A Little Port, A Big City, and A Guilty Pleasure
by Natalie De La Rosa

Following the success of the widely popular series The Hills, MTV premiered its newest spin-off, The City. The sophisticated drama follows Whitney Port, a twenty-something who moves to New York City to work for the legendary Diane von Furstenberg. For the Los Angeles native and former Hills star, it’s not only a dramatic lifestyle change, but an opportunity of a lifetime.

With the idea of the big city comes big dreams, and viewers are learning to live them out through Port as she finds herself with a new group of friends, a love interest, and a dream job. Even if The City may not be as popular as its predecessor, The Hills, it is next guilty pleasure.

In a recent interview with AOL Television, Port said, “I don’t know if you can really top The Hills. It has such an insane amount of drama. But, for me, it’s maybe higher stakes, a different level of sophisticated drama. I’m a little bit older now, and the cast is older, so it’s about more mature problems that we’re dealing with as young adults.”

Since the season premiere, the message board on MTV.com has been buzzing about Whitney’s co-worker, Olivia. The socialite has been called the new Spencer. Love her or hate her, Olivia is responsible for bringing the drama to the show. Is she the next Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl? Only time will tell. Another instigator is Port’s love interest, Jay—an Aussie musician with player tendencies. Viewers can’t help but sounding off on this bad boy, whose drawn comparisons to The Hills’ Justin Bobby.

The City has garnered mixed reviews among viewers. It’s been described as “boring,” and “disinteresting”. Leah Johnson, a fashion merchandising major at CSULB says, “I want The Hills back. I have no connection with the new cast. When is Lauren coming back to town? I don’t think Whitney will hack it in the big City.”

Others have deemed The City “highly entertaining” compared to The Hills. Tiffany Simpson, a fashion student from FIDM in Los Angeles says, “It’s so much better than The Hills. I’m definitely going to tune in this season to see if Whitney makes it in the city or not. I love The City already. It seems more real.” Either way, the show is a departure from the Los Angeles scene and gives girls a glimpse of what it’s like to live in the City. If you’re a fan of The Hills, then you you’ll enjoy the similar format, where cameras take you to the trendiest eateries, hottest nightclubs, and local hotspots. Judge for yourself, and watch The City on MTV, which airs Mondays at 10pm.

diane von furstenberg, gossip girl, lauren conrad, sex and the city, the city, the hills, whitney port