TORONTO – If you know who Nicole Polizzi, Paul Del Vecchio and Michael Paul Sorrentino are, then it’s time to whip out your “Palestra, Tintarella e Lavanderia” shirts – better known as GTL gear. For those of you who’ve repressed all memory of the above, here’s a refresher. MTV stormed the reality tv world in 2009 with their unabashed “Guido” gang who took over Seaside Heights, a popular beach resort in New Jersey. Titled Jersey Shore, the show followed a group of singles, mostly Italian Americans, as they strutted about dripping with hair gel and skin tight wardrobes while uttering phrases only their brains could comprehend.
And now, much like how American Scientists have brought the dire wolf back to life, Paramount Plus has decided to de-evolve its programming with the “de-extinction” of Jersey Shore – but for Canadian audiences. The casting call for the first-ever Canadian version of MTV’s Jersey Shore is now open, with filming set for this summer. Canada’s Insight Productions will produce the show’s 18th spinoff of the franchise. Other spinoffs include Australia’s Aussie Shore and France’s Frenchie Shore.
The good news for Italian Canadians is that Paramount Plus is looking for 10 “fresh-faced, unapologetically wild Canadian singletons” to star in the show. Which [hopefully] means other ethnic groups get a turn at having their worst stereotypes exploited for entertainment. In the interest of DEI, of course. If all’s fair in tv land and entertainment, then let’s have a blast and invite everyone to the roast. Put on your thick skin and get ready for some low-level cultural pigeonholing.
It’s not a bad tagline for the show, considering MTV’s original description was, “the hottest, tannest, craziest guidos keep their hair high, their muscles juiced and their fists pumping all summer long!”. The spinoff’s Showrunner Erin Brock however, has toned things down for the Canadian iteration, whose cast he says will be “feisty, loud, dramatic and unapologetic as anyone else”.
I’ll take that to mean that Paramount has had to rethink MTV’s “unapologetic” use of offensive slurs to sell a show in 2025. And while “Guido” doesn’t quite sting like “wop” or “dago”, the term was coined sometime in the late 70s to describe Italians as greasy, pimpy, open-shirted sleazeballs. Nonetheless, the Italian community took it on the chin, despite the outcry being largely ignored by MTV. And despite being frequently portrayed as mobsters, philanderers and dimwits by Hollywood’s writers, one thing remains true – that Italians persevere.
To apply for casting visit https://canadashore.castingcrane.com/
(Casting call poster courtesy of @straightouttathe6ixt Instagram)
Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix
