I spotted Roku’s announcement about the Laguna Beach reunion on Instagram within seconds. It’s such a relief to see how the TV special lives up to the hype! Laguna Beach aired on MTV when DVD box sets were still popular and I love how Roku City celebrates MTV’s cultural impact with a billboard.
Let’s go back to the beginning… After a very brief intro, they jumped into an updated version of the opening credits with Hilary Duff’s theme song. This immediately set the stage for the stars to join the panel conversation. As the stars entered the studio, I waited to see if Lauren Conrad would hug Kristin Cavallari after hugging 2 co-stars first and she did. It was quickly off to a good start with smooth pacing throughout.
Stephen Colletti filmed the reunion the day after he returned home from his honeymoon in Paris with zero signs of jet lag. The One Tree Hill star was charming as ever! A consummate professional, he said his fantasy of becoming the next Carson Daly motivated him to join MTV’s reality show. I liked hearing about his dream to be a host because I auditioned to be a MuchMusic VJ.
The reunion’s host Casey Wilson asked simple questions that effectively set up the cast to share confessions the high school friends didn’t know about each other. They revealed secrets about their dating history within the circle live on camera with real-time candid reactions.
Dieter Schmitz’s comment about how their relationship dynamics played out as they became famous really stood out. After revealing Dieter dated Jessica Smith, he said, “We did appearances together, which was a horrible idea for exes to travel together. Wouldn’t recommend it. We would sit on opposite ends of the plane, not talk in the car. Then we would go on stage…” and act like friends. It’s also interesting how Laguna Beach downplayed Dieter’s friendship with Lauren Conrad!
The panel created a structured environment for the cast’s conversation, but watching them reconnect in laidback environments was more entertaining. This included a skater shop, grocery store and of course, the beach. It enabled the cast to swap suits and dresses for casual clothes, which ultimately put them at ease. Those casual conversations truly reflected how you’d behave catching up with friends who moved away.
Similar to how the Kardashians bonded over inviting camera crews to their house, the cast bonded over camera crews disrupting high school. They’re lucky they can lean on each other 20 years later and laugh about the drama.
With so much to unpack, Laguna Beach introduced me to Dan Levy and Jessi Cruickshank on MTV’s The After Show. Dan Levy told Jake Shane he was shocked he wasn’t asked to host the reunion!
I’m surprised that the reunion didn’t mention Lauren Conrad’s MTV spinoff The Hills. Meeting Kelly Cutrone from The Hills inspired me to launch my website in 2010 and I’ll take any excuse to talk about my blog’s origin story!
Dare I say the Laguna Beach reunion was better than the Friends reunion. The multimillion dollar paycheques given to the Friends cast overshadowed their ultraglamorous reunion, which was a letdown. Likewise, Disney’s recent Hannah Montana reunion with Miley Cyrus and Alex Cooper was also disappointing.
The Reunion: Laguna Beach is available to watch on The Roku Channel. Roku also released Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas based on favourite series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist with Jane Levy, Mary Steenburgen and Lauren Graham, so who knows what’s next!
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Follow me on Instagram & YouTube to see what’s hot in Hollywood, including my latest interviews and reviews!