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TV This Week

For ‘Jersey Shore,’ the party wraps up

As the final season of the MTV hit begins, a new reality sets in

By Louisa Ada Seltzer

October 4, 2012

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This is the final season for “Jersey Shore,” the megahit that revived MTV’s fortunes and introduced a slew of new slang words into the American vocabulary.

But tonight also marks the beginning of a new, albeit short-lived, era for the show, which airs its sixth-season premiere at 10 p.m.

Though “Shore” continues to follow largely the same group of self-proclaimed guidos and guidettes who sparked so much controversy when the show debuted, there are some new themes at play.

For its first five seasons, “Shore” was about blithe, carefree twentysomethings partying and hooking up.

This season we see the consequences of that behavior, and it’s an eye-opener. It ranges from the joyful, with Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi readying to give birth to her first child, to the sobering, with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino entering his first “Shore” season after going to rehab for alcohol and drug addiction.

Snooki and The Situation won’t be partying anymore, but they will still be on screen, trying to get a handle on their new identities. For a show that previously was best known for bringing the acronym GTL to national prominence (gym, tanning, laundry, for those who may have missed it), this is deep stuff.

And apparently not the kind of stuff that the MTV audience wants. The network announced earlier this year that the sixth season of “Shore” will be its last following several seasons of declining ratings.

Still, “Shore” remains a ratings powerhouse. Last season’s premiere drew 7.6 million viewers, and the program still holds the record for most-watched series on MTV.

Now the question is what comes next for MTV, which has seen lukewarm results for two “Shore” spinoffs. The network has been pushing harder into scripted programming with “Awkward” and “Teen Wolf,” but their audiences are a fraction of “Shore’s.”

A look at this week's top TV draws
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	"30 Rock" (C)	Season premiere. The "TGS" crew isn't very impressed with Jack's fall schedule.
8 p.m.	CW	"The Next" (R)	Season finale. The final five contestants compete for a record deal.
9 p.m.	A&E	"The First 48" (R)	The murder investigation series in a new timeslot.
9 p.m.	History	"Nor'easter Men" (R)	Series premiere. Reality series following New England fisherman.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	"Project Runway" (R)	Actress Zoe Saldana is the guest judge for an avant-garde challenge.
10 p.m.	MTV	"Jersey Shore" (R)	Season premiere. The crew returns to Seaside Heights for the show's sixth and final season.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	TeenNick	"Hollywood Heights" (D)	Season finale. The novela-like drama ends its first season.
8 p.m.	Animal Planet	"Monsters Inside Me" (R)	Season premiere. Episode is titled "My Child Will Only Eat Cat Food." Eww.
8 p.m.	FX	"UFC Fighting" (S)	Main event is a heavyweight bout between Travis Browne and Antonio Silva.
8:30 p.m.	Disney Channel	"Jessie" (C)	Season premiere. Jessie tries to get a short story she wrote in the hands of a magazine editor.
9 p.m.	NBC	"Grimm" (D)	Angelina returns and tells Monroe he's in danger.
10 p.m.	CBS	"Blue Bloods" (D)	Danny and Jackie look into a possible domestic abuse situation.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6
Time	Network	Program	Description
3:30 p.m.	CBS	"College Football" (S)	Good SEC matchup between LSU and Florida.
5:30 p.m.	Univision	"Soccer" (S)	América and Chivas, two of Mexico's most popular clubs, square off.
7 p.m.	ESPN	"College Football" (S)	Another good SEC battle, this between Georgia and South Carolina.
7 p.m.	Fox	"College Football" (S)	West Virginia takes on Texas in a game between undefeated teams.
9 p.m.	BBC America	"Bedlam" (D)	Season premiere. A woman who can see ghosts searches for Jed.
10 p.m.	A&E	"Billy the Exterminator" (R)	Season premiere. Ricky and Billy deal with dangerous vipers.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ABC	"America's Funniest Home Videos" (C)	Season premiere. This might make you feel old–the show kicks off its 23rd season. Bring back Saget!
7:30 p.m.	Fox	"The Cleveland Show" (C)	Season premiere. Cleveland attends a local high school rivalry football game.
8:20 p.m.	NBC	"Sunday Night Football" (S)	The Chargers travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints.
8:30 p.m.	Disney Channel	"Austin & Ally" (C)	Season premiere. Austin is asked to perform with a famous artist at a Halloween party.
9 p.m.	AMC	"Hell on Wheels" (D)	Season finale. The season ends with a two-hour episode.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	"Steel Magnolias" (M)	A new version of the movie starring Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad and Alfre Woodard.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.