Paris Hilton The Simple Life is the name of a reality television series originally broadcast on Fox in 2003

The Simple Life

The Simple Life
Genre     Reality, comedy
Creator(s)     Bunim/Murray Productions
Starring     Paris Hilton
Nicole Richie
Country of origin     United States
No. of episodes     46 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time     22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel     (2003-2005)
E! (2006-present)
Original run     December 2, 2003 – Present
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Simple Life is the name of a reality television series originally broadcast on Fox in 2003.
Contents

    * 1 Premise
    * 2 Show History
          o 2.1 Beginnings
          o 2.2 Fox Cancellation
          o 2.3 Picked up by E!
          o 2.4 The Fifth Season Complications
    * 3 Seasons
          o 3.1 The First Season
          o 3.2 Road Trip
          o 3.3 Interns
          o 3.4 'Til Death Do Us Part
          o 3.5 Malibu Camp
    * 4 Episodes
    * 5 Remakes, Rip-Offs and Spin-Offs
    * 6 Notes
    * 7 External links

 Premise

Paris Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, and her friend Nicole Richie, adopted daughter of singer Lionel Richie, are thrown into awkward situations they would never have otherwise experienced.

 Show History

 Beginnings

The idea for The Simple Life was generated in Fox's comedy department. Brad Johnson, senior VP of comedy development, said The Simple Life was born out of a challenge from Fox Television Entertainment Group Chairman Sandy Grushow and News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin to find another way to do comedies outside of the traditional sitcom format.

"The areas that seemed simplest and cleanest was to go back to those high-concept '60s sitcoms and say let's do them for real," Mr. Johnson said.

The Simple Life was inspired by Green Acres, a sitcom about a New York society couple who moved to a farm. Mr. Johnson said they originally thought of moving an entire family to the South. Cameras would observe as the former socialites, deprived of access to their bank accounts and Beemers, attempt to get a job, buy groceries and fit in with average Americans.

At the same time the comedy department was developing the idea, Paris Hilton was meeting with the studio's casting department.

Sharon Klein, senior VP of casting at the studio, said she was immediately fascinated by Ms. Hilton and wanted to do a show with her. "I'm used to meeting with actors who are putting on a façade," Ms. Klein said. "She was so real. She was funny. At that first meeting she did not come off stupid. She was in her own reality and not embarrassed to talk about it. There was a sweetness to her."

The two departments talked and realized they had their show: Send Paris Hilton and her sister Nicky, who had never worked a day in their lives, to live and work on a farm.

At the time, the studio was working closely with Mike Darnell, head of reality programming at Fox, who liked the idea. "They wanted to see stilettos in cow shit," Ms. Klein said.[1]

Paris was convinced to come on board, however Nicky, being somewhat shy to the limelight at the time, opted out. Paris told some media that she was in talks to do the show by herself[2], but ultimately, Fox decided the city-living cast had to be a duo.

Paris allegedly asked several close friends onboard, including Bijou Phillips and Kimberly Stewart, and ended up making the agreement with Nicole Richie.

Fox hired established reality producer Bunim/Murray to produce. Bunim/Murray found the Leding family in Altus, Arkansas, for the girls to move in with.

A band known as The Penfifteen Club recorded one of the show's themes, a tribute song called "Miss Hilton". With everything ready to go, production began May 2, 2003.

 Fox Cancellation

Bunim/Murray originally had plans to send the girls on a trip to Mexico in its fourth season, but plans were quickly put on hold, and rearranged. In an interview with USA Today, Paris confirmed the longstanding rumor that Nicole and herself were no longer friends by that time, and that Nicole would not be part of the fourth season. Plans at this point were now to shoot on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Instead, said Paris, the new co-star would be Paris's friend Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, and someone Paris had wanted on the show to begin with. Kimberly said that producers would attempt to mollify Nicole by giving her a new reality show of her own, a Newlyweds-styled effort focused on her then-upcoming wedding to Adam Goldstein, known professionally as DJ AM. [3]

Fox was quick to debunk what Paris and Kimberly had said. Fox Network head Peter Ligouri told the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles that Paris and Nicole were actually both contracted for another two seasons. Kimberly was not going to be involved at all, and Paris and Nicole are, in his words "TV professionals, who will be ready to work together when the time comes"[4]

Fox then unexpectedly cancelled its plans for any further seasons of the The Simple Life in October 2005, both because it had filled its midseason show quota, and because Paris and Nicole had the falling out as friends.

 Picked up by E!

After it was dropped by Fox, other networks, such as NBC, The WB, VH1 and MTV were all reported to be interested in obtaining the rights to air new seasons of the show.[5] On November 28, 2005, E! announced that they had picked up The Simple Life and had ordered production go ahead on the fourth season, along with the rights to re-air first three seasons. Shooting for the new season finally began February 27, 2006.[6]

 The Fifth Season Complications

Despite the fact that the stars of the show had sorted out their differences and agreed to shoot the season together, the fifth season has had many complications during production:

    * It was originally set to begin production in November 2006 and air in March 2007 but was put on temporary hold, as Nicole had to enter a health care facility for her ongoing weight issues.

