Inside MTV Reality: Floribama Shore Heads Out West

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

We have just past the fifty-day mark of 2021, though a lot of you think that we are probably heading into the 420th day of 2020 judging by what has happened in the nearly fifteen months of the second year of the twenty-twenties. But those of you who have been in need of an escape have turned to reality TV to look for exactly that, and now as March awaits we are on the edge of kicking off an exciting spring in the world of reality television as MTV gets to see it.

Right now, Season 36 of The Challenge has entered the 2nd half of its quest to identify the ultimate pair of Double Agents, while Teen Mom OG has begun Year #12 as it follows the second pregnancy of Challenge & Are You The One alum Cheyenne Floyd. Late next week, CBS All Access will evolve into Paramount+, where one of its premiere offerings is a reunion in New York City of the very first cast of The Real World. And out in Las Vegas, the fourth Family Vacation of the Jersey Shore cast is winding up its winter with the impending entry into parenthood for Mike the Situation & wife Lauren.

And as soon as he, Snooki & the gang check out of their bubble, a group of cousins from the South will be waiting there on the tarmac to gladly take the baton from them and continue the tradition of all-out fun on Thirsty Thursday. Floribama Shore will return for Season 4 this week as they will shift their base of operations from the new capital of American sport where they were at last year, to just a few hours' flight away from Sin City.

This time, they'll be heading to the territory of an all-time Challenge badass where they'll exchange some of their beach wear for layers as they will venture up into the mountains of Montana and a cabin that will be a totally new sight to most of them. They'll also venture down to somewhat more familiar conditions of the sunshine, and a past host to some of MTV's Spring Break festivities, Lake Havasu, Arizona, located in between Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix in the heart of the desert.

Regardless of the setting, there will be plenty to look forward to as Aimee, Candace, Codi, Gus, Kirk, Nilsa and Jeremiah reunite once again for their fourth season together. As they will be in their own bubble, they will have to face the music of what went down last year and whatever might be coming up when they are all trapped in a house during the midst of this pandemic. But there will be a lot more in store including the fun we know and love about this bunch, and the news of THAT life-changer.

But before we think about what comes up, we have to look back to what went down last year in St. Pete Beach. We'll look back at that and look ahead to the Floribama group heading out west just ahead...

  SEASON 3 FLASHBACK  

Last winter, Season 3 brought about a slight change in scenery and setting for the Floribama bunch, as after spending their first two summers in Panama City Beach, they moved southward to just outside of Tampa Bay in St. Pete Beach. The group came to the west coast of Central Florida with Gus having a girlfriend back home, Aimee & Kortni also having boyfriends leaving behind for the summer, and things being alright when they came walking into their new door. 

Of course, the big news for a lot of us within those who follow The Challenge year-round here was the addition to the cast -- for one season at least -- of Mattie, who was on a distant cousin of Floribama in CMT's Party Down South, and who competed with Gus on War of the Worlds -- and it was when he saw her at St. Petersburg's LGBT pride event that she stayed the rest of the summer with them. Given what has happened to her with getting another DUI charge, we won't see her this time around, nor will we see Kortni after what happened to her last year that led to her leaving the house permanently. 

Obviously, the big moment of Season 3 was what befell the once great bromance of Gus and Jeremiah -- some simmering tensions that began while they were rooming together in Arizona, along with the ladder getting chosen for WOTW, led to THE biggest blowup we've seen in Floribama-land. But it wasn't all drama: we saw the group throw the first big party of the Roaring Twenties in Codi's South Carolinian digs with their parents, and the girls traveling with Mattie to Nashville where Nilsa had to come to grips with closing a tragic time in her life after a friend of hers was killed there.

The following are many of the most memorable moments of that third Floribama summer, one that we haven't forgotten about during a year that was otherwise the case.

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  WELCOME TO SEASON 4  

And now, this year's volume is awaiting: in a perfect world, they'd once again be enjoying what we love about living in the Sunshine State, especially with what has been transpiring weather-wise in most of the country this February. But in taking a cue from what the Jersey crew has been doing this winter, as well as what's historically been the case for any season of a show that has "Shore" at the end of its title, the Floribama Bam are headed to a totally new location than what they usually used to.

To MTV fans, Montana is best known as homebase to Challenge legends as several times Challenger and Road Rules alum Abram Boise was born here. For the past decade, his ex Cara Maria Sorbello has called this state her home along with her now-departed horse Garnett and her current boyfriend Paulie Califiore, and she's had the pleasure of welcoming some of those from Challenge Nation to her adopted home - including rival Laurel. And soon, she will have some company in one of those who competed with her & Paulie on War of the Worlds two years ago, as Gus and his second family will take up temporary residence in the Montana cabin... followed by him heading down to Lake Havasu later on.

Season 4 of Floribama will see him and the rest of the cast take up residency in those two areas in the comfort of their own bubble... thus, there will be limited access to the outside world from where they will be situated in. It's in that environment that they will have to learn to live with each other like it is for all families as it has been for those like them in lockdown during the course of the past twelve months. And it may also bring to light some other things that haven't been brought above the surface, which will sure test the bonds of this family.

The chaos of the fight that broke apart the #JeriGus bromance radiated all throughout their stay in SPB, and no doubt with them being in the same house once again that will be on the minds of not only Gus and Jeremiah, but also for all those involved as well. But as we know now -- and with a key event in that journey taking place this past weekend as well, there is also the impending pregnancy that Nilsa will be dealing with as she heads out to the Frontier... and that, too, will also be something to watch. And of course, there will sure be plenty of fun awaiting them in this new neighborhood... you wouldn't have a Shore season without that three-letter word.

There will no doubt be a lot of fun and fireworks taking place out west as we welcome back the Floribama Shore Bam once again for another year of their take on the Shore franchise as only they can bring us. Chi Chis Up, and let's begin this again...

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Once again, DCBLOG will be featuring Floribama Shore as part of our weekly posts from Inside MTV Reality as we will again offer the Pulse of the episodes each week, starting with this coming week's premiere -- and will in turn appear on the weekend after we publish our similar post for The Challenge: Double Agents, among other things for your enjoyment. That includes our ExtraTime story from last week covering Gus' debut on the channel when he was an "ex" during Season 5 of Are You The One?, and you can check it out here and at the featured post to your right for those viewing us on desktops. Enjoy the week ahead...

- I AM DC

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