The New 'Surreal Life' Cast Includes Tom Hanks' Son Chet
The Surreal Life ended in 2006 after six seasons, but the intrepid minds at VH1 brought it back for a seventh season in 2022 with Tamar Braxton, Dennis Rodman, Stormy Daniels and more. In September 2023, an eighth season—set to air on MTV—was announced, with production set to begin that same month. "Celebreality" lives!
The Surreal Life is one of the strangest artifacts from VH1’s celebreality era, which featured tons of shows about B-list and below stars living together, dating each other and more. While The Surreal Life actually began on The WB, its move to VH1 for Season 3 made it the cornerstone of the network’s celebreality programming, and it eventually spawned several spinoffs that led to an endless chain of new shows being produced for the network. Think of that section in the Bible where everyone gets “begat”—it was like that, but for reality TV.
Case in point: Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen got a spinoff titled Strange Love after sparking a romance in Season 3 of The Surreal Life. After their relationship fizzled, Flavor Flav landed the dating show Flavor of Love, which in turn led to the spinoffs I Love New York, I Love Money and Rock of Love, which was Flavor of Love but with Poison’s Bret Michaels. And this is before you even get into the Christopher Knight of it all.
So what's next for The Surreal Life? Keep reading for everything to know about Season 8.
What is The Surreal Life about?
The Surreal Life follows a group of celebrities from the worlds of music, movies, reality TV, sports and more as they live together in a Los Angeles mansion formerly owned by the late Glen Campbell. The original series premiered in 2003 on The WB before moving to VH1 for Season 3 and beyond. The show’s original six-season run ended in 2006, but the series was revived for a seventh season that aired in 2022. Celebrities that have appeared on previous seasons include Vanilla Ice, Da Brat, Stormy Daniels and Dennis Rodman.
What is The Surreal Life Season 8 release date?
Season 8 doesn’t yet have a premiere date, but production began in September 2023. The earliest fans can expect to see the new episodes is probably 2024.
Who is in The Surreal Life Season 8 cast?
Macy Gray
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Macy Gray is a singer best known for her 1999 hit “I Try.” Her most recent album, Ruby, debuted in 2018. The Surreal Life isn’t Gray’s first foray into reality TV, as she also appeared on Season 9 of Dancing With the Stars and Season 3 of The Masked Singer Australia.
Chet Hanks
Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET
Chet Hanks is the eldest son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. He’s an actor and musician, having appeared on Empire, Shameless and Atlanta. He’s also sparked plenty of controversy over the years, drawing heat in 2021 for promoting “White Boy Summer” and refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19 after his parents were two of the first celebrities to test positive for the illness in 2020.
Related: Who Are Tom Hanks' Kids?
Ally Brooke
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Ally Brooke is a pop singer who was a member of Fifth Harmony from 2012 to 2018. She has since become a solo artist, with her most recent singles “Gone to Bed” and “High Fashion Drugs (Remix)” debuting in 2023. She too has a reality TV past, as Fifth Harmony was formed after its members competed on Season 2 of The X Factor. In 2019, Brooke competed on Season 29 of Dancing With the Stars.
O.T. Genasis
Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for REVOLT
O.T. Genasis is a rapper best known for the 2017 song “Everybody Mad,” which famously appeared in Beyoncé’s Coachella performance the following year. His most recent mixtape, Coke N Butter, debuted in 2016, but he’s since released a string of other singles and recorded guest features with artists including Future, Lil Wayne and T-Pain.
Kim Zolciak
IMAGO / agefotostock
Kim Zolciak is best known for starring in Seasons 1 through 5 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Her spinoff series, Don’t Be Tardy, aired eight seasons from 2012 to 2020. She’s also a Dancing With the Stars alum, having competed on Season 21 in 2015. She is currently in the midst of a messy divorce from husband Kroy Biermann, whom she wed in 2011.
Related: When Every 'Real Housewives' Show Is Coming Back
Josie Canseco
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Josie Canseco is a model and internet personality. Her dad, former MLB star Jose Canseco, appeared on Season 5 of The Surreal Life in 2005.
Johnny Weir
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Johnny Weir is a former Olympic figure skater who now works as a sports commentator, often with friend and fellow Olympic athlete Tara Lipinski. He previously appeared on Season 2 of The Masked Singer in 2019 and Season 29 of Dancing With the Stars in 2020.
Tyler Posey
IMAGO / Cover-Images
Tyler Posey is an actor best known for playing Scott McCall on MTV’s Teen Wolf, which aired from 2011 to 2017. He reprised the role in the 2023’s Teen Wolf: The Movie. He’s also a musician, recording as a solo artist and with bands Five North, PVMNTS, and Lost in Kostko.
Is there a Surreal Life Season 8 trailer?
Filming for season 8 just started in September 2023, so there’s no trailer yet, but check back here for updates.
How many episodes are in The Surreal Life Season 8?
Previous seasons of The Surreal Life aren’t consistent in their episode count, so it’s possible Season 8 could have anywhere between six and 12 eps. Season 7, the first season since the show was rebooted, only had six episodes, while the original seasons ranged from six to 12 episodes each.
How to watch The Surreal Life Season 8
Season 8 of The Surreal Life will air on MTV. For non-cable subscribers, MTV shows stream via Paramount+, but it’s not yet known whether The Surreal Life will debut simultaneously on streaming or air the next day.
Will The Surreal Life Season 8 stream on Hulu?
Some MTV series are available on Hulu, so it’s possible that The Surreal Life will eventually stream on the platform, but it will likely won’t be available until after the entire season has finished airing.
Will The Surreal Life Season 8 stream on Netflix?
The Surreal Life Season 8 probably won’t be available on Netflix. If it does show up on the platform, it would be well after the season finishes airing on MTV.
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