The Hills (TV series)

This article is about the MTV television series. For other uses, see The Hills (TV series) (disambiguation).

The Hills
Genre	Reality television
Created by	Adam DiVello
Starring	Lauren Conrad (Seasons 1–5) Audrina Patridge (Seasons 1-6) Whitney Port (Seasons 1–4) Heidi Montag (Seasons 1-6) Lo Bosworth (Seasons 2–6) Stephanie Pratt (Seasons 3–6) Kristin Cavallari (Seasons 5–6)
Opening theme	"Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	102
Original release
Network	MTV
Release	May 31, 2006 (2006-05-31) – July 13, 2010 (2010-07-13)
Related
The City Audrina

The Hills is an MTV television series that premiered on May 31, 2006. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California. Entertainment Weekly ranked The Hills 82nd on their list of "The 100 Best Shows of the Last 25 Years," stating that the series was a "New Classic." On March 27, 2010, the magazine ran a story announcing that the show's sixth season will be the last, and will have a total of 12 episodes.

At one point, the series follows the personal life of former Laguna Beach star Lauren Conrad and her friends' new lives in Los Angeles. After five seasons, Conrad chose to leave the series, and was replaced by another former Laguna Beach star, Kristin Cavallari, beginning in the second half of season five. Cavallari announced on July 16, 2009 that she signed on for two additional seasons following the fifth. The series' sixth season was announced on December 1, 2009, during The Hills Aftershow. It began filming on January 13, 2010, and debuted on April 27, 2010. On March 25, 2010, The Hills producer and creator Adam DiVello announced that it would be the final season. Filming wrapped on July 2, 2010 the final episode aired on July 13.

Overview

The Hills followed the lives of several young women in Los Angeles. The series' four original starring members are Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, and Heidi Montag; Kristin Cavallari, Stephanie Pratt, and Lo Bosworth subsequently become focal points following the departures of Port, Conrad, and Montag.

After MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County became one of the network's highest-rated programs, producers wanted to continue the story of one of its more popular characters, Lauren Conrad, as she moved to Los Angeles. After the cameras turned off for the Laguna Beach cast, those same producers stayed on to follow Conrad as she left her home in Laguna and moved on to a new life in Los Angeles. The Hills follows the daily lives of Lauren and friends, documenting all of the drama that eventually ensues. Despite being billed and formatted as a reality series, scripting is used for production purposes.

Initially, Lauren moved in with her friend Heidi Montag whom she met while attending art school in San Francisco. Lauren also attends the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and landed an internship with Teen Vogue alongside new friend Whitney Port. Soon after, the pair befriended their new neighbor, Audrina Patridge. As the series progresses, Lauren and Heidi's friendship ends after rumors of a sex tape with Lauren and her ex-boyfriend Jason Wahler surfaces. Lauren suspects that Heidi's boyfriend, Spencer Pratt, spread the rumor. Heidi continuously stood by Spencer when Lauren confronted her. This feud continued through each subsequent season, with Audrina providing a stabilizing influence in Lauren's life. Lo Bosworth, Lauren's best friend, moved in with Lauren and Audrina and became a factor in the distance between Lauren and Audrina during the third season. Audrina was in a rocky relationship with Justin Brescia, whom Lo jokingly titled "Justin-Bobby". Lauren befriended Brody Jenner after their brief relationship, followed by a memorable trip to Paris. Stephanie Pratt, the sister of Spencer, joined the cast in the third season, and later becomes friends with Lauren. This caused a rift between her relationship with Heidi and her brother. Whitney eventually moved to New York City, and Heidi and Lauren had seemed to come to common terms in the fourth season, though Lauren's suspicions about Spencer still hung over them.

Upon conclusion of season four, rumors were widespread that Conrad wanted to leave the series. Despite this, the producers persuaded her to film ten more episodes at the start of season five in order to settle her relationships before her exit. As Heidi and Spencer decided to marry, Heidi wanted Lauren to attend their wedding. After much debate, Lauren decided to attend the wedding and makes peace with Heidi in her final appearance on the show. The episode also marks the arrival of Lauren's high school rival from Laguna Beach, Kristin Cavallari, who caught the bouquet at the wedding. Season five continued with Cavallari as the series' lead. Kristin flirted with Justin at Heidi and Spencer's honeymoon party, which led to a fight between her and Audrina. The enmity between the girls was a major plotline over the rest of the season. In addition, Heidi wanted to start a family while Spencer didn't; this was also a major plotline.

