The original cast of “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” reunited on Thursday night for the premiere of Roku’s “The Reunion: Laguna Beach.”
During the Q&A portion of the evening, series creator Liz Gateley opened up about making the groundbreaking docuseries back in 2004, revealing which other classic MTV show inspired her — just one month into working at the network.
“We were encouraged to create our own ideas and I had grown up in a similar place to Laguna Beach, in Palos Verdes, California,” she recalled. “I had this moment where I was watching an episode of ‘Made,’ this hallway moment between the drama geek who wanted to be a cheerleader and the popular girls, and they sort of talked behind her back as she walked away. That was what high school was like to me.”
“It was very clear when we found Stephen and Lauren and Kristin that something was going on between them. Stephen and Kristin had just broken up, there was a tussle at a dance between Kristin and Lauren — that some don’t remember, but Lauren does,” Gateley continued. “We were like, ‘This seems like the right cast.’”
Indeed, stars Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari, Stephen Colletti, Talan Torriero, Trey Phillips, Christina Schuller, Dieter Schmitz, Jessica Smith Evans, Morgan Olsen and Alex Hooser all took part in the panel, hosted by Roku Media’s Head of Originals Brian Tannenbaum (with comedian Casey Wilson hosting the taped reunion special itself).
The Santa Monica event also included a beachside red carpet, a sunset reception on the roof of Shutters on the Beach and an afterparty complete with spilled secrets and, of course, 2000s Laguna Surf & Sport trucker hats.
So where does Kristin and Lauren’s relationship stand today, 20 years later?
“We actually have a lot more in common than I think I thought. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Lauren at this stage in life. So much has happened, we’re moms, we are businesswomen, there’s just a lot in common. She came on my podcast, too, and that was an hour of us just having girl chat. I really walked away from that in particular being like, I got to know Lauren and I enjoyed our time together,” Cavallari explained, while LC agreed: “This has been really fun.”
The original “Laguna Beach” ran for just three seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2006. However, it then launched directly into “The Hills” for six more seasons through 2010, in addition to a plethora of other spinoffs (and copies).
“The Reunion: Laguna Beach” airs April 10 on The Roku Channel.
