Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County (often referred to as Laguna Beach) is an American reality TV show on MTV. The show documents the lives of several teenagers living in Laguna Beach, a community located in Orange County, California.
| Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County | |
|---|---|
| File:LB123.jpg | |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 43 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Tony Disanto |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | September 28, 2004 – November 15, 2006 |
During initial development of the show, ideas were to create a reality show which followed the lives of wealthy young people. MTV producers thought about setting a reality show in Beverly Hills, mimicking the successful fictional '90s FOX television show Beverly Hills 90210. Producers scouted numerous other wealthy Southern California towns such as San Marino, Anaheim Hills, Rancho Santa Fe, and Malibu before finally deciding to base the show in city of Laguna Beach.
During filming of the first season, knowing that the FOX Network was currently airing the then popular teen-drama The OC, MTV producers enhanced the reality show Laguna Beach by adding the tagline "The Real Orange County," as the show's moniker, before airing on cable television, September 28, 2004.
It differs from the usual reality show genre in that the show is structured as a traditional narrative (seen more commonly in fictionalized television dramas or soap operas) than a straightforward observant documentary.
The theme song is "Come Clean" by teen pop-star Hilary Duff.
In August 2006, MTV launched the Alpha test of Virtual Laguna Beach, an internet-based program for Laguna fans, cast members, and various celebrities to participate in a virtual setting of the actual show. This platform was created by Makena Technologies (creators of There). In September 2006, the Beta version was launched.
Season 1
For a full list of cast members of Laguna Beach seeCast Members of Laguna Beach the Real Orange County
For a complete episode guide for all seasons, please see List of Laguna Beach episodes.
- US Premiere Date: Monday, September 28, 2004
- Narrative Voice: Lauren "LC" Conrad
Season 1 Synopsis
The major story arc of the season was focused on Stephen, a high school senior who loves to surf, has fallen for long-time girlfriend, Kristin, a junior who holds a high rank amongst her peers. The two made a beautiful couple, much to the dislike of LC, resident fashionista and Stephen's close childhood friend. During the times when Stephen and Kristin were at low points in their relationship, Stephen would turn to LC for comfort while Kristin went on to hook up with other boys, including Talan, another junior whose charm is irresistible.
Other minor story arc of the season also included Stephen's best friend and political activist, Trey has devoted much of his time promoting his non-profit organization, Active Young Americans, and organizing charity events, including open mic nights at local youth hot spots and fashion shows to show off his designing talent. A moralistic pair of a minister's daughter and a bubbly extrovert, Christina and Morgan both have their taste of the "in" crowd, despite having their own endeavors, including Christina's yearn to make music a professional career and Morgan only applying to her number one choice college.
The season also showed Dieter, Stephen's close friend and uncertified "wingman", was seen dating Jessica, Kristin's best friend and partner in crime, during the latter half of the season. Lo, LC's fashion-savvy best friend, has her fair share of dating and often delivers a smart comment when any piece of gossip comes her way.
In the season finale all the seniors graduating and leaving for college, the one thing left to do is to figure out if Stephen and Kristin are meant to stay together. Are they? With Stephen and LC both heading off to college in San Francisco and playing next-door neighbors, how are Stephen and Kristin going to stay together if LC will always be by his side? Will Kristin find a new boyfriend, or will she play it single during Senior year? Find out in Season 2.
Season 2
For a complete episode guide for all seasons, please see List of Laguna Beach episodes.
For a full list of cast members of Laguna Beach seeCast Members of Laguna Beach the Real Orange County
- US Premiere Date: Monday, July 25, 2005
- Narrative Voice: Kristin Cavallari
Season 2 Synopsis
The major story arc of season 2 showed Stephen, away at college, whilst Kristin, the newly elected leader of the pack, has decided to leave the drama of Junior year behind her and stir up new adventures with Alex H, her best friend and partner in crime, and Jessica, the girly girl who's a bit naive about the boys she dates. With this trio and their "power clique" of gorgeous girls, a proposed rivalry sparks against Alex M and Taylor, a popular pair with dramatic flair.
The season also focused on Jason, a hunky bad boy and Laguna's number one heart breaker, is now the boy in the middle of the romantic drama. He spent much of his time with a girl on his arm, including Jessica, Alex M, and (surprisingly) LC, some of which was overlapping. Jason has a hard time getting over his last relationship by using her to cheat on his current girl.
Minor story arcs of the season included LC's return to Laguna after a semester away, but her story's different: she's studying at a community college and has various jobs assisting with random fashion companies. Although he's away at college, Stephen's back attempting to woo his ex-girlfriend, Kristin, back into his life, especially on Valentine's Day, but he also doesn't forget about his best girl, LC, who he also surprises that same weekend.
Talan's back and so is his charming ways, and nonetheless, the girls soak it in, but this time, they throw it back at him and reject his affectionate ways.
