Before 2006, reality television hadn’t seen a format quite likeThe Hills,and it hasn’t seen a format much like it since. Reality television at the time was saturated with conflict resolution and game show-motivated plot lines—popular shows of the 90s and early 2000s were much of the same,Queer EyeandThe Real Worldbeing two of the most popular series to emerge from the period.Queer Eyewas transformative in its representation and ushered in the subgenre of conflict resolution, though it directly mirrored the game show style already in use. With attention to the market gap,The Real Housewivesentered the scene a few years beforeThe Hillspremiered, taking reality television down a different route: showcasing the everyday qualms of wealthy housewives and utilizing brief clips of cast confessionals to narrate the drama and provide insight.
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,a springboard forThe Hills,shared several producers and therefore, vision. The preceding series adaptedThe Real Housewives’storytelling style but neglected confessionals; instead, clips were pieced together to create a story arc without the insight of the cast, relying on the viewers' discernment. The beginning of each show was introduced through a chosen narrator, which jumped from one cast mate to another. The new format brought authenticity to the highly produced genre and ultimately resulted in a booming wave of popularity production rode into the creation ofThe Hills.
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What Made The Hills So Popular?
The series was introduced to MTV’s guide listing in the early 2000s, showcasing the period in all of its glitzy glory. The show centered aroundLaguna Beach’s fan-favorite, Lauren Conrad, as she navigated young adulthood in Los Angeles. The series' mission was to piece together young hopefuls and follow the group’s winding path toward success in Hollywood. The show focused on Lauren Conrad’s friend group which consisted of Audrina Patridge, Heidi Montag (in the early tapings), and later, Lo Bosworth whoLaguna Beachfans would have no trouble recognizing.
The attractive cast and enticing storyline raked in a substantial fan base, tenfold the size of the existingLaguna Beachviewership. The excitement surrounding the series began to move popular culture, and teenage girls began following Conrad’s style and makeup choices—pulling bangs back into a small braid became known as the “Lauren Conrad braid,” and lining eyes with a small wing became known as the “Lauren Conrad wing.”
The success and the fanfare surrounding the series' narrator was in part due to the show’s unorthodox authenticity.The format was so new to reality televisionthat there were some debates following its premiere about which genre the series belonged to—reality or drama. The producers doubled down in response, pushing the narrative that the series followed cast members' real-world conflicts and achievements. When asked about the show’s authenticity, Tony Disanto, executive producer,told ABC News, “It was real, people. They all knew each other. All the relationships were real. Everything unfolding was real.”
At the time, audiences accepted the production’s assertion and consumed the drama between cast mates as if it were fact. This narrative was enforced by a quarrel between Montag and Conrad that continued off-screen and resulted in the demise of their friendship. The two friends' disagreement was observed by publications at the time, the pair quipping back and forth through off-screen interviews, a form of fighting between the two that continues to this day.
Was The Hills Real or Scripted?
Despite the producers' original claim, cast members later discussed just how orchestrated certain storylines were. For starters, Montag’s seemingly organic meeting with Patridge at their shared apartment pool was not at all that. In fact, Audrina was cast by producer Adam DiVello who had spotted her lounging by the apartment pool while scouting the scenery for the forthcoming series. He must have seen some star quality in Patridge because he immediately approached her with an offer for a place on the show. The former reality stars have also opened up about incidents in which producers wouldn’t let them leave until they confronted another cast member to get the scene they wanted.
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Remember the friendship between Conrad and Brody Jenner that was wrought with will-they-or-won’t-they tension? Apparently, that was a relationship crafted by production. In the anniversary specialThe Hills: That was Then, This is NowConrad admitted, “We had zero chemistry… I just sort of let them do whatever they wanted.” She explained her fictitious relationship with Jenner was due to the pressure from production to have an on-screen boyfriend.
As the series progressed, the production seemed bent on reuniting Montag and Conrad. Conrad has explained that production’s plans led to her final decision to leave the show. Kristin Cavallari, another returningLaguna Beachcast member, stepped in to take Conrad’s place as narrator for the last season of the series. Cavallari has been outspoken about her own issues with production. In a recent interview with theCall Her Daddypodcast, she claimed that DiVello offered cast mate Lo Bosworth a purse in exchange for an on-camera confrontation about a drug issuethat didn’t actually exist. Cavallari had suspicions DiVello had also given stories to celebrity gossip publications about her imaginary drug problem to expand viewership and prove authenticity. Cavallari told the podcast, “He bribed the girls to call me out on camera for doing drugs with a purse… He would create these storylines on the show that were b******t, but then he would go and feed to the tabloids.”
It’s difficult to be angry with production over fictional storylines that enraptured popular culture. The drama captured a generation’s interest and is continuing to do so with the series' resurgence on Netflix. And looking back, it was definitely a pioneer of a new reality television format.
