Since it shifted from its original format of music videos to reality shows, game shows, scripted series and the like, MTV has received criticism for abandoning the very thing that they helped establish on television: discussing music culture. Sure, in response there are channels like MTV2 (which also saw a programming shift), MTV Jamz and most recently MTV Classic, but many considered the proverbial death knell of the “original” MTV was when they ended its flagship show Total Request Live after a ten-year run in 2008.
Now, the network has decided to bring back TRL nearly ten years later.
The New York Times is reporting that MTV plans to bring back the show sometime in October 2017. Citing “nose-diving” ratings among other factors Chris McCarthy, the president of MTV, says “If we’re going to come back and reinvent MTV, [TRL] is a given. It is the centerpiece.”
The network is also, currently, building a new studio near the location of the first TRL studio: in Times Square.
While ratings have slipped in recent years things slightly took a shift for the better, as NYT also reports that MTV has experienced ratings growth in the past few months thanks to shows like the reinvented Fear Factor (hosted by Ludacris) and Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out.
