ESTIMATED READING TIME: 18 mins.
Meanwhile, the social media universe has continued to grow and grow in the mainstream, as you really can't go anywhere on your phone now without seeing a TikTok dance video or an Instagram funny clip in your app feed. For here, members of that community have been frequently featured in our ExtraTime series over the past decade, from the Paul brothers to Rachel Levin, and so many more... and even recently we showcased that time where the Siesta Key cast mingled with The Island Boys. Yes, you really can't get away from all these icons, don't you? It's everywhere nowadays.
Something seems to click whenever this two aspects of 2020's American life come crashing together, including three seasons of MTV's No Filter on its YouTube channel with Jake Paul's ex Tana Mongeau and YouTuber Bretman Rock. But this next story involves the most well-known clique in the TikTok universe, where before everything went down the drain in this world one of them went on a date with one who just proposed to his forever & ever... but before that was just looking for love, all after he found himself on a reality dating show. Care for a date at The Hype House?
Since the start of the pandemic, one aspect that has experienced an unprecedented boom of interest has been television streaming services... and just about every major media company at home and abroad have invested in launching their own entry into this crowded field. Their aim has been to better compete with the King Kong of this world, Bay Area-based Netflix, and this spring the mission the upstarts had accomplished a key goal in that battle to gain market share.
For the first time in over a decade, the company recorded a drop in the number of subscribers -- over 200,000 in all -- as its stock prices have plunged a bit, forcing the streamer to say farewell to a load of its workforce and to some of its shows including planned projects with Meghan Markle and Dave Chappelle after his well-publicized Hollywood altercation. It is most welcome news for Disney+ with its over 100 million global subscribers and fellow Disney stablemates Hulu & ESPN+, along with newcomers HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount+ as they have been able to gain ground in this war.
A reason behind the drop in corporate morale in Netflix land has been of its plans to crack down on users trying to share their service passwords to those who want a night to just chill and watch what they offer without forking over that subscription fee. Reports have also surfaced that the service may also be thinking of following what Disney+ is planning on doing later this year: add a cheaper service plan to include commercials, something its other competitors are doing. But perhaps, there might be one other reason for Netflix not having the kind of good start to 2022 as everyone else in this world.
Netflix has made its name felt in the reality genre in the past several years, all starting with the reboot of Bravo's Queer Eye, where Fab Five member Karamo Brown will add the title of talk show host this fall as he takes his place in a chat genre that just waved farewell to Ellen Degeneres and Maury Povich. But it was right before the pandemic hit that Netflix reality shows truly became hits: Too Hot to Handle, Love is Blind, Bling Empire, and The Circle -- which also last month crowned its Season 4 winner. But one other Netflix reality show has also gotten plenty of buzz as those other shows in the past year, but for a totally different reason when it was first announced.
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| IG @TheHypeHouseLA |
The title of this collective also doubles as the name of the house where they eat, sleep and live together under one roof, where this post's subject calls the setup "...a fraternity filled with people that have millions of followers and dollars." That place is a $5 million, Spanish-style mansion in Moorpark in Ventura County north of L.A., with its own palatial backyard and plenty of amenities for both pleasure and living over 11,000 square feet. Think of anything you would want in your dream house, and it's likely that they have it in their crib: a long driveway with a front yard fountain, an island in the middle of their kitchen, a huge backyard with a jacuzzi, a basketball court, a 7-car garage and a decorated school bus -- along with, of course, a lit-up Hype sign.
During the chaos of the summer of 2020, The Hype House was given an offer that they just couldn't say no to: the chance to bring their lives, their antics and their work to TV land... not surprising for a group that had plenty of drama worthy of a The Hills-like reality soap. Wheelhouse Entertainment joined with them on plans to do their own reality show, and Netflix beat out other firms to grab their hands on the project... and it premiered back in early January, the show followed the standard celeb-reality format of it following the lives of every member of the house when it was filming there.
While those aforementioned Netflix reality shows received plenty of buzz, there was also that same kind awaiting Hype House on Netflix... that is, a mostly negative response. When the streamer revealed that it had ordered the series in April 2021, so many people were quick to determine that they would rather not have any more late night "Netflix and Chill" sessions. And when the show did premiere last January the press did not show any sympathy for their hard work in translating their TikTok success to the world of streaming.
The various members of The Hype House are many since it was formed two & a half years ago, and cumulatively they have so many millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram & other social media, that it would be outrageous to guess the total amount considering the consistent revolving door of its membership, although it is well into the nine figures. And as of this weekend, this dysfunctional family has added more people to its membership.
🏘️ Thomas Petrou was part of the failed Team 10 experiment with Jake, his ex Erika Costell and Chad Tepper among others for only 3 months, and who was relied upon for his brief experience with them to help guide HH past first base. Tom found himself in controversy a few times, including getting into a beef with Bryce Hall who leads rival collective the Sway House... but who's also in a relationship with current housemate Mia Hayward -- all while being to be the lone remaining original member.
