Five years ago, we were first gifted with the sights, the sounds, the surf and the sun of Siesta Key... which was born out of the spirit of the greatest gift Southern California ever gave this part of the TV landscape when Laguna Beach and The Hills helped invent the reality sub-genre of reality soap. This show shares many of the same attributes as their West Coast cousins: blonde ladies being the star figure that shines above all else, the big drama that follows them and their clique everywhere they go, and both the visuals and musical soundtrack that truly makes it different than any non-scripted show... not to mention, the sunbaked locales that is the American sunbelt.
In this third generation of a recipe for success first hatched up by producing duo Mark Ford & Kevin Lopez almost two decades ago, the kids who we first met back in the summer of 2017 are now adults half a decade older, and a few of them have become parents and in the case of two of the OG's -- new wives after saying "I do" to their husbands, including our first-ever SK wedding. Now, the focus shifts to something totally different: for the first time, an entire season will take a cue from their crazy cousins in taking its act on the road outside of its titular city. Say hello to Siesta Key: Miami Moves.
SEASON 4B
A LOOK BACK
The first half of Season 4 in Siesta Key last year saw the group begin to mature a bit, headlined by the first-ever engagements within the clique, a month being spent outside of the country back when it wasn't really safe to travel that much, and the unraveling of a seemingly picture perfect third relationship on the cameras for our resident queen -- not to mention her deciding to become a "real" MTV castmate in getting into a big fight. When we rejoined them earlier this year for the season's back half, Juliette came to the realization that the third time is not the charm for her when it came to Sam as he turned his attention to the one who made that painted portrait of her in Jordana... among other things.
Due to the various events that happened to this blogger when the second half of Season 4 aired back in the spring & summer, DCBLOG did not get to do our weekly episode posts of recapping everything that went down in Siesta... and due to our focus on The Challenge on here this fall, that will remain the case for this Miami season. But as you can see in the big moments below, there were plenty of other things that went down in Florida, the not least of which was capped off by the wedding of Madisson & Ish.
🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴
Miami Moves
A NEW LOCALE
Right about now as the weather gets to a freezing point that snow begins to fall down from the sky for many, it will serve as the sign for millions living up north to move for the winter down to warmer weather locations... and Florida has long been a haven for those people known as "Snowbirds." Miami can lay claim to plenty of those wintertime transplants from the Northeast, Canada and elsewhere... and when the weather becomes more tolerable for those to handle once hurricane season finally gets up & out of here, then we can expect the temperatures to rise this fall on this guilty pleasure.
South Florida might be a new location for the cast to call home this time around, but it is a familiar place for Jules & friends that they've been to before on SK. Season 2 in 2019 saw them come to Miami for the first time when her ex invited everyone for a weekend in town which saw Cara make the trek down the highway to surprise everyone. The next year saw the cast ring in the new year (from hell), but those two Miami trips are only part of the many vacations Siesta Key has gone to the last five years, which also includes the Caribbean, Nashville, Paris and to Hills country -- L.A., that is.
Siesta and the surrounding Sarasota area have a population of barely over 1 million residents, but that is just a fraction of the 6.1 million that call the Greater Miami area home, and many more throughout South Florida when you factor in the Keys, the Everglades and West Palm Beach. Everyone knows the history of MTV in Miami goes beyond the Key clique's two visits here before: Jersey Shore has hosted two seasons of its original & spinoff series here, two Real World seasons with Johnny Bananas and All-Star Cynthia Roberts, and many Spring Break weekends. Quite obviously, the energy of this place will get to you the moment you set foot on the beach, walk South Beach at night or feel that multicultural vibe.
We first met Juliette, Chloe, Madisson, Amanda and Brandon five years ago as wide-eyed college-aged kids... and now they along with Cara, Jordana, Sam and many others are about to start the adult phase of their lives in a new locale, and confront everything that comes with life in the twenties. That includes new pressures in terms of their careers, aggressive competition in those categories, and balancing those with relationships -- with friends, professionals and with significant others for a few... and that will test just about everyone in a place that is just as sultry or even more so than back home a few hours' drive up the highway.
For our queen, Juliette is more than eager to take advantage of being independent as, after a few trips down here last year, she turns her attention this time on a more full-time basis to Miami to expand her growing empire in the swimwear business and the clothing line that bears her initials... which may represent the first test of her new relationship with Clark. For Amanda, it's her turn to celebrate that coming-of-age moment of becoming a college grad, and she's spending her summer vacation also in South Florida too, as is Brandon as he continues his pursuit of musical stardom.
For the two ladies who sport wedding rings in our group, Chloe is focused on two things: her botanical small business and her new marriage with husband Chris, and they are already thinking about a new house and joining the others in having a baby kid running around the room. It's a much different story for Madisson, as in addition to navigating the first year of her marriage she also continues to deal with the stillbirth of her premature baby Elliot, and is developing a children's book in his memory.
Jordana is helping Maddy out on that book for Tiny, but that's hardly the only thing on her mind: the plot twist of last year was of her falling in love with Jules' ex Sam... and now he has moved down to Miami and to a new luxury mansion that will see -- yes, Jordana shack up with him in that new millionaire's pad. As we saw earlier this year their relationship might as well raise some red flags when we get to Florida, and when Cara comes in to spend summer here the chorus of those dissenting #JAM 2.0 may get even louder.
If summer 2017 was a baptism of fire for this people who we have seen their evolution ever since, then this fifth season in Miami will no doubt be their graduation day as, this fall & winter, we will get to see these people now tackle the life of being an adult. There will be plenty to look forward to as we welcome these people back into our lives once again... and this doesn't even factor in the elephant in the room involving the one person who MTV didn't even list in their preseason material. Obviously, this will be quite a Season 5 that we have ahead as Siesta Key makes the move to Miami.
- I AM DC
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