Kristin Cavallari, Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag – these are some of the recognisable household names for many who grew up watching Laguna Beach and The Hills in the noughties.
The original MTV series Laguna Beach first aired in 2004 and paved the way for Keeping Up with the Kardashians, TOWIE, Jersey Shore and Made In Chelsea to name a few.
After almost 20 years, the series is returning so fans can relive their youth and watch every single episode once again, reminiscing on all the dramas in the Orange County.
It’s perfect timing too as Kristin Cavallari has recently launched her own podcast, Back to the Beach, with former boyfriend Stephen Colletti in which they rewatch the series and comment on the goings on – and now we can too.
Here’s everything you need to know about the return of the shows, how to watch them, and when.
When will Laguna Beach air?
(Image credit: MTV)
Netflix confirmed via their Twitter account that they will be airing the first two seasons of Laguna Beach next month.
The official launch date will be November 11, and we cannot wait!
When will The Hills air?
However, fans will have to wait a little longer for The Hills reruns to air.
Netflix has confirmed it will stream the series from December 15.
The streaming platform shared: “Beginning Friday, November 11, the first two seasons of Laguna Beach will be available for streaming, and The Hills will head to the platform a few weeks later on December 15.”
When did Laguna Beach and The Hills first air?
(Image credit: MTV)
Laguna Beach first aired on MTV back in September 2004, and ran until November 2006.
The cast then progressed onto The Hills, which was a spin-off show of the American reality show and aired on MTV from May 2006 until July 2010.
Some may wonder what the fuss about as both hit shows returning to the small screen, but many fans have been unable to re-watch the full series for decades as it aired on MTV and only snippets are available to watch online – not the full run of episodes.
Laguna Beach cast
The Laguna Beach series is where the likes of Lauren Conrad – aka LC – as well as Kristin Cavallari, Lo Bosworth and Stephen Colletti launched their career.
The original crew also included Morgan Olsen, Trey Phillips, Christina Schuller, and Talan Torriero.
The second series introduced viewers to Jason Wahler, Taylor Cole, Alex Murrel and Jessica Smith.
However, the third season saw a completely new cast based on the new set of students at Laguna Beach High School, which included Cameron Brinkman, Tessa Keller, Breanna Conrad, Lexie Contursi, Raquel Donatelli, Cami Edwards, Kelan Hurley, Chase Johnson, and Kyndra Mayo.
Laguna Beach storyline
(Image credit: MTV)
The Laguna Beach series ran for two years and three seasons before it came to an end in 2006.
The series followed the personal lives of students at Laguna Beach High School, primarily Lauren Conrad, Lo Bosworth, Stephen Colletti, Trey Phillips, and Kristin Cavallari.
The reality series documented the friendships, relationships and fall outs as the teenagers navigated their way through life.
The main focus of the first season was on the love triangle between rivals Lauren and Kristin, and Stephen, which was believed to be the crux of their ongoing feud.
Lauren and Stephen had a turbulent relationship over the years, but LC sought support from her best friend Lo.
In season two Kristin was in yet another love triangle with Talan Torriero and Taylor Cole, while Lauren was embroiled in an on-off relationship with Jason Wahler, which continued on The Hills.
The season concluded when the cast left school for college and a new cast of High School students was the focus.
The Hills cast
Fans who followed Laguna Beach may be familiar with some of The Hills cast.
Just to recap, Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port, as well as Spencer Pratt, Jason Wahler, Kristin Cavallari, Brody Jenner, Justin Bobby and Lo Bosworth starred in the series.
Lauren appeared in the spin-off series for five seasons, and left in the iconic 10th episode titled “Something Old, Something New”, which aired in 2009.
Kristin joined as a guest in season five, which meant an overlap between her and her rival Lauren, before she became the frontrunner of the fifth and sixth series.
The Hills storyline
(Image credit: MTV)
The Hills ran for six series, so it’s safe to say a lot went down on the MTV programme.
The series picked up with the Laguna Beach alumni and followed LC move from Laguna Beach to Los Angeles to forge her career in the fashion business.
The series sees Lauren move in with housemate Heidi Montag as they study Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising at college, while Lauren also interned at Teen Vogue, where she met Whitney Port.
Instead of taking a summer internship in Paris, LC decided to rekindle her romance with ex-boyfriend Jason, which meant Whitney took her place.
In the second season, Jason and LC have split and she moves on with Brody Jenner, while Heidi sparks up a relationship with her now-husband Spencer Pratt – which also becomes a factor in Heidi and Lauren’s friendship breakdown later in the show.
With Heidi and Spencer’s relationship gaining momentum, she moves out, and Audrina moves in with Lauren.
By season three, Heidi and Spencer – who are nicknamed Speidi – fall out with Lauren for good as an alleged sex tape rumour featuring Lauren and her ex Jason circulates. Lauren believes came from her former housemate, and this becomes the central plot for many series to come.
As the series continues, Heidi and Spencer are said to have eloped to Mexico to get married, and Heidi is fired from her job at Bolthouse while Lauren takes on a new role at PR company People’s Revolution, helmed by Kelly Cutrone.
Despite ups and downs in their relationship, Heidi and Spencer wed again and invite Lauren in a bid to reconcile their friendship, and she does attend in one of the most iconic departure scenes.
Kristin then comes on the scene and sparks up a flirty romance with Lauren’s ex Brody, before moving on to Audrina’s on-off flame Justin Bobby.
But the series finale had many viewers questioning what happened next, with two alternative endings.
Are Laguna Beach and The Hills scripted?
There has been growing speculation and confusion over whether Laguna Beach and The Hills were scripted.
While producers have insisted it was not, cast members have claimed they were set up at times and the storyline was pushed in a certain direction to make for better entertainment.
In one of the alternative endings to The Hills finale Kristin drives off in a limo, waves goodbye to Brody Jenner and is said to head to Europe, but the backdrop of Hollywood is pulled away to reveal the scene being shot in a car park.
However, Kristin tweeted: “I think I should finally let everyone know I’m not going to Europe. It was for the show.”
Speaking previously to US Weekly, Kristin – who has since appeared in her own reality show Very Cavallari – said: “The money was the reason I did it. Producers gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’m glad I went back to [reality TV] because this time I looked at it strictly as a job, and I knew the character they wanted me to play.”