TRL reboot nixes video countdown — plus 3 more changes
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Stars and screaming teenagers are descending upon Times Square, and nope, it’s not 1998. For its Generation Z revamp of TRL — off the air since 2008, save for a couple specials — MTV is remixing the original formula that made the program a pop-star stomping ground. “We’re obviously honoring the legacy, but we’re bringing it into 2017,” Tamara Dhia, one of five new cohosts, tells EW. What does that mean? Read on for a preview of Monday’s premiere.
1. No Carson Daly
After graduating from MTV in 2003, your baby-faced big brother became a grown-ass man at NBC. Clearly this guy is too busy with The Voice and TODAY to take on another job. Besides, MTV appears focused on improving lackluster ratings by reaching a new generation with a fresh crop of faces boasting strong social media followings.
2. A whole new generation of hosts
Taking Daly’s torch is DC Young Fly, a 25-year-old rapper and internet personality who appeared on MTV’s Wild ‘N Out. He gets support from what MTV is calling the “TRL squad,” comprised of Dhia, Amy Pham, Erik Zachary, and Lawrence Jackson, plus content creators Liza Koshy and The Dolan Twins. “Honestly, if we’re keeping it all very honest, it’s still very surreal,” says Dhia, 24, an Iraqi-born actress and writer who got the gig after working as an editorial producer and news anchor at Complex. “I don’t know if it’s quite hit me yet.” She recalls fond childhood memories of the show’s heyday, when superstars like Mariah Carey would wave to crowds below the studio’s massive glass windows. “To be part of that now and to help represent the kids’ culture for 2017, I’m honored,” she says. “It’s such a dream.”
4. A bigger studio
It wouldn’t be TRL without that New York City backdrop, so MTV carved out an 8,000 square foot studio in Times Square. Three times larger than the original studio, there’s plenty of room for live performances and audience participation. And the show already has an impressive list of guests to make use of the space: Ed Sheeran will christen the studio on Monday, becoming the first singer to grace the new stage. The show’s launch week also includes appearances by DJ Khaled, Migos, Noah Cyrus, Playboi Carti, PRETTYMUCH, Demi Lovato, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Why Don’t We, Romeo Santos, and Travis Scott. That list presents several opportunities for TRL to grab headlines, especially after last week’s news that Scott is expecting a baby with Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Kylie Jenner.
MTV is betting the live-TV magic moves kids to come back, baby, one more time. The experiment kicks off Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