    In a joint statement, 20th Century Fox and Bunim/Murray said: "Everyone supports Nicole and wishes her well. We consider her a part of our family and look forward to resuming production on The Simple Life when she is ready."

    Meanwhile, E! added: "Nicole is an important member of the E! Networks family. We send her our very best wishes and look forward to working with her on the new season of The Simple Life." [7]

    * Production resumed as of March 2, 2007, however more complications arose. Both Paris and Nicole face major charges for DUI, and are at risk of serving jailtime. This could heavily impact the show's future.[8] [9]

    * During some early shooting days, Nicole complained of illness. After she was examined by the on-set doctor she was taken to a nearby hospital where she received intravenous fluids for 15 minutes before being released. This incident set production behind schedule. [10]

    * Courtney Love described Paris's birthday party on her website as having a "big pile of white powder" in the bathroom. The description of the bash, which took place on the eve of the Oscars, might cost Paris and Nicole the new season.

    The head of the Foundation for Jewish Camping is now skeptical about Paris and Nicole's stint as camp counselors. "Counselors are trained, recruited, and tested," said Jerry Silverman. "We take [it] very seriously." [11]

 Seasons

 The First Season
Season 1 DVD Cover, a parody of American Gothic
Season 1 DVD Cover, a parody of American Gothic

In the first season, Paris and Nicole agreed to leave behind their cellphones, credit cards and celebrity status to move in with the Leding family in Altus, Arkansas for a month.

What was supposed to be an experiment in learning how to adapt to doing chores and getting their hands dirty turned out to be a failure. In the process they would ruin a dairy farmer's milk supply, wreak havoc at a local Sonic Drive-In and take advantage of an employer's credit card, ultimately getting fired from every job they took up. This was greatly upsetting to the Leding family. Despite all of this, the two would often get a reality check from the family themselves. Whether the girls took it to heart remains to be seen.

The show started airing on Fox December 2, 2003, to surprisingly well received ratings. The premiere episode drew 13 million viewers, increasing Fox's Adults 18-49 rating a phenomenal 79%.[12] The second episode drew 13.3 million viewers, an increase of 200,000 viewers over its premiere.[13] During the airing of the series, Fox added two extra episodes and a reunion special, which continued to draw ratings. With results like this, it was only natural that Fox would order a second season.

The DVD of this season was released in U.S.A on January 20, 2004. Some international releases included the bonus episode and the reunion episode.


 Road Trip
Season 2 DVD Cover, a parody of the original Easy Rider movie poster
Season 2 DVD Cover, a parody of the original Easy Rider movie poster

A second season, subtitled Road Trip, began broadcasting in the summer of 2004. In this season, Paris and Nicole traveled across the United States in a pink pickup truck (driven by Paris), pulling an airstream trailer. They participated in such activities as catching crawfish, working as maids in a nudist resort, and sausage-making.

The premiere episode (drawing 9.8 million overall viewers[14]) showcased Hilton's horseback-riding accident, which made headlines when they were still filming.

The ratings continued to climb during the season, and Fox was quick to announce heading into production on Season 3, not before airing a special episode titled The Simple Life - The Stuff We Weren't Allowed To Show You on November 17, 2004. The special showcased several cut scenes from the season (some of which appear on the Season 2 DVD) as well as preview clips for the third season.

The DVD of this season was released in U.S.A on November 2, 2004. A CD-soundtrack for this season was also released. [15]

 Interns
Season 3 DVD Cover
Season 3 DVD Cover

The third season, began shooting October 27, 2004. The first episode premiered January 26, 2005.

The third season, subtitled Interns, would see Paris and Nicole take various internships with companies along the East Coast of the United States. The girls traveled around the northeast United States via the Greyhound Bus company's publicly available bus routes. But unlike season 2, this time around the girls did not have a swanky home on wheels and instead were travelling around the northeast in a regular Greyhound bus that was also ferrying normal members of the public that are travelling to the same destination.

The season featured one memorable encounter with twin baby orangutans from Parrot Jungle Island in Miami, Florida. Nicole Richie's fiance DJ Adam Goldstein also appeared in this season when he surprised Nicole and took her on a date. In this season, there were episodes where they were given little or no money while interning, or their internships were shortened because instead of being professional, they would goof off or fail to do the work properly.

An episode set in a funeral home drew minor controversy among viewers. The girls struggled with unloading a casket from a hearse, then spilling cremated ashes on the floor and using a vacuum to clean it up. The show's producers claimed the casket was empty and the "human ashes" was just a stage prop. [16]

In the last episode of the season, there was no party shown with friends or family. Instead, they were hounded by paparazzi, one of the final times the two were seen together on good terms for quite some time.

The DVD of this season was released in U.S.A on March 14, 2006.