The sixth and final season premiered on April 27, 2010. It began with Heidi's much publicized plastic surgery procedures, as she revealed herself to her family for the first time. The rest of the girls, Kristin, Audrina, Lo, and Stephanie spent the Super Bowl weekend in Miami. Kristin's wild partying lead to rumors about her alleged drug use. Heidi and Spencer alienate their family and friends, to the point where no one wants to be involved in their crazy antics. Meanwhile, Brody and Kristin began flirting again. He soon starts dating McKaela Line, who brought trouble in the form of Kristin's old rival, Allie Lutz. McKaela befriends Lo, but immediately clashed with Kristin. Drama ensued as Kristin had confrontations with both Allie and McKaela. Audrina was dating singer Ryan Cabrera. The relationship later ended, and Justin tried to come back into Audrina's life, though she only wanted to be friends with him. In the end, the pair remained friends. Stephanie found it difficult to get back into the dating scene after her DUI, but soon met the right guy, Josh, who is one of Brody's friends. Lo is happy with her boyfriend of one year, Scott, and moves in. In the final scene, it looks as if Brody is seeing Kristin off to Europe and watching on as she leaves. With the camera on Brody, the Hollywood Hills backdrop is pulled away and the camera pans back to reveal that the entire scene was filmed on a backlot. Kristin hadn't actually left for Europe and gets out of the car that hadn't really driven off to hug Brody. This warrants viewers to question what was real or fake within the show according to Brody Jenner who stated, "I think the show has always battled with what's real and what's fake, and this ending was perfect because you still don't know what was real, what was fake and it's kind of like L.A. in a sense." According to Brody Jenner, there was an alternative ending that would have included Lauren Conrad.

Cast

This is the main cast for all seasons according to MTV. For a full list of current and former cast members of The Hills, see the list of cast members.

Cast member	Years credited	Season(s)	Title(s)	Notes
Lauren Conrad1	2006–2009	1-5	Lead role	Original narrator. Moved to Los Angeles after being the lead on Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County to pursue a fashion career; left series after season five, part one.
Audrina Patridge1	2006–2010	1-6	Lead role	Heidi's friend, later became Lauren's friend and housemate (has appeared in more episodes than any other member).
Whitney Port1	2006–2008	1-4	Lead role	Only first episode credited as "Teen Vogue intern", then lead role in other appearances. Lauren's frequent co-worker and friend, moved to New York City, later starred in now-cancelled spin-off series, The City.
Heidi Montag1	2006–2010	1-6	Lead role	Lauren's best friend and roommate prior to the third season; Kristin's friend; Spencer's wife. Stopped appearing midway through the sixth season, but continued to receive star billing.
Kristin Cavallari1	2009–2010	5-6	Lead role	Replacement narrator. Moved to Los Angeles following her appearance on Laguna Beach. Debuted during Heidi and Spencer's wedding during season five, part one and became a regular member in part two.
Lo Bosworth1	2007–2010	2-6	Lead role	Credited as "Lauren's friend" until Lauren's departure, then "Audrina's friend", then elevated to lead role in season six. Was a supporting character in seasons 2-5.
Stephanie Pratt1	2007–2010	3-6	Lead role	Credited as "Spencer's sister", then elevated to lead role in the sixth season following Heidi's departure. Was a supporting character in seasons 3-5.
Brody Jenner	2007–2010	2-6	Supporting	Credited as "Spencer's Friend" later became "Lauren's Friend" until Lauren's departure, then "Kristin's Ex-Boyfriend".
Frankie Delgado	2007–2010	2-6	Supporting	Credited as "Spencer's Friend", then "Lauren's friend" until Lauren's departure, "Brody's friend"
Spencer Pratt	2007–2010	2-6	Supporting	Credited as "Heidi's Boyfriend", then "Heidi's Fiance", then "Heidi's Husband". Stopped appearing midway through the sixth season.
Justin Brescia	2007–2010	3-6	Supporting	Credited as Audrina's Ex, Audrina's Boyfriend, Audrina's Ex-Boyfriend, Kristin's Love interest, commonly known as "Justin-Bobby".
Holly Montag	2007–2010	4-6	Supporting	Credited as "Heidi's Sister".
Stacie Hall	2009–2010	5-6	Supporting	Credited as "Bartender", when working at the Dime. Outside the Dime, known as "The Bartender," then "Kristin's Friend".

