DC ExtraTime: Siesta Key Invades Ridiculousness

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Twitter @ChloeTrautman

If you've been browsing through those story feeds on Instagram and SnapChat, you know where your MTV Reality favorites are doing in between episodes and seasons airing. But if you are part of the increasing section of this community who wishes that they'd be in Florida right now or will be traveling there soon, then there should reason for you to be excited.

A while back, we focused on castmates from two of MTV's boldest new additions to the lineup in the past few years coming together to attend the 2019 Video Music Awards. All but one of the Southern hotties of Floribama Shore and four of the cast from Siesta Key got to experience the big show in Newark, New Jersey. And during this month of September, they've made an additional trip back up to the Big Apple for promo and promotional material related to Season 3 of their shows to come our way in the fall & winter... and both shows know they got a lot of live up to after the first two seasons of their shows, both born out of the spirit paved by Jersey Shore and The Hills.

Over the weekend, a staple of the end of our week, Ridiculousness with lifelong MTV'er Rob Dyrdek, welcomed the one girl of the Key who loves to spy on goings-on with her clique, Chloe, as she joined Chanel West Coast and Steelo Brim on the couch where, instead of gossip, she got to dissect all that viral video on MTV's own America's Funniest Videos. She captioned on Instagram below, "Yooo this shit is ridiculous! Thanks so much for having me, I had too much fun!❤️🤪"  Two of her castmates chimed in with simple reactions, with Juliette saying simply, "AHHH👏🏼👏🏼😍🔥" and Madisson adding, "OMG OMG OMGGGGG!"

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Yooo this shit is ridiculous! Catch me on the new episode of @ridiculousness tonight on @mtv at 8/7c. Thanks so much for having me, I had too much fun!❤️🤪

A post shared by Chloe Trautman (@chloetrautman) on Sep 29, 2019 at 2:24pm PDT

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@chloetrautman KILLED it on @ridiculousness lastnight! did you tune in? #SiestaKey

A post shared by SIESTA KEY - REALITY SHOW (@allaboutsiestakey) on Sep 30, 2019 at 9:31am PDT

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DC ExtraTime: Siesta Takes Nashville

 CAUTION: Contains Potential Spoilers Below 

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

This summer, those who live the good life in Southern California have been served well: Anthony Davis and Kwahi Leonard deciding that Los Angeles shall be the place to be again in the NBA with the Unibrow joining LeBron & the Lakers and the NBA Finals MVP bringing Paul George along across the hallway to the Clippers. This all went down at the same time that the Southland and Las Vegas were rocked by those two major earthquakes over the 4th of July weekend, as well as the opening earlier in the summer of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge down the I-5 in Disneyland.

Another part of this SoCal Summer has been taking place on MTV, as it continued to recognize the millennials' fondness of the 2000's and early 2010's in reviving The Hills. Even without the two main stars of the original show - Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavaliari being happily married and being moms, the New Beginnings revival has continued to carry the channel's momentum as Speidi, Audrina, Whitney, Brody Jenner, Jason and Frankie have been joined by Baywatch mama son Brandon Thomas Lee and Ms. Marissa Cooper, Mischa Barton of The O.C. fame, which brings full circle the show it was inspired by, Laguna Beach, which premiered fifteen years ago this coming fall. And as it was nine years ago this summer, The Hills, Jersey Shore and the Teen Mom franchise are headlining this summer in the MTV schedule, along with The Real World on Facebook Watch.

Chloe (r), w/ Jared, Amanda, Madisson,
Brandon, Juliette & Garrett (IG)

The journey that brought us to this summer of rekindled feelings began in a way two years ago this month when the East Coast-based, college-aged inspiration for this reality soap, Siesta Key made its debut. The show maintains what made Laguna and The Hills so good in all of the addictive drama that takes place among a rich and wealthy group of twenty-somethings and teens as they looked to find love and navigate through life in America's top beach town just outside Tampa Bay. What Siesta lacks in not calling the star-power and celeb hotspot of the world its home, it makes up for adding a Real World-like element to the mix in all of the castmates being relatable to the MTV audience in having backstories of going through much hardship growing up, and touching upon social and personal experiences also. And seasons 1 and 2 have sure offered its fair share of drama amidst the sweltering heat of a hot, humid and sultry Florida summer.

