As the cast of Jersey Shore throws their last fist pump on tonight’s series finale, the group tells The Hollywood Reporter what they think of MTV’s new reality show Buckwild during a press event at the London West Hollywood Hotel on Tuesday.
The controversial program, which has been slated to take over the now infamous “Jerzday” time slot (Thursday at 10 p.m.), follows the lives of nine twentysomethings from West Virginia engaging in wild activities like “mudding” and turning a dump truck into a pool party. Although Buckwild has already received negative feedback, including a written letter to MTV from West Virginia state senator Stephen Friedman, the Seaside Heights regulars have a different opinion.
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“I’m really excited about it. I feel like our show showed Jersey Shore and the wild side of Jersey Shore, and they’re going to show the wild side of the South,” Deena Cortese says. “I’m really excited about it because they seem a little more wild than us.”
Deena adds, “I already saw people kind of complaining that they didn’t want it to air … but I’m like, they have the same thing going on there that we had going on. People thought we were trying to represent Jersey and represent Italians when really, we’re just trying to represent ourselves, and that’s what they’re doing. They’re representing themselves.”
The party-loving “meatball” won’t be the only Jersey castmember watching Buckwild.
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“I saw the previews for it. It looks hilarious,” says Pauly D, who is known for his prank-pulling antics on the show. “I think that kind of culture is funny to me, so I want to watch it and see what it’s all about.”
Recalling the outrageous moments from Jersey’s early episodes, Ronnie Magro comments on the freshman series: “It’s going to be wild because there’s going to be no boundaries. It’s going to be like Jersey Shore first season.”
After six seasons of being on reality TV, Ronnie’s advice for the nine friends down South is “just for them to continue to be themselves and don’t let other people tell you how to act. Just be who you are, and people will fall in love with you.”
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Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, who has stayed sober throughout the final season of Jersey Shore, gives surprisingly profound words of wisdom to the Buckwild group.
“Try to make the best decisions as best as they can, because the roller coaster ride does go fast, and sometimes you have to make a decision earlier than you’d like. So, do the best that you can,” advises Mike. “There’s always going to be people talking about you, so just be positive. You can’t get 100 percent approval rate.”
Jersey Shore’s series finale airs Thursday at 10 p.m. Buckwild premieres Jan. 3 with two new episodes back-to-back from 10-11 p.m. ET/PT each week.
