The producers of MTV's breakout hit Jersey Shore have been dealing with a season two conundrum over the last month -- and it wasn't just the cost of reuniting the show's cast members, who currently command five-figure appearance fees to judge the Sammy's Hot Wings Contest at the Twin Cities Promenade food court. The bigger issue was where the series should shoot its next installment, since it would be too hard to pull off another summer at the titular shore, yet some of the other suggested locales might mess with the show's patented bikinis-and-bronzer aesthetic. Now, Movieline can confirm that Jersey Shore has committed to its season two setting: South Beach.
Rumors that Jersey Shore might set up shop in the Miami neighborhood intensified a week ago when TMZ intercepted a producer's letter to the owner of Miami's Mynt Lounge, asking for permission to shoot there in the coming months. At that time, sources told TMZ that the series was still deciding between Miami and nine other cities both inside and outside of the United States.
No longer -- Snooki, the Situation, and all the rest will be heading to Miami Beach in May. Once there, they'll stay in a house off Lincoln Road in SoBe that MTV is currently renting and renovating for the occasion.
Is Miami ready for a paparazzi explosion this summer -- and, for that matter, is MTV, which mined dividends from the Jersey Shore cast's season one naivete? One thing is for certain: Our juiceheads' daily ritual of gym, tanning, and laundry is about to get taken to the next level.