🏘️ Stockton, CA native Chase Hudson helped popularize the e-boy genre and was key to the revival of pop punk the past few years, which has translated into his first studio album last year. Lil' Huddy, as he's also referred to, was born to school teachers and got bullied as a teen before eventually finding a refuge in online schooling just as he became a social media star.
🏘️ Alex Warren of Carlsbad, CA might be considered the class clown skater of the house: comedy, stunts and skateboarding are staples of both his TikTok and YouTube channels. He also co-founded HH with Tom, Chase and Kouvr Annon, a far cry from sleeping in his car when Alex was struggling with his life prior to becoming Insta-famous.
🏘️ For a time, the single biggest TikTok'er was in the Hype House: Charli D'Amelio was a dancer prior to being the first to get to 50 & 100 million followers -- and it's all because of her popularizing the dance craze. By the time she appeared in a Super Bowl commercial and being on just about every TV show that aired during the pandemic, Charli outgrew the House and both her & older sister Dixie left to be on their own citing financial differences, ultimately starring in a Hulu series last fall.
🏘️ In 2020, Addison Rae from Louisiana was given Forbes' designation of highest-earning TikTok user, and who last year dropped both a debut single and starred in a gender-reversed Netflix remake of She's All That. After moving out of the House, Addison has continued to forge her own identity by launching a makeup line and a podcast.
🏘️ Avani Gregg from outside Indianapolis briefly joined the House with Charli, and who first went viral in 2019 when she transformed herself into a clown resembling that of Harley Quinn, thus giving her the nickname "the Clown Girl."
🏘️ Fitness model Daisy Keech was part of the original crop of 21 when the House opened, and who became known for having the first true Instagram booty which has its own IG account. But a beef with Thomas & Chase over them making deals without knowing about it beforehand led her to moving out and later suing them as she went off on her own.
🏘️ Larri Merritt, better known as Larray, first gained prominence on Vine before turning his focus to YouTube and to TikTok after its demise. The TikTok comedian joined in January 2020, but later in the year he too was also on the outs.
🏘️ The following January saw Vinnie Hacker, an Internet sensation from Seattle and a friend of Avani's, also take membership after posting many modeling and selfie IG pics and proudly displaying his tattoos. Despite departures of most of the above individuals, Vinnie still calls the House home.
🏘️ Here are the names of the other former members: Brooke Monk, Calvin Goldby, Connor Yates, Darianka Sánchez, Jack Wright, James Wright, Kelianne Stankus, Michael Sanzone, Nate Wyatt, Nick Austin, Olivia Ponton, Ondreaz Lopez, Patrick Huston, Renata Valliulina, Ryland Storms, Sam Dezz, Tayler Holder, Tony Lopez and Wayatt Xavier.
🏘️ And in 2022's first half, The Hype House reinvented itself in initiating a slew of newbies: Midwest pageant queen Tabitha Swatosh was the first to join this year, followed this spring by Brooke Monk, Jake Hayward, Paige Taylor and Sam Dezz. And on Friday, disbanded Breezy Boy crew Ace Ackers, Bryce Parker, Eddie Preciado, Jacob Day, Jackson Dean & Kristian Ramey joined the family.
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| IG @NikitaDragun |
Nikita joined YouTube in February 2013, and two years later moved to L.A. as she turned her focus towards being a full-time influencer as she began to receive brand endorsements. She made some noise when she modeled lingerie in a video tweet response to one's suggestion that trans models don't deserve to walk the runway at the Victoria's Secret fashion show. And in spring 2019, Nikita released her first makeup line, Dragun Beauty, a vegan & cruelty-free independent line that targets the trans community.
The next stop for her was joining the Hype House, but two incidents scarred her stay: at the height of the pandemic's second wave in July 2020, she threw a surprise birthday bash for Larray at the mansion, as the D'Amelio siblings, James Charles and over 50 other internet celebs were invited. Social media posts of that party went viral as imagery of many guests being maskless and not being socially distanced sparked outrage, forcing the guest of honor and other attendees to say they're sorry... but no positive tests were reported. And when she had her own birthday in January 2021, similar scenes also took place.
Prior to moving into the mansion, SnapChat's original production department asked her if she'd be down to star in her docuseries on their landscape-based platform. Nikita Unfiltered got to follow her as she navigated her way through fame in the trans community and looking for love. The series description reads, "This up close and personal docuseries follows transgender beauty mogul Nikita Dragun as she reveals a vulnerable new side to herself that her millions of fans have never seen before." It premiered in March 2020 in the SnapChat featured section... and one of those episodes featured one who had a hand in one reality franchise's takeover of a whole cable channel.
