Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County

**Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County** is an American reality television series. The show premiered on September 28, 2004 and aired three seasons.

The series focuses on the personal lives of several students attending Laguna Beach High School.

## Development

Created by Liz Gateley in 2004, Laguna Beach was originally planned to document a group of students' on-campus lives as they completed their secondary education at Laguna Beach High School. However, after an incident during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII briefly exposed the breast of performer Janet Jackson, the school board questioned if the network, who produced the event, held the care necessary to operate in an academic setting. Subsequently, their contract was ended, effectively jeopardising the feasibility of the series' concept.

Throughout its run, the series was led by eight (seasons 1–2), and nine (season 3) primary cast members, who were credited by their first names. Its original main cast members were Conrad, Cavallari, Stephen Colletti, Lo Bosworth, Morgan Olsen, Trey Phillips, Christina Schuller, and Talan Torriero. The second season saw the additions of Taylor Cole, Alex Murrel, Jessica Smith, and Jason Wahler. By the conclusion of season 2, all the first generation of students had graduated high school, and departed the series before production of the third season began. Consequently, the program was revamped to showcase an entirely new group of current students, sadly it didn't panned out well like the previous two seasons as the audiences felt no connection to the new cast.

### Storylines

In its series premiere, Laguna Beach first introduces Lauren Conrad, Lo Bosworth, Stephen Colletti, Morgan Olsen, Trey Phillips, and Christina Schuller, who were completing their senior year at Laguna Beach High School. Younger students Kristin Cavallari and Talan Torriero were shown to be finishing their junior year. The first season highlighted the love triangle involving rivals Conrad and Cavallari and their shared love interest, Colletti. The latter two eventually began a turbulent romantic relationship. Meanwhile, the close friendship between Bosworth and Conrad provided both with a stabilising influence, similar to the bond between Olsen and Schuller. Phillips, an advocate for youth community involvement, coordinated a fashion show benefiting the Active Young America organisation. Upon the seniors' graduation, they prepared to leave Laguna Beach and begin their college studies.

By the beginning of season two, Talan Torriero developed romantic feelings for both Cavallari and Cole, though both of them were uninterested in beginning a relationship with him. Meanwhile, Jason Wahler dated Smith, Murrel, and Conrad in separate periods during production, though his player tendencies placed a strain on each failed relationship. The season concluded as the recently graduated students prepared to leave for college.

During the third season, new students were introduced, such as Cameron Brinkman (who took over Jason's role as the bad boy that can get whatever he wants), Tessa Keller, Rocky Donatelli, Kyndra Mayo, Chase, Kelan Hurley and Cami Edwards, along with other additional cast members.

## Cast Members

### Main

#### Season 1

* Stephen Colletti (Season 1-2)
* Lauren "LC" Conrad (Season 1-2; guest in Season 3)
* Kristin Cavallari (Season 1-2)
* Trey Phillips (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Christina Schuller (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Morgan Olsen (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Talan Torriero (Season 1-2)
* Lo Bosworth (Season 1; recurring in Season 2)
* Jessica Smith (Season 1; recurring in Season 1 and 3)

#### Season 2

* Jason Wahler (Season 2; guest in Season 3)
* Alex "M" Murrel (Season 2; guest in Season 3)
* Taylor Cole (Season 2; guest in Season 3)

#### Season 3

* Tessa Keller (Season 3)
* Cameron Brinkman (Season 3)
* Kyndra Mayo (Season 3; guest in Season 2)
* Raquel "Rocky" Donatelli (Season 3)
* Breanna Conrad (Season 3; guest in Season 1)
* Kelan Hurley (Season 3)
* Lexie Contursi (Season 3)
* Cami Edwards (Season 3; guest in Season 2)
* Chase Johnson (Season 3)

### Supporting

* Loren Polster (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Dieter Schmitz (Season 1-2)
* Alex "H" Hooser (Season 1-2)
* Morgan "S" Souders (Season 1-2)
* Jen Bunney (Season 1-2)
* Sam Ferguson (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Jonathon Bernard (Season 1)
* Gary Samuelian (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Kaitlyn Healey (Season 2; guest in Season 1)
* Cedric Channels (Season 2)
* Casey Reinhardt (Season 2)
* Emily Alder (Season 2; guest in Season 3)
* Jeff "B" Boyle (Season 2)
* Heidi Montag (Season 2)
* Braeden Hurley (Season 3)
* Nick "G" Gross (Season 3)
* Candace Siegmund (Season 3)
* Tara Springer (Season 3)
* E.J. Gomez (Season 3)
* Nikki Dowers (Season 3)
* Derek LeBon (Season 3)
* Alex Atkinson (Season 3)
* Rachel Swimmer (Season 3)
* Nick "W" Walker (Season 3)
* Tyler Dowers (Season 3)

## Episodes

See Also: List of Laguna Beach Episodes

 2 | 18
 3 | 16

## Reception

### Criticism

The Parents Television Council (PTC) argued that the sexually explicit and profane content in the series makes the show inappropriate for its intended audience. It included the series in its 2004 study on profanity, violence, and sexual content on cable television. Although much of the profane language throughout the series is censored, the PTC pointed out that the context in which the censored words were used made them discernible, which in their view rendered the censorship useless. The PTC also criticised MTV for not including content indicators such as "L" (language) or "S" (sexual content) in addition to its television ratings for the show, a move that prevents viewers from being able to effectively use the V-chip feature found on some televisions to control the broadcast of the show into their homes. MTV aired the show several times during daytime hours in addition to its regular timeslots around 10:00 PM (ET), and the PTC claimed that the adolescents whom MTV is targeting are being exposed to "excessive sexual and profane content through inaccurately rated programs."

A 2010 study published in the journal Economics Letters demonstrated that Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County caused an increase in crime in the Laguna Beach area. While Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau president Charles Ahlers argued that the show had boosted the local economy and made Laguna Beach a desirable travel destination, several residents of Laguna Beach were opposed to the show, claiming it was more focused on teen drama and hedonistic behaviour than the art and culture of the town. During filming days, traffic jams and tourists swarming local stores for a glimpse of the cast were frequent occasions.

### Scripting Allegations

Laguna Beach was often criticised for appearing to fabricate much of its storyline. In one instance, Cavallari claimed that producers exploited Colletti and Conrad's friendship to exaggerate the love triangle highlighted during the first season. She also alleged that she was treated poorly by producers, which "forced her to be a bitch", but stated that her distaste for Conrad was not fabricated.