Jersey Shore was a game-changer in the reality TV world, but what other fantastic reality shows will fans of the original series enjoy?
Much of the appeal of MTV's hit reality TV series Jersey Shore comes from watching several young twentysomethings get wild and put themselves on display for the whole world to see. The show provides a guilty pleasure for viewers to revel in and has since led to a cottage industry of similarly-themed reality TV programming.
In addition to several spinoff series, Jersey Shore has helped facilitate the proliferation of such escapist, vacation-set reality shows where strangers are forced to live together and deal with each other's personal drama while often attempting to find or preserve love or friendships with fellow castmates.
Fans of Jersey Shore are sure to be fond of Snooki & JWoww, the inaugural spinoff series that follows original series stars Nicole Polizzi and Jenni Farley as they continue their popular reign in the Garden State.
Lasting four seasons and 54 episodes from 2012-2015, the show centers on Snooki's relationship with her husband Jionni LaValle and Jenni's engagement with her fiance Roger Mathews. Motherhood is a major motif as well, as both women attempt to balance their home life with their iconic status as hard-partying besties.
Set in Los Angeles, The Hills is essentially Jersey Shore meets 90210. The reality show follows the lives of several affluent Californians dealing with post-adolescent romance, friendship, potential careers, and more.
Much of the drama concerns Lauren Conrad, a postgraduate intern working for Teen Vogue in Los Angeles. When she is attempting to succeed at her dream job, Lauren deals with the gossipy betrayal of her friends and colleagues, most of which went on to become reality TV stars.
Named for the Florida beach town the show takes place in and around, MTV's Siesta Key is a reality series in which several young adults enjoy romantic dalliances in the sand and surf.
With 54 episodes and counting, Jersey Shore fans will enjoy Siesta Key because it sticks to the tried and true MTV formula of placing seven strangers together and allowing them to candidly interact, confront one another, and clash over what they want and believe as the drama rises.
Jersey Shore fans who want to stay in the Garden State to witness more reality TV drama ought to tune in to Bravo's Real Housewives of New Jersey. The fourth installment of the Real Housewives franchise has produced 207 episodes and counting.
Much of the drama revolves around Teresa Guidice, who in 2013 was arrested for 39 federal fraud charges with her husband Joe. The show chronicles Teresa's time before and after her jail sentence, as well as the dramatic flare-ups between her cousin Kathy Wakile and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga.
While The Only Way is Essex could also be included, the decade-long-running British reality series Geordie Shore was directly inspired by Jersey Shore. The parallels don't stop there.
Geordie Shore traces the lives of eight strangers who move into the same luxury beachfront abode where they are forced to coexist with each other all summer long. With excessive drinking and public partying in Newcastle, the housemates cut loose while navigating adulthood and pursuing true love.
The colorful personalities of Jersey Shore are given a twangy southern spin in MTV's successive spinoff series, Floribama Shore. In a familiar formula, eight strangers converge to live as one in the trendy hotspot of Panama City Beach, Florida.
The series emphasizes drunken shenanigans and neverending party vibes as the young housemates make poor decisions and indulge in such episodes as "Eat, Pray, Party," "Drunken Words, Sober Thoughts," and "You Had Me At Beer."
With fewer competitive challenges than shows such as Ex on the Beach or Love Island, Bravo's Summer House is more akin to the format of Jersey Shore.
The series revolves around nine opulent East Coast friends living together in a lavish manse in Montauk from Memorial Day to Labor Day. When they aren't acting like professionals during the week, they spend the weekend focusing on muscles, bathing suits, and cocktails.
The newest Jersey Shore spinoff series sure to appeal to fans of the original is Double Shot at Love With DJ Pauly D & Vinnie, a Bachelorette-style dating series featuring the two reality TV stars.
The show consists of 20 female contestants vying for the affections of Pauly DelVecchio and Vinny Guadagnino. Those who fail to win challenges or make a lasting impression face eviction from the competition. The show may not adhere to the Jersey Shore template, but it stars two of the most familiar faces associated with the brand.
One of Netflix's unique offerings is the Terrace House franchise, the first iteration of which was released in 2012. Of the various spinoff series, Terrace House: Aloha State is the one most likely to resonate with Jersey Shore fans.
Terrace House: Aloha State traces the lives of six strangers living together on the sunny shores of Hawaii. With the more thrilling moments of their daily lives captured on camera, the young housemates pursue their goals, chase their dreams, and attempt to find themselves in the face of an uncertain future.
Since MTV's pioneering flagship reality TV series The Real World directly influenced every show like Jersey Shore that came after it, it must be considered the best of its kind.
With 653 episodes and counting since 1992, The Real World is wholly responsible for the reality TV format of gathering six to nine total strangers and force them to cohabitate in one location and air out all of their personal grievances in the process. The most recent iteration of the series, The Real World Homecoming: New York, aired its season finale on April 8, 2021.