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| Corey (middle) with rest of EOTB Season 2 Cast |
Just before Season 1 of EOTB took off with Cory, Taylor & the rest of the gang, the so-called MTV king had a short time back home after being eliminated on The Challenge: Vendettas where he competed alongside Natalie Negrotti and Victor Arroyo, who first appeared not on an MTV show but on Season 18 of Big Brother. It marked the first time CBS reality alums joined the fifth major pro sport -- which predated the networks' parent companies remerging over a year later, eventually operating business under the Paramount name and planting the seeds for the aforementioned Paramount+ streaming service. And when the soon-to-be parents to two kids moved into the EOTB villa in Hawaii, fellow BB18 houseguest Paulie Calafiore joined them in that all-star cast before he competed on a few Challenge seasons himself including with Cory.
Their 2016 season of our summer reality tradition not only saw those three compete on The Challenge, but also saw a memorable run on Paulie's Final Reckoning debut by Da'Vonne Rogers and Jozea Flores -- who would also appear on later seasons of Ex On The Beach. But had the chips fell their way in that historic crossover in Marbella, Spain, we could have had SIX BB18 houseguests notch a Challenge start under their belt... but we are left with four of them heading from the Jury House to the EOTB house -- including this one.
That tabled Corey's lone MTV appearance by a bit to being on Ex On The Beach Season 2, where he actually came to the house later than the rest of the singles due to matters back home in the Metroplex. He was part of the most intriguing heart chart of romantic connections on Season 2: the love square involving him, Survivor alum turned 2-time Challenger Jay Starrett, fellow Big Brother alum Monte Massongill, and his fellow houseguest on the lone Over The Top season of a pre-Paramount+ CBS All-Access, Morgan Willett. The former two got into a heated tiff one night in the EOTB2 house as the drama with them and Morgan heated up... and they also found themselves in a moment gone viral after the season ended when Bradley Cooper interrupted their workout on the beach.
As Morgan found herself in a publicized relationship with Johnny Bananas that ended in her wiping away tears at the Challenge GOAT's unfaithful ways, and as Jay got to prove himself in his two post-EOTB Challenges, Corey has quietly found his own perfect match. Two years ago, he fell in love with fitness influencer Sami Swanson... and their relationship has blossomed so much, it became almost just a simple formality for him to get that engagement ring and determine where he would pop the magic question... and on Mother's Day weekend last month, the two became official. But before they found each other, Corey was a single guy looking for love... and that brings us back to Nikita.
Nikita Unfiltered captured a new side of Nikita that her followers never got to see much of, and for where those who watched Hype House on Netflix got to explore more of, from getting into it with James Charles to her relationship with Oscar. And Episode 6 featured her going on a date with the Big Brother & EOTB alum, which began with a then-single Corey slipping into her DM's and spending this night at a local Dave & Buster's bar.
In a postscript to this: June also means that Pride Month has just begun... and after two years of the streets being silent in West Hollywood, San Francisco's Castro District and West Village in New York City, celebrations are now starting up in support of the LGBTQ+ community. And last month, Nikita posted her first YouTube video in nearly a year to open up about something deep.
This only adds to Nikita's unique character as someone totally different: a trans model who's blazing her way in this world -- and she's not alone thanks to fellow trans model Arisce Wagner being on EOTB Season 5 and in its most explosive relationship with her and Lohan Beach Club VIP Mike Mulderrig - himself also proud to be bi. In the minds of the TV critics, she was one of the few bright spots of her Netflix show... and as she explains below, Nikita knew that she was welcomed with open arms when she entered the Hype House -- a sign of the continuing & growing acceptance of the trans community.
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MTV Reality fans will have quite a busy summer as, right now, Arisce, Mike and the rest of the Ex On The Beach 5 house head towards wrapping up their early summer in the Canary Islands. In a month from now, The Challenge will expand yet again: this time to CBS itself, as The Challenge USA will feature stars of the Eye network's reality series as they go for both cash & spots in the World Championship. From those who made TV history last year to sole Survivors and one who will fly to Argentina when the beach closes, we'll be previewing the new spinoff at the end of this month... and DCBLOG will be covering that, Buckhead Shore and All-Star Shore on Paramount+ during this summer to come.
This site approaches our MTV coverage a bit differently to other websites, including this ExtraTime franchise -- which offers this kind of original storytelling on TV's most-exciting reality shows, its people, moments and the world around us from this unique vantage point. If you like what you've read, please bookmark this site and like, comment & share our content on your social media channels, subscribe to this site's email list and notifications on your favorite apps when we post new content, and include the hashtag #DCBLOG to @DC408Dxtr. And we appreciate you for your continued support, and look forward to joining you all this summer long Inside MTV Reality.
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