¹ Only members to receive star billing in opening credits.

Ratings

The Hills premiere day was the same day of the Laguna Beach season two finale, resulting in roughly the same viewership between the programs. Ratings were high for MTV and one of the highest for any cable network. There was a ratings dip after the season 2 finale as viewers reacted poorly to the developing story. From that point on, viewership remained relatively steady. Ratings for the premiere of season four were down 9% among the 12-to-34 demographic (2.1 million) and down 5% among total viewers (3.5 million) in comparison to the show’s third season premiere. Additionally, the total season 4 average was down 25% from that of season 3. When season 5 premiered on April 6, 2009, both back-to-back episodes averaged 3 million viewers, which is lower than the season 4 premiere had last year. The season 5 part 1 finale brought in 2.7 million viewers. This was slightly less than the season premiere yet still higher than the season 4 finale, which garnered roughly 2.5 million viewers. The second part season of 5 of the Hills premiered on Tuesday September 29 at 10pm and had a 30% decline in ratings. It premiered with 2.1 million viewers, nearly a million less than had seen the previous season's premiere. Since its premiere, the show's ratings increased a bit. The second half of season five has averaged about 2.5 million viewers per episode. The final season of the Hills beat the season five, part two's premiere and equaled season five part one's finale at 2.7 million viewers.

Spin-offs

• Whitney Port received her own spin-off from The Hills, named The City. The series centers around Port as she moves to New York City to work for fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg. The series debuted December 29, 2008 on MTV. Its final episode aired on July 13, 2010, and was announced by Port on October 25, 2010 that the series was cancelled.
• Kelly Cutrone, PR fashion maven and mentor to Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port, had a huge presence on The Hills and The City, resulting in her own show, Kell on Earth. It debuted on Bravo February 1, 2010.
• Audrina Patridge will star in an upcoming VH1 reality series, titled Audrina. The series was originally announced on May 28, 2009 during an On Air with Ryan Seacrest intverview, and was announced to have been picked up by VH1, a sister network of MTV, in October 2010. It will be produced by Mark Burnett.
• Lauren Conrad was supposed to star in a documentary-style reality show following her life as a fashion designer. However, MTV later dropped the series.

Criticism

On December 17, 2008 the Associated Press released an article titled "Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt nuptials questioned" which noted that Pratt and Montag acknowledged that their wedding in Mexico was "entirely symbolic." The article also noted that a Los Angeles Superior Court official confirmed that MTV had obtained permission to shoot in the Beverly Hills courtroom, but it was after office hours and a county court judge would not be present. The civil ceremony was inaccurately portrayed as well, because "if a judge does preside, it is typically in chambers during a break". The Associated Press also checked for marriage records, but found none filed by Pratt or Montag in Los Angeles County.

Audrina Patridge's official website biography states that she was cast in her role as a new friend for Lauren and Heidi, as she was approached by a producer to join the cast. During an appearance on Chelsea Lately, Chelsea Handler suggested that they improvised. Audrina stated, "If that's what you want to call it..." When pressed further, she replied, "We're put in situations where however we'd react and that's what comes up [on TV]." She did state that there were no scripts, and Handler joked that "if it is a reality show" that the cast has really good actors. Audrina laughed and said, "Thank you...It is a big compliment."

The apartment community that both Lauren and Heidi initially moved in together was labeled as Hillside Villas in West Hollywood, California in the show. In reality, the apartment complex they lived in was actually The Villas at The Palazzo East at Park La Brea on Third Street in Los Angeles. The neighborhood is known as Park La Brea. It is not in the City of West Hollywood, but it is close to the city boundary.

On a June 18, 2009 episode of The View, Lauren Conrad was asked how she felt about the apology she had received from Spencer Pratt involving the sex tape rumors. She responded "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't on the other line of that call...That was filmed and I wasn't on the other end...so I didn't know about it until--So, no, I never did get an apology."

In the August 2009 issue of the Dutch Cosmopolitan extra light was shed on Lauren's exit and her reunion with her friend and former co-star Heidi Montag on the fifth season of The Hills. What wasn't published in the July issue of the American Cosmopolitan, was that there were actually more reasons for her to end her run on the show than had previously been revealed. She claimed that, over the course of the filming of The Hills, she felt like being on the show had become more of a job than a thing she loved doing, as she had in the past. She said that she felt like she was living in two separate worlds. Furthermore, Conrad's relationship with paparazzi was becoming increasingly difficult, an aspect of her life not seen on the show.

