Los Angeles: MTV has green-lighted a slate of scripted and reality series and has renewed three freshman shows.The network said Tuesday that it has ordered the new series "Downtown Girls," "Megadrive," the Ashton Kutcher-produced "American Idiots," the scripted comedy "Hard Times" and an untitled comedy/variety project starring Rob Hoffman.
On the renewal front, the freshmen "She Really Going Out With Him?" -- inspired by the site Hot Chicks With Douchebags -- and "Silent Library," based on a Japanese game show, have each been picked up for 20 episodes. "Teen Cribs," an offshoot of the network`s venerable series "MTV Cribs," has been picked up for 40 episodes.
"Hard Times," which has received a 12-episode order, marks the first single-camera comedy series for MTV and the first scripted series order under the current revamping of the MTV brand.
"We`re really serious about giving our viewers new and diversified MTV," president of programing Tony DiSanto said. He called "Hard Times" "`Superbad` for MTV" and "the right one to relaunch scripted programing for the channel."
"Hard Times," which hails from director David Katzenberg and writer Seth Grahame-Smith, stars Paul Iacono as a late-blooming loser struggling to navigate the minefield of being 15.
The untitled Rob Hoffman show, described as "In Living Color" for the digital age, features multihyphenate Hoffman ("Step Up 2: The Streets") tackling reality, comedy, sketch and variety.
"American Idiots," described as an extreme reality series, features a cast of "idiots" who re-enact popular viral videos for cash prizes.
"Downtown Girls" is a reality sitcom chronicling the real-life exploits of five twentysomethings in New York.
"Megadrive" is a reality comedy that follows thrill-seeking host Johnny Pemberton across the country as he tries to master the most extreme rides on land, sea and air.
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