 'Til Death Do Us Part
Season 4 DVD Cover
Season 4 DVD Cover

The fourth season premiered on June 4, 2006, drawing 1.3 million viewers. While those ratings would have been dismal for Fox, it was actually more than four times E!'s prime-time average. And in key adult demographic groups, ratings more than tripled from the network's average. [17]

The season features Paris and Nicole playing "Wife" to a different family every episode, in a similar manner to Wife Swap. The girls alternate between the family each episode, with the family then deciding which of them was better in the role.

This season was also unique, as Paris and Nicole did not leave L.A. The families they stayed with were L.A area residents, and the episodes often focused on Paris and Nicole's personal lives and careers as well as the challenge of being a wife and mother. This season also featured guest appearances from the girls' well-known friends, family and associates. Since the season was set in their hometowns, the girls had cell phone and credit card usage, previously denied to them in earlier seasons.

The season finale ended with Paris confronting Nicole, stating "We have to talk", and Nicole anwering "Then talk...", followed by a screen that read "To be continued...next season!". Many viewers were shocked and angry over this cliffhanger ending.

On Thursday, July 27, 2006, several E! series were added to the iTunes Music Store. Among these series was The Simple Life Seasons 1 and 4.

The DVD of this season was released on December 26, 2006. [18]
Promotional Image.
Promotional Image.

 Malibu Camp

It was announced on August 9, 2006 that Paris and Nicole had rekindled their friendship and had agreed to shoot the fifth season of The Simple Life together.

In an interview with Australian Cosmopolitan magazine in January, 2007, Paris confirmed The Simple Life will resume shooting in March, 2007, in Malibu, California. The tentative title for the season being Malibu: Camp Simple Life, she explained how she and Nicole will be counsellors for multiple camps, including, but not restricted to, a beauty pageant camp, a fat camp and a couples camp. [1]

 Episodes

    Main article: List of The Simple Life episodes



 Remakes, Rip-Offs and Spin-Offs
Quebec remake "La Vie Rurale" Promotional Image, with Jacynthe (left) and Anne-Marie Losique (right)
Quebec remake "La Vie Rurale" Promotional Image, with Jacynthe (left) and Anne-Marie Losique (right)

Paris and Nicole's rural misadventures on The Simple Life have proved so popular with viewers that Fox World has produced international versions for overseas television. While Paris's international counterparts aren't hotel heiresses, they are relatively rich and well-known in their home countries, and the plots of the remakes tend to be the same. So far, at least seven official remakes have been produced:

La Vie Rurale for the Quebec market with Anne-Marie Losique as producer and star. Lihtne Elu for the Estonian market. Ciao Bella! for the Belgian market. La Ferme Célébrités for the French market. Cambio de Vida for the Uruguayan market. Jednostavan život for the Serbian market.

In 2006, E4 ran the first British remake show featuring Big Brother evictee Nikki Grahame called Princess Nikki. In a similar fashion to The Simple Life she is 'employed' in different jobs (including fish gutter and farmer) to see that she can last one day without being fired for her now infamous tantrums.

Channel 4 are also planning another British remake that will star young, rich English socialites, who are not currently famous or well known yet. Casting began August 2006. [19]

In December 2006, Rede Record announced a Brazilian version of The Simple Life to star local celebrities Karina Bacchi, a Playboy magazine model, and Ticiane Pine, wife of Robert Justus. [20]

Some other international markets, such as Japan, chose to subtitle or dub the original rather than produce a remake. [21]

The Simple Life has also been emulated by other less-official remakes. A good example of another reality series being E!'s Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive, which shared various unquestionable similarities with The Simple Life. It has also been said that The Simple Life has inspired other works such as Cow Belles and Material Girls; movies with a very similar premise. [22] [23]

Paris has released her own reality show. Titled This Is Paris, it focused more around her personal life, and the recording of her debut album, very much in the vein of In Bed With Madonna. It aired on MTV on August 8, 2006 and on VH1 on August 9, 2006.

The rumours of Nicole set to have her own show about her romance and wedding planning with DJ AM were put to rest by Nicole herself, when she said she would never do a reality show about her personal life. [24]
"I Want to Be a Hilton" Promotional Image
"I Want to Be a Hilton" Promotional Image

Since plans for Kimberly Stewart to appear in The Simple Life fell through, she has been working on her own reality series. The series' pilot, titled Win Your Life Back features Kimberly taking favourite personal belongings off two teams of young female contestants, and putting them through challenges to win their belongings back. Whichever team wins back the most belongings would win a $100,000 shopping spree. The pilot has been presented to MTV, but it is not yet known if it has been picked up.

In 2005, NBC produced a reality series titled I Want To Be a Hilton. I Want To Be a Hilton took the idea of The Simple Life, and reversed it. Hosted by Kathy Hilton, Paris's mom, the show saw several contestants from rural country and suburban areas having to perform certain tasks, ranging from dog grooming, a fashion show and organizing a charity event, while learning etiquette and manners. The finalist of the competition received a prize package that included a $200,000 trust fund, a new apartment, wardrobe and the opportunity to live the life of high society for one year. Paris and Nicky guest starred in an episode, and Paris's dog Tinkerbell (who appeared in The Simple Life) also took part.