She also revealed that, during production on the fifth season, producers kept on coming up with ideas for her and Montag to reunite. Conrad revealed she no longer wished to fight on the show and was trying to put her friendship with Montag behind her. Unfortunately producers weren't allowing that to happen, until the point where Conrad felt producers were pushing her into directions she did not see as her own. She also revealed that during her surprise birthday party in the fifth season, upon seeing Montag, she actually left the room with producers having to calm her down before being able to continue filming. This was not aired.

Kristin Cavallari, when asked about joining the cast, stated "It’s work! And drama sells. I think that’s why they’re bringing me in, because I know what works." And later said: "Its a TV show, why not? You gotta make it fun!" Also in the interview, Kristin stated "I saw Lauren at the wedding, she was really sweet and gave me a big hug, and that's it", when on the show, it was portrayed differently.

Seasons

Season One
Premiere Date Wednesday, May 31, 2006	Main article: The Hills (season 1) Lauren's road to independence was documented shortly after leaving Laguna Beach and moving to Los Angeles with her best friend, Heidi Montag. In L.A the girls meet future best friend Audrina. Lauren and Heidi had originally intended to attend FIDM together, but Heidi unofficially withdraws to go work for Bolthouse Productions. Additionally, Lauren lands a job interning with Teen Vogue magazine, where she meets new friend, Whitney and together the two embark on their careers in fashion. Heidi begins dating Jordan, and Lauren's ex-boyfriend, Jason, follows her to LA in an effort to woo her back. The two evidently get back together. In the season finale, Lauren makes a difficult decision.
DVD Release Date Tuesday, February 13, 2007
10 Episodes

Season Two
Premiere Date Monday, January 15, 2007	Main article: The Hills (season 2) Lauren tearfully breaks up with long time boyfriend Jason. In response, Heidi's new boyfriend, Spencer, introduces Lauren to his friend, Brody, and the two have a short-lived relationship. Lauren still has feelings for Brody, but her friend, Jen, is introduced to him by Spencer and Heidi, causing tension between Lauren, Jen and Heidi. Over time, Heidi becomes blind to Spencer's mischievous ways, and Lauren, who is concerned, subsequently turns to Audrina and childhood friend, Lo, for friendship. Meanwhile, Lauren and Whitney are challenged at work when New York intern, Emily, comes to help. Whitney is eager to move ahead in the fashion world, applying for jobs at teen vogue and even trying out modelling. In the season finale, Spencer surprises Heidi.
DVD Release Date Tuesday, August 7, 2007
12 Episodes

Season Three
Premiere Date Monday, August 13, 2007	Main article: The Hills (season 3) Lauren gets upset when a vicious rumor about her surfaces and she blames Spencer for starting it. At school, Lauren inadvertently befriends Spencer's sister, Stephanie, after she apologizes for verbally attacking her in response to Lauren's feud with Spencer and Heidi. After a work trip to Paris, Whitney feels her job isn't what she wants and quits. In a search for a new job she interviews for fashion PR firm, People's Revolution. Meanwhile, Spencer wants take his relationship with Heidi to the next level, but has a hard time confirming his commitment. Audrina rekindles her rocky relationship with former flame, Justin. In the season finale, Lauren makes a big move.
DVD Release Date Tuesday, July 29, 2008
28 Episodes

Season Four
Premiere Date Monday, August 18, 2008	Main article: The Hills (season 4) Lauren is surprised to know that two of her best friends are butting heads. Meanwhile, Spencer continues to be a strain on Heidi, especially when Heidi's sister, Holly, chooses to move to LA. Spencer gets Heidi fired for drinking while on the job. In an effort to save their relationship, the pair unofficially elope, forcing her mother to voice her disappointment. Lauren had a huge rift with Audrina when yet another vicious rumor threatened a tight friendship but that rift didn't last long. Additionally, Whitney's boss offers her the chance to interview with Diane von Furstenberg. In the season finale, Whitney learns the outcome of her interview.
DVD Release Date Tuesday, March 3, 2009
20 Episodes

