lows of this demanding business. And with six girls in one apartment and four guys in another, competition and emotions are sure to boil over in these tight quarters.
"LAGUNA BEACH´S winning blend of fly-on-the-wall teen drama and artfully shot entertainment has truly connected with our audience," said Brian Graden, President, Entertainment MTV Music Group and President, Logo. "8TH AND OCEAN will build upon this distinctive method of storytelling with a compelling cast of models striving to succeed on the sands of South Beach."
"Our goal with 8TH AND OCEAN is to pull back the curtains on this seemingly glamorous business and present the real life drama of this dynamic group of young models," said Tony DiSanto, Executive Producer for LAGUNA BEACH and 8TH AND OCEAN. "Like LAGUNA BEACH we are approaching the storytelling of 8TH AND OCEAN without the standard visual and structural conventions of reality television. We are going for a unique cinematic style with a narrative which will allow the viewers to feel as though they are there, eavesdropping on the lives of these up-and-coming models."
Heralded by numerous critics, LAGUNA BEACH has proven to be not just a ratings winner, but also a franchise success for the network. Through 11 weeks, the second season of LAGUNA BEACH has reached over 73 million viewers and is the most watched program in its time period (Mon 10-10:30pm) among P12-24 across all of television, even out-delivering broadcast. In addition, the first season DVD is one of the top selling TV on DVD´s this year, selling more than 300,000 units to-date. Since the second season premiere, MTV.com´s site-wide traffic for LAGUNA BEACH content has generated more than 90 million page views to-date, while LAGUNA BEACH: THE AFTER SHOW served nearly 6.3 million streams on the broadband video channel MTV Overdrive.
The season finale of LAGUNA BEACH: THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY is scheduled for Monday, November 14 at 10:00PM (ET/PT).
