'The Hills: New Beginnings' pilot: Fans miss Lauren Conrad, while Audrina and Justin's reunion rekindles hopes of a romance
The earliest memories of getting hooked to MTV, especially as a millennial, has got to be their spicy, drama driven, reality show on LA's finest, 'The Hills.' The show ran for the better part of 2000 and came with the catchiest theme song - 'Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield, which went on to become an automatic hit with fans and we pretty much couldn't get the song out of our heads. Almost a decade later, the show's reboot has premiered on the channel and even though it's titled 'The Hills: New Beginnings', a lot of the old cast is back with two new additions. And fans haven't stopped talking since the premiere. There has been chatter about old favorites missing on screen as well as old flames rekindling in the reboot.
The intro session of 'The Hills: New Beginnings' features the same iconic song by Bedingfield, but with a remixed, upbeat tempo. Pretty much like the cast, which brings in much of the original gang including Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, Whitney Port, Justin Bobby, Frankie Delgado, Audrina Patridge, and Brody Jenner. But then, the show has also brought in Mischa Barton and Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's son - Brandon Lee as the two newcomers to round off its cast.
But no matter the thrill of finally seeing our favorites, there was no overlooking the fact that one of the most popular cast members, Lauren Conrad, has chosen to not take part. Even Kristin Cavallari and Lo Bosworth also are not appearing on the show. Fans took notice of Conrad's absence and couldn't stop stressing on it all over social media as soon as the show premiered. "Seeeee all that drama shit that just happen is probably the MAIN reason why Lauren is not on the show lol & i don’t blame her !! #TheHillsNewBeginnings," shared a fan on Twitter. While another chimed in saying: "tbh I didn’t want to watch but reading all the tweets makes me want to #TheHillsNewBeginnings but Lauren’s not in it so... that show + Laguna Beach was my childhood. #MTV"
'Laguna Beach' was the original show based on Conrad and her friends' lives, and based on that, the spin-off 'The Hills' (original) was created. The reason why her absence is being felt so unanimously is understandable, but worry not, it gets better. We have an Audrina and Justin reunion in the reboot and fans believe the former flames are actually endgame following the kicker chemistry that the reboot's pilot showed between the two.
"18 year old me is still holding out for Justin Bobby and Audrina’s happily ever after like.. #TheHillsNewBeginnings," wrote one such optimistic fan, after Audrina cried on camera about her recent divorce and later met Justin for a quasi-date of sorts. But the same segment has also earned some criticism from fans for pushing the prospective relationship on the involved parties too hard. Like one fan notes, "Audrina: 'I will never rush into anything ever again.' @MTV: *ships Audrina + Justin so hard that they work one of them into conversation with the other in every single scene* #TheHillsNewBeginnings"
And of course, there was no missing the new joiners to the cast, even though the attention given to them was kind of neutral. While most of the attention towards Brandon has been overshadowed by the buzz surrounding his mother, for Mischa, it has been a steady flow of the 'Mean Girls' meme, 'she doesn't even go here.' Considering the show's popularity, we understand why fans are having a hard time warming up to the two new cast members. But let's hope it happens soon!
'The Hills: New Beginnings' premiered on June 24 and will air on Mondays at 9 p.m. central time, only on MTV.