Earlier this spring, Siesta Key was renewed for a Season 3 to come on the coattails of the happenings in Hollywood (for which a Season 2 of The Hills: New Beginnings has just been ordered). We should expect plenty of drama to come our way from the west coast of Florida later this year, with the storyline those who watch Siesta religiously are anticipating of what's next for Juliette and Alex, post their breakup after Chloe's discovery of him being caught cheating. Plus, there's something that's emerged for the most famous member of the Class of 2019 at Florida State University: Juliette forging a relationship with Robby Hayes of The Bachelorette -- yes, that same Robby who fought for JoJo's heart with Ex On The Beach alums Chad and Chase on their 2016 season, who then dated Scheana on Season 7 of Vanderpump Rules, and is a good friend of Kathryn from Are You The One? Season 5.

This past week, Juliette, Chloe, Alex and the rest of the crew made their way up to Music City USA: Nashville, TN for one of the many escapes from paradise that Siesta fans should look anxiously forward to on Season 3. We'd suspect that they got some advice on where to go and what to do there from those who call Nashville home now: Challenge and Real World alumni Davis (Denver), Jonna (Cancun) and Chris/"Ammo" (Las Vegas III), as well as Mattie from CMT's Party Down South and The Challenge: War of the Worlds... and word is that we may see her on another MTV show not long from now. And Nashville is also home to another Siesta-style docu-soap: last year, Hills/Laguna creator Adam DiVello created CMT's Music City, which chronicles friends not only going through life together, but chasing dreams of music success in the capital of all things country.

Below, some snaps from the cast and from a couple fans from Instagram of Siesta's adventures in Smashville, where the clique's resident rapper (and sometimes pot-stirrer), Pauly, celebrated his birthday along with Jules' friend Hannah, who was featured in the winter half of Season 1. And, also check out our look at the cast reenacting scenes from The Hills from before New Beginnings.

DC ExtraTime: Siesta Key Performs The Hills

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

As we bask in springtime in May and count down to summer starting in a matter of weeks, there is something that those who follow MTV Reality television is most looking for. In more than a month, the latest rebooted MTV series of years gone by will return to our screens when The Hills: New Beginnings takes its first baby steps on June 24th. But the countdown to the return of one of the channel's most iconic hits can be traced not just to the series two of its stars came from that debuted fifteen years ago this fall, but also all the way across the sunbelt to the west coast of Florida.

This winter and spring saw an eventful Season 2 of Siesta Key, a season that once again brought drama as red hot as the sunny, 100-heat heat of a Florida summer to our screens, as they channeled the Californian spirit of Laguna Beach and The Hills out east. As it was for Season 1, this sophomore season began with the birthday rager that turned this town into Fight City Beach South after the many bar brawls that went down up the road by the Floribama Shore, and ended with a dramatic breakup of the couple who started this summer as the king and queen of this kingdom south of Tampa Bay.

The Look: Siesta Key - Welcome Back to Paradise

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

For those who were dreaming of snow outside your window on Christmas last month, there's probably a similar feeling of sentiment for those who are just wanting to escape the cold right now after you've just packed away your holiday decorations. It's especially true for those of you who live in New York, Chicago, Canada and everywhere else where the high temperatures on a given January day can vary day by day, but most likely you're freezing in multiple layers going to and from work and school... though you can agree that it's nice cuddle weather for some binge watching, too.

If you happen to be one of those people - and who happens to also be an MTV Reality fan, there is some good news coming your way. Next week sees the long-awaited and highly-anticipated return of one of cable's most buzzed-about series the past few years, and one that helped to spur MTV's overall rise from just another run-down TV channel bitten by the mass exodus to binge-land, to one that now has the industry talking about this one-time music video outlet turned TV hub of the millennial generation. And it is the show that was inspired by a show that introduced a new sub-genre of reality TV: the reality soap... and it will provide a fitting bridge to the latest MTV reboot come spring.

In July 2017, MTV dipped its feet into the sand of the small Sarasota, Florida suburb of Siesta Key, where it discovered a group of those who as kids grew up watching Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari on Laguna Beach and The Hills, and whose lives were just as fascinating as their California counterparts. The same production team behind Laguna was brought on to bring their magic touch from the West Coast to the East Coast, and to a new group of those who despite being slightly older were looking to break out on their own into a new era as adults during the most exciting summer of their lives... while not escaping the drama taking place in the town they call home.

Siesta Key reintroduced everyone to the kind of addictive, guilty pleasure television that had people buzzing a decade ago with Laguna/Hills' unique mix of big drama that glues even the teen-friendly audience in, as well as a cinematic filming style and a bold musical soundtrack to boot. And Tuesday night, the world will be welcomed back to a place judged to the best beach in America for another season in paradise, where the group is a year older, where love will now be taken to a new level, and where old and new will collide to spark some fireworks. But to understand what's coming next in the Key, you gotta look back a little bit to where this journey to Season 2 began... which was long ago.