Catfish: The TV Show and The Challenge may be current heavy hitters for MTV, but the former home of everything music has a long history of delivering memorable scripted and unscripted television. Many of these shows focus on the young, fun-loving lifestyle that the brand is known for, even if they leave the channel’s origins in music behind.
However, despite the hits that have appeared on the network, some great programs have either left the public consciousness or never found the fan base that they deserved. These shows exhibited a real potential for greatness; however, they couldn’t quite find timeless success.
Room Raiders
Released in 2003, Room Raiders is a reality tv program that put a new spin on dating. The series followed contestants as they chose to date a person not based on looks, but by what was in a person’s room. The contestants aren’t aware that their rooms will be getting raided until after they’re “kidnapped” and watching from the back of the room raider’s van.
Some viewers might recognize a pretty famous face on an episode of the series with Zac Efron appearing on the show and stating that he liked one of the contestant’s handcuffs! With some pretty funny episodes and scenes, the series ran for eight seasons, ending in 2009.
Friendzone
Being in love with a friend and wanting to take things to the next level is a risky thing, and MTV’s Friendzone was a reality show that kicks this feeling into overdrive. The series is a dating show where long-time friends put their friendships on the line when they work up the courage to see if they can become more than friends.
Friendzone was intense in so many ways when one friend might not feel the same way as the other, changing the friendship forever. The series was first released in 2011, only running for five seasons until the show went off-air in 2014. Aside from a few reruns over the years, the show has largely been left in the past with some considering that the MTV show has aged poorly over the years.
Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County
A spin-off of the popular Laguna Beach, MTV presented the series Newport Harbor in the fall of 2007. Taking place in the small seaside community of Newport Harbor, the show followed a new set of teenagers from affluent families as they experienced heartache, heartbreak, romance, and drama, all while dealing with high school.
Unlike Laguna Beach, Newport Beach only lasted on the MTV platform for two seasons with a total of 12 episodes. After its cancellation, the series failed to remain relevant among several similar shows that would release over the years since its final episode.
There And Back
The 2000s was a decade in which MTV dropped several original shows, including There and Back in 2006. There and Back was a series that followed musician Ashley Parker Angel, a former O-Town member, as he tried to regain fame and make his way back into the music business.
Viewers followed along as Angel worked to make a name as a solo artist while also providing for his fiancee and newborn son. The series was released as a one-season run of 10 episodes, but it has never been aired since.
The Andy Milonakis Show
A scripted comedic series that followed the life of a “twelve-year-old” Andy Milonakis, The Andy Milonakis Show was a show that feature oddball scripts, pranks on the general public, and a lot of celebrity guests. The series made its premiere in 2005 and featured a cast of Milonakis’ neighbors in his Lower East Side, Manhattan neighborhood.
The celebrity-filled scripted shorts were unlike anything on MTV during this time, which is what made the show quite popular. It was created by not only Milonakis, but also by Jimmy Kimmel. However, despite the show’s popularity, it was canceled in May of 2007 and is not currently being rerun on the network.
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County
One of MTV’s most popular reality tv shows and one of the most real MTV shows during that time, Laguna Beach was the iconic teen show that started it all for The Hills and Newport Harbor. Released in 2004, the series followed a close group of friends as they navigated through their senior year of high school all while dealing with relationship drama, heartbreak, and gossip.
This series produced one of the most iconic love triangles in reality tv between LC, Stephen, and Kristen that left teens all around the world picking sides. With its adult spin-off, The Hills, coming to the screen, Laguna Beach was ultimately canceled after its third season because there was no other direction to take the show. Fans looking to revisit Laguna Beach can find it streaming on Paramount+ along with The Hills.
Two-A-Days
Two-A-Days was a sports and drama-centered reality series that followed the lives of the players on the Hoover High School Buccaneers football team in Alabama. The series was released in the fall of 2006 and explored not only the football players but the coaching staff and cheerleaders.
During the show’s two consecutive seasons, viewers were taken on a journey of high school drama, football wins and losses, and romance and heartbreak. This boosted the show into high gear, and can be considered by IMDb as one of the best MTV reality shows. With majority of the main cast going off to college and the coaching staff going on to new endeavors, there was no real direction to take the show and it was subsequently canceled.
Buckwild
Buckwild was one of the most refreshing and fun reality series to hit MTV in years when it came on screen in 2013 with its focus on small-town West Virginia instead of glamorous beach cities. The exciting series followed a set of country friends in rural West Virginia as they revealed their carefree and adventurous lives inside their small town. Buckwild introduced a colorful cast that captured the hearts of audiences, even being compared to Jersey Shore, only in West Virginia.
Although the series was a huge hit and anticipated to go far, the series was tragically cut short with one season when a series star, Shain Gandee, passed away along with two others from carbon monoxide poisoning. With this tragic loss, the series has not been shown on screen in years and has largely left the public concience.
The Hard Times Of RJ Berger
RJ Berger from The Hard Times Of RJ Berger saw his entire high school existence change in the blink of an eye. The series followed teenager RJ Burger as he navigated through high school with a nonexistent life and an unrequited crush on the extremely popular, Jenny Swanson. His invisible social status soon changes, however, when his body is exposed in front of the entire school and others are impressed by what they see.
The series was a comedic look at the high school struggles of those in the spotlight and those that went unnoticed. Lasting for only two seasons with 24 episodes total, the series included some funny quotes and inspirational rhetoric that not only pushed boundaries but was candid. The raunchy and scripted show is one that people forgot, and its legacy may have suffered due to its lewd premise.
