Kentucky Residents Unhappy About MTV’s New ‘Buckwild’-Esque Reality Show ‘Made In Kentucky’

The folks in Elkhorn City don’t want to get ‘Buckwild,’ apparently…

Five years after MTV’s Buckwild aired its first and only season, the network has revealed it’s returning to Appalachia for its newest reality show, Made in Kentucky. While ‘Buckwild’ fans may be excited for another show about Southern hi-jinks, the residents of the town that ‘Made in Kentucky’ is being shot in are not happy about it!

‘Made In Kentucky’ will follow a new group of young adults hailing from Elkhorn City, a city near the Kentucky/Virginia border, Starcasm has reported.

The townspeople living in Sissonville, West Virginia, were upset when ‘Buckwild’ was announced back in 2012, due to the cast members portraying the area in a negative light. (The locals’ opposition to the reality show even resulted in West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin attempting to prevent ‘Buckwild’ from airing!)

The same thing has happened in Elkhorn City, where townspeople are afraid ‘Made in Kentucky’ will portray them negatively.

Elkhorn City Mayor Mike Taylor voiced some of his concerns during a recent meeting of the Elkhorn City Town Council, where he told Viacom reps that they are “not going to make us look like idiots in Elkhorn City.”

Viacom has reportedly locked in a cast of 10 young adults. The network reps have assured Mayor Taylor and the Town Council that the cast members have all been properly vetted and are all in good standing with the law. Despite that assurance, Mayor Taylor remained uneasy after taking a glance at the cast list. (MTV has yet to publicly release the official ‘Made in Kentucky’ cast list.)

“I could understand, if I looked down this list and I saw 10 kids’ names who are excellent kids,” he said. “These other kids … I won’t even go there.”

Meee-ow!

‘Buckwild’ made its debut in January 2013 and, after a successful first season, was renewed for Season 2 by MTV. However, as fans of the show will recall, Season 2 filming was canceled following the death of cast member Shain Gandee in April 2013 due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. While Shain’s death was by far the most tragic thing to happen to the ‘Buckwild’ cast, a slew of legal incidents have plagued many of the show’s other cast members.

Viacom reps insisted to the city that production of ‘Made In Kentucky’ was happening under strict guidelines put in place by both Viacom and MTV, and that the cast and crew were working closely with safety consultants. A network rep also stated that the cast was carefully selected.

“We can’t even show a fight on our show,” the rep said. “It’s not one of those shows. We are not just casting a bunch of miscreants and people that are out doing outrageous things…These are real kids in the area that are really trying to progress their lives.”

However, Mayor Taylor did not seem to agree with Viacom’s statements.

According to the Appalachian News-Express, the mayor pointed out several incidents that were reportedly filmed for the show—including the show’s production team trying to use a garbage dumpster to create a hot tub–as examples of unacceptable behavior.

The Viacom rep wrote that off to “kids having fun” and insisted they didn’t want to portray the local area in a negative light.

#NeverForget the ‘Buckwild’ dumptruck pool party…

“The idea is not to have a wild, drunken party and constantly doing things like Jersey Shore and all of that,” she said.

Starcasm reported that, following great trepidation expressed during the City Council meeting, a decision on whether or not filming will continue in Elkhorn City was not reached. The discussion will pick up at a second specially called meeting. If all goes as planned, Viacom will reportedly film enough footage to air eight episodes, although MTV has yet to announce a premiere date.

(Photo: MTV)

 

 

12 Comments

  1. MTV needs to stop trying to make cheap copes of their previous series. Floribama Shore, Made in Kentucky, Young and Pregnant? Not as good as the originals. These people already come with expectations and demands because the the predecessor series. Part of the magic in 16&P, Buckwild, and Jersey Shore, was that none of these people knew what to expect, or what they were doing when the series’ started. No novelty in knock-offs.


  2. As a resident of the state of Kentucky, trust me when I say, there are MORE messes out here than I’ve ever encountered. This will make amazing tv


  3. Is that a common thing in the south to turn trucks and other things into pools/hot tubs?? Serious question..


  4. I stopped watching anything on MTV after the homophobic mess with Jenelle and Uncle Stupid Eason. As long as MTV continues to pay for those child abusing animal neglecters to buy drugs and take free trips, I’ll continue to boycott.


  5. Mayor seems like a snob! Wild and crazy kids are in Every town! Who cares about what Town they’re from..I Liked Buckwild especially Shain , and I have no idea what “town” they’re from! Bring on the crazy! 😉


  6. I am a Kentucky resident, I can see why they might be concerned. BUT, I also have to disagree with the mayor looking down his nose at this cast list. That’s nothing but small town politics right there. The kids must be from the wrong side of town/ born into the wrong family name.


    1. Hey Methany, we’re neighbors! I’m from around Lex ? any town in this state has wild kids, this show is about the ones from out in the county and all I expect to see is 4wheelers, rope swings, and bonfires. All things I grew up doing and I wasn’t a ‘bad kid’. The one downside to small town living is the uppity people looking down on others with a last name they don’t like.


    2. I live in Kentucky too! Sadly those kids cannot be worse than the twenty methy people walking by my house every day. And I don’t even live in a bad neighborhood. *No offense Methany haha.


  7. Of course it will be exploitative and tacky. It’s mtv, not the discovery channel or pbs. The town is right to worry.

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