The Truth About The Hills: New Beginnings

In August 2018, the Hills reboot was announced at the MTV VMAs in New York City. Several cast members took to the red carpet to hype the show but it wasn't revealed until April of the following year who was set to return — alongside a handful of notable new faces. As per The Hollywood Reporter, several of the fan-favorite OGs will reappear, namely Audrina Patridge and her ex Justin "Bobby" Brescia, show villains Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (AKA Speidi), Whitney Port, Brody Jenner, Frankie Delgado, and Spencer's sister, Stephanie Pratt.

Joining them are Laguna Beach alum and Lauren Conrad's ex Jason Wahler (who made a few, fleeting appearances on The Hills too, during its original run) and his wife, Ashley, as well as Jenner's wife (Kaitlynn), Delgado's wife (Jen), and a couple of other newcomers (more on that soon). In an interview, Port told THR that she's completely on board with the cast refresh, stating, "It's a new era and there's only so many of us that are doing the show." She added, "So, I totally support bringing in some new peeps to make things interesting."

Fans (and Whitney Port) may be devastated to learn Lauren Conrad won't be leading the show this time around, but there are at least a couple of cast members relieved New Beginnings won't be focusing on Conrad. Speaking to ABC News, Heidi Montag admitted, "I actually was kind of excited Lauren wasn't on it because I felt like it was more freeing and fair, like, for me." It's worth noting that Conrad and Montag had a notorious and very public spat after rumors were spread about Conrad allegedly making a sex tape with her then-boyfriend Jason Wahler, leading to one of the most infamous moments in Hills history ("You know what you did!"). 

Audrina Patridge agreed with Montag about the freedom Conrad's absence would apparently give them, telling ABC News, "Lauren, like, she was always the one — she's the leader, the one that would tell you what to do, what not to do." 

The reality star claimed that, this time around, "You kinda get to make your own choices and be your own self." 

Shaking up the cast might seem like an odd choice for such a beloved show, but at least one new recruit will be familiar to viewers. None other than Mischa Barton of The O.C. fame is set to appear. Page Six reported the news, with an insider claiming Barton's casting made sense as, "She was around back in the day and went to all the clubs."

Barton was actually a late addition to the show, with the actress admitting to Interview magazine, "I got thrown into this last minute." She explained, "I was approached from every angle, by everyone I know. I ignored it at first, and then I got on a couple of calls with the producers and MTV. Then before I knew it, I was in serious talks with them."  

At least one person is excited for her joining the ranks, as Whitney Port gushed to Us Weekly, "I remember getting, saving her number in my phone and getting my first text from her and being like, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe Mischa Barton is actually texting me right now.'" She added, "I think it's really cool."

Jason Wahler dated Lauren Conrad on both Laguna Beach and The Hills. Their relationship was rocky, to say the least, but Wahler has since sorted his life out, getting sober and settling down with wife Ashley, with whom he has one child as of 2019.

Speaking to Interview magazine, Wahler revealed New Beginnings will give fans insight into the new him, explaining, "A big part of what you'll see from me moving forward is being in active recovery and sobriety. It's my life, not a once-in-a-while thing. The whole reason I wanted to do this was to shed hope and show that recovery is possible."

As for preparing Ashley to appear on the show, he told MTV News there was no apprehension on his part. "Ashley is a very strong individual, and she's actually been around the entertainment industry for quite some time," he said. "But I told her the biggest thing for her is to just be herself, be transparent, be authentic and don't buy into any BS."

According to Page Six, this new iteration of The Hills "is very Brody Jenner centric," with the new cast "circling around him and his friends." However, Lauren Conrad's one-time (onscreen) boyfriend almost didn't decide to appear on New Beginnings at all. He and wife Kaitlynn Carter Jenner were the last to sign on to the reboot, with Jenner jokingly telling Entertainment Tonight that it was the money that eventually sealed the deal for the happy couple. 

Discussing the biggest challenge, his wife shared, "Brody had done such a good job of removing himself from the spotlight and we were living and have been up until this point living like a relatively normal life," noting, "We live outside of L.A. So signing up for all of that exposure again was a really tough decision for both of us." Jenner was quick to note this time around was different, however, as "there hasn't been any scripting." 

He explained, "One of the main reasons, well one that they sold us on, was basically that it was going to be more real than the original Hills."

Whitney Port may be convinced there's no need to nudge things along, but all reality television is produced at least a little bit, right? The reality star previously admitted that at least one storyline (her decision to go to Paris while Lauren Conrad stayed home with then-boyfriend Jason Wahler) on the hit show was completely fabricated. Kristin Cavallari confirmed the same was true of some of her storylines during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, admitting, "Most of my stuff wasn't real."

Port subsequently revealed reshoots took place on New Beginnings, pushing the original release date back. She explained to AOL, "It's more basically that they filmed all the stuff and then probably in the editing they were missing certain conversations that happened off camera," explaining, "They just needed to fill in certain blanks." The reality star is adamant the new show is completely real, however, stating, "You already really know us, but this shows another layer of who we are."

The cast may have matured in the years since the show wrapped, but this is still The Hills, and the drama is, naturally, going to come hard and fast. When asked by Entertainment Tonight about where it lands on a scale of one to ten, Brody Jenner told the publication, "Oh my god. It was 15 during filming, I don't know what they're going to air." 

In fact, it seems things are already so intense they've spilled over into real life. Page Six reported the Pratts were absent from a dinner celebrating the show's return because of their ongoing feud with Spencer's sister, Stephanie (which featured prominently on the original show, particularly as she grew close to Conrad).

Both Stephanie and Spencer have publicly maintained that the other sibling is the problem. However, according to Spencer himself via a DM to the publication, the Pratts simply had alternative plans. They were reportedly taking their son to see The Lion King. "Bought the tickets wayyy before any cast dinner was planned," he said.

Everybody on the cast of The Hills: New Beginnings is conscious the second time around of being as authentic as possible, with Spencer Pratt explaining to People, "Last time we'd shoot maybe twice a week and we'd get texted what to say." He continued, "This time, producers were like, 'We follow the truth!' We shot seven days a week for three months." In an interview with The New York Times, showrunner Lauren Weber explicitly stated that they don't tell the stars what to do or say, noting the producers simply "try to bring forth what they're thinking." 

Although they're eager to show as much of themselves and their changing lives as possible, the cast is being careful not to overshare either. The ladies of the original Hills told Cosmopolitan they won't be showing much of their kids on the show.

It seems the rest isn't still unwritten after all because, with New Beginnings, the cast is taking control of the story themselves.