'Jersey Shore' Preview: What to Expect From Season 5 (Video)

As GTL nation prepares to resume fist pumping on “Jerzday," the cast of Jersey Shore stops by The Hollywood Reporter’s cover lounge to give fans an inside look at what to expect from the fifth season.

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The premiere episode picks up right where the season 4 finale left off; with the crew packing up their belongings and heading straight back to their storied Seaside Heights pad for back-to-back filming.
 
“There was no break in between,” Jenni “J Woww” Farley tells THR. “Literally, from the beginning of Italy to Jersey I think we filmed for four and a half months straight.”

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As tensions continue to flare between several housemates, the morale of the group appears to significantly improve upon arrival in the states. Though the pressures of filming -- and other yet-to-be-revealed factors -- prove to be too much for Vinny Guadagnino, the rest of the group takes full advantage of their time at the shore. In a change of pace from the tension-filled environment chronicled in Italy, the cast assures fans that their return to Jersey also marks a return to the carefree and fun-loving tonality of earlier episodes -- with a splash of their signature drama, of course.
 
“Italy was amazing, but we missed Jersey so much that literally we hit it probably the hardest this time than we ever did,” says Paul “DJ Pauly D” Delvecchio.

“I feel like [in] Jersey we finally got to see our friends and our family and we’re back in our element," continues Ronnie Ortiz-Magro. "You’re gonna see us back in our element and enjoying each others company.”

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Adds Jenni, “I think it’s the most different season out of all of them and I feel like fans can appreciate this season the most, ‘cause its us with like all our walls down, all our barriers are completely down.”

While little is currently known about Vinny’s impending exit from the house, the Staten Island native says that his reasons stretch beyond what viewers may predict.
 
“I go through some personal problems that run a little deeper than you think you see in the first episode,” Vinny confesses. “But I would definitely do it again and these are just obstacles in life that make you stronger when you struggle a little bit.”
 
Whether those personal problems will be revealed in their entirety this season, he promises: “100%, yes.”

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No decisions have been made regarding the future of the franchise beyond season 5, though Pauly D, Jenni and Snooki have all inked spinoff deals. For now, Vinny is pursuing a career in acting, while Ronnie is attempting to break into the fitness world with a forthcoming book and DVD.
 
Watch more from the group’s THR Cover Lounge chat in the video above, and tune in to Jersey Shore on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 10 p.m. on MTV.

Additional reporting by Jethro Nededog.

E-mail: Sophie.Schillaci@thr.com; Twitter: @SophieSchillaci