Season Five
Premiere Date Monday, April 6, 2009	Main article: The Hills (season 5) In Lauren's final season, she is celebrating her 23rd birthday with a surprise party on a yacht when Heidi shows up unexpectedly in an effort to renew their friendship. Heidi later finds out that in her absence, Spencer had spent the evening of the party flirting with a bartender named Stacie. After being given an ultimatum, Spencer attends couples' therapy, proposes to Heidi for the third time, and attempts to makes amends with Lauren. When Heidi gives Lauren a wedding invitation for her and Spencer's wedding, Lauren did not express any interest in going to the wedding because she thinks Heidi is making a mistake by marrying Spencer. Ultimately, Lauren changes her mind and decides to attend the wedding. Kristin Cavallari joins the cast as Lauren's replacement in the second half of the season. She makes it apparent that she has an interest in Justin, leaving Audrina struggling to admit how this really makes her feel. Holly (Heidi's sister) struggles with a drinking problem. Meanwhile, after marrying Spencer, Heidi decides that she wants to start a family. However, Spencer is firmly against the idea. Brody and girlfriend Jayde Nicole begin to question their relationship.
DVD Release Dates Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Tuesday, April 27, 2010
20 Episodes

Final Season (Season Six)
Premiere Date Tuesday, April 27, 2010	Main article: The Hills: Final Season In the final season, Kristin regrets the enemies she made in Los Angeles, so she decides to renew her friendships with the girls. She also comes to terms with her fading summer romance with Justin. However, after she left the girls abandoned in Miami, rumors about her wild partying and possible drug abuse surface. Brody continues to stand by her through it all. Meanwhile, Heidi gains the disapproval of her family and friends because of her extensive plastic surgery; she and Spencer later begin to alienate them as a result. Audrina finds a fresh start when she starts dating her old friend, Ryan Cabrera. Through it all, Lo gives advice to her friends when they need it. Stephanie begins to get over her DUI, and show signs of readiness to face the world.
DVD Release Date Tuesday, September 21, 2010
12 Episodes

Series finale

The series' sixth season was announced on December 1, 2009 during The Hills Aftershow. It began filming on January 13, 2010 and debuted on April 27, 2010. On March 25, 2010 The Hills producer and creator Adam DiVello announced that it would be the final season. Filming wrapped on July 2, 2010 and aired its final episode on July 13. Despite much speculation from the cast as well as Adam DiVello concerning Lauren Conrad's possible return, the former series star confirmed she would not appear in any of season six episodes or the series finale, however it was confirmed that Lauren Conrad would be featured on a live special following the finale.

Final scene

In the series' final scene, Brody sees Kristin off to Europe and Brody looks on as she rides away. As the camera pans out of the scene, it is revealed that it was being filmed on an outside set at a movie studio. Thus, the series confronts the common question by critics of whether certain elements of the show, or the entire show itself, are real, fake, or a combination.

However, cast member Lo Bosworth later confirmed that the show was real. In an article on her website, Bosworth said that the cast was poking fun at the rumors of being scripted. While some cast members knew each other from the beginning, producers influenced other relationships, and became real relationships once pushed.

Brody Jenner's relationship with Avril Lavigne was widely publicized but never mentioned in the series.

Aftershow

After the final episode of The Hills and the season finale of The City, a live aftershow, The Hills Live: A Hollywood Ending, aired to celebrate the finale. The cast members that were present at the event:

• Lauren Conrad
• Audrina Patridge
• Whitney Port
• Kristin Cavallari
• Lo Bosworth
• Stephanie Pratt
• Kelly Cutrone
• Justin Brescia
• Brody Jenner
• Holly Montag
• Stacie Hall
• Frankie Delgado
• Charlie Smith
• Taylor Mosher

DVD release

Season	Date released	# of episodes	# of discs	Special features
The Complete 1st Season	February 13, 2007	10	3	Deleted scenes, interviews
The Complete 2nd Season	August 7, 2007	12	3	Deleted scenes, interviews
The Complete 3rd Season	July 29, 2008	28	4	Deleted scenes, interviews
The Complete 4th Season	March 3, 2009	20	3	Deleted scenes, interviews
The Complete 5th Season	(Part 1) October 6, 2009 (Part 2) April 27, 2010	10 10	2 2	Deleted scenes, interviews
The Complete Final Season	September 21, 2010	12	3	Featurette

See also

• The City
• Freshwater Blue
• Fade Street
• Baldwin Hills (TV series)

External links

• Official website
• The Hills at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com