Jersey Shore

Fist pumps and hookups are part of MTV’s smash-hit reality series Jersey Shore, which initially centered around eight Italian American twenty-somethings as they spend the summer in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

Popularizing terms like “guido” and “guidette” and catch phrases including “GTL” (gym, tan, laundry), series stars Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Vinny Guadagnino, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Angelina Pivarnick, Pauly “DJ Pauly D” Delvecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Samantha “Sweetheart” Giancola and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino brought the network some of its best ratings to date.

Often deemed a guilty reality TV pleasure, Jersey Shore‘s first season premiered in December 2009 and was not without controversy. From a drunken bar patron punching Polizzi in the face to Magro’s arrest for alleged assault, the Shore cast saw some of their most private moments unfold in front of the cameras.

The show went on to air for six seasons until 2012 despite the cast’s outrageous behavior and many public scandals. The original cast, with the exception of Giancola, returned in 2018 for a revival series titled Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. When season 6 debuted in 2023, it featured the long-awaited return of Giancola to the Jersey Shore universe.