MTV Thursday officially confirmed speculation that the upcoming sixth season of “Jersey Shore” will be its last.
What premiered as a ratings bust in 2009 quickly rode controversy and viral word-of-mouth into becoming one of MTV’s biggest all-time success stories. During its third and fourth seasons, the show emerged as one of the best-rated on all of television–not just on cable–in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic.
Even as the buzz cooled for season five, which seemed to beat tedious storyline drums that never resonated with audiences, it remained a dominant force on Thursday nights for the youth-skewing cable network.
But the premise is obviously not for the long haul, and disappointing ratings struggles for spin-offs “The Pauly D Project” and “Snooki & JWoww” suggest there is indeed an expiration date on the cast’s popularity (despite its modest ratings, the latter did, however, receive an order for a second season).
With the sixth season set to premiere in October, MTV will use its promotional cycle to hype the remaining episodes as a chronicle of the gang’s final group trip to the Shore.