In the season finale the summer has come to an end, and the girls are ready to leave Laguna for their own endeavors. Tearsflow as best friends bid farewell and parents let go of their babies one more time. The episode culminates as both LC and Kristin drive away from the Laguna Beach shore line for the city of Los Angeles. What will this mean for the kids of Laguna Beach? With the royalty gone, who will reign as the new queen bee? Find out in Season 3.
Season 3
For a complete episode guide for all seasons, please see List of Laguna Beach episodes.
For a full list of cast members of Laguna Beach seeCast Members of Laguna Beach the Real Orange County
- US Premiere Date: Monday, August 16, 2006
- Narrative Voice: Tessa Keller
Season 3 Synopsis
With a new narrator means a new major story; Tessa, whose friendships took nose dives after a dramatic illness back in Sophomore year, is best friends with Raquel "Rocky", a cutsie baker with eyes on a boy from another school, Alex. Tessa is supposedly rivaling Kyndra, the homeschooled resident bad girl, and her cohorts, including Cami, Kyndra's sidekick and the newly dubbed "queen of mean".
Minor story arcs of the season included Jessica's return to Laguna, she's back, and she's dating Cameron, a close pal of much of the seniors and the stereotypical "player". She knew he was hooking up with Kyndra on the side, but broke up with him at the same point Kyndra got back together with then-off again boyfriend, Tyler, Nikki's scruffy older brother. LC's little sister, Breanna, is having a hard time dealing with ex-best friend Rocky playing it cool with Tessa and attempts to win back her friendship despite crying over the whole ordeal.Chase, Tessa's childhood friend and resident rocker, is the lead vocal for his basement band Open Air Stereo. Along with pals Kelan, lead guitar, Braeden, bass, and Nick G, drums, the band plays their first live show in San Diego.
Lexie, the resident "ice princess" because of her standoff-ish demeanor, is a dancer and wants to hit it big, so she steers clear of boys such as Derek and Kelan and sticks with her close friends.
At the end of the season in the finale, big things are happening to the boys of Laguna: Cameron throws a barbecue for all of his Senior friends, Alex slips a promise ring on Rocky's finger before heading to college, and Open Air Stereo finally signs a contract with Epic Records. And the girls? Well, with the boys gone and close friends pulling away, where the heck is the person that "you need the most"? What happens to the girls during Senior year? Find out in Season 4.
Cancellation
The MTV Reality Blog confirmed that MTV has cancelled Laguna Beach and will instead film a new series with a new cast in Newport Beach[1], a neighboring beach town made popular by FOX's The O.C.. It has been noted that the cancellation was made due to the ratings dip during Season 3 because of the casting overhaul. But Laguna Beach will live on when The-N starts playing reruns of all 3 seasons starting July 2nd.
MTV has also reported that the spinoff The Hills (starring Lauren "LC" Conrad of seasons 1 & 2) is currently in production and will soon air the third and final season starting sometime in August 2007.
Criticisms
- The show has given the city of Laguna Beach a deceiving reputation as a city with spoiled, shallow, and superficial residents. One website reported that not all cast members live in mansions and that some live in typical, middle-class houses. Although, it was reported that MTV only wanted to film in upper-class homes to depict the Laguna Beach as a wealthy community. Cite Laguna's "Going Home With..." web-series(in which cast members give tours of their bedrooms and cars), cast members reveal that not all Laguna Beach teens own designer items or drive expensive vehicles and live like "normal" teens.
- There has been much debate throughout the series over how "real" and "true" the show actually is due to the quality and quantity of the camera angles and the alleged public discovery that many of the show's scenes are manipulated by the show's producers. Cite "production manipulation" in episode 208 ("What Goes Around") in which production allegedly staged a bonfire before inviting cast members to interact with one another and had also instructed Jason with his entrance and dialog. Also cite "production manipulation" in episode 209 ("Cabo, Cabo, Cabo") in which cameras asked to set up before Alex M confronted Jessica about supposed activity with Jason.
- The Parents Television Council (PTC) argued that the sexually explicit and profane content in the series makes the show inappropriate for its intended audience. It included the series in its 2004 study on profanity, violence, and sexual content on cable television. [1] Although much of the profane language throughout the series is censored, the PTC pointed out that the context in which the censored words were used made them discernible, which in their view rendered the censorship useless. The PTC also criticized MTV for not including content indicators such as "L" (language) or "S" (sexual content) in addition to its television ratings for the show, a move that prevents viewers from being able to effectively use the V-chip feature found on some televisions to control the broadcast of the show into their homes. MTV airs the show several times during daytime hours in addition to its regular timeslots around 10:00 PM (ET) and the PTC claimed that the adolescents whom MTV is targeting are being exposed to "excessive sexual and profane content through inaccurately rated programs." [2]