“Hard Times” To Continue for “RJ Berger” on MTV

As expected, the ratings resurgence for “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” has resulted in the scripted series scoring a second season at MTV.

The flagship of MTV’s recent foray into scripted programming, “Hard Times” was destined to receive every opportunity to prove itself worthy of renewal. But as the show began bleeding viewers from its solid post-MTV Movie Awards premiere, its risk of cancellation greatly increased, with many critics officially writing off the series.

Over the last few weeks, however, the show has been on a ratings upswing, and the momentum was enough to make MTV comfortable about ordering more episodes. The second season will feature twelve episodes.

Though initially billed a derivative of HBO’s “Hung” set in high school–a nerdy, awkward teenager experiences social benefits when his ‘endowment’ is exposed to the student body–the show has not drawn heavily from that premise (even though the pun in the title suggests otherwise). Rather, the show has functioned like a traditional teenage underdog comedy, albeit with far raunchier-than-average content.