It’s a Jerzday unlike any other, because “Jersey Shore Family Vacation” is celebrating its 200th episode Thursday night on MTV — and that’s not even including the original show’s run!
In honor of the milestone, creator/executive producer SallyAnn Salsano opened up to TheWrap exclusively about the latest vacation with Angelina, Deena, DJ Pauly D, Jenni “JWoww,” Mike “The Situation,” Nicole “Snooki,” Ronnie, Sammi “Sweetheart,” Vinny and the extended family, as well as where the show is going from here.
“We’re in Jamaica, which is great, but it just landed that way. To be honest, the way we make this show is you almost don’t know how many episodes are going to be in a season. The network is so great with how we produce it that it’s just kind of like, if you think you got the goods, give it to us, but don’t just stretch it to fill an order. So sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less. Last season, we did 32 episodes, which is a lot, but when you’re with the cast, stuff just explodes and you just go with it,” Salsano said. “It’s exciting, because they’re all out of the country, and that really hasn’t happened — this is the first time we’ve been able to leave the country because of Mike’s passport issue, if you will, since Italy.”
“They’ve seen so much, they’ve traveled so much, they have access to so much. But they really do stay focused on what they eat and whatever. Everywhere we go, it’s like, if we don’t have an Italian restaurant almost every night, they’re up in arms,” she teased. “Even in Italy, they didn’t understand that, like, fettuccine alfredo and chicken parm wasn’t actually Italian food. So in this situation, when you’re in another culture, it is interesting to see them assimilate.”
Also featured in Thursday night’s episode will be “A Double Shot at Love” star Nikki Hall.
“It’s a big thing for Pauly and Nikki. I think fans always want more of them. We cast Nikki to be on ‘Shot at Love,’ so when we found her, we’re like, these guys are going to love this girl, both of them. We knew she was something special and also something that fits into the type of girl that they date,” Salsano explained. “The meatballs are the meatballs, some interesting stuff goes down with Vinny. Angelina takes a turn. Lauren emerges. So much happens when we’re there, but ultimately, the love story of everyone is really interesting.”
“Looking at this 200th episode, they have the best home videos of all time. Sometimes they wish the tapes would be lost, but most people don’t get that in their life,” the EP added. “You can often say on any show, ‘It wasn’t like that, I was edited that way.’ Well, you only get it on tape if it happened. I’m not an actual magician and this show is not AI — that is who they are. In the end, I think their realness and their mistakes and their triumphs is what makes people relate to them.”
So what’s next for the “Jersey Shore” family now that they’ve been on TV for 15 years?
“The next milestone will be 300, that’s the goal. I feel like 250 is a failure. So 300,” Salsano shared. “Listen, I’d love for them to be grey and moving into a 55-plus community. That’s my dream. That is my actual dream of just them mixing in with real people in that scenario.”
“Also, the personal milestones have not stopped. We have Sammi about to have a baby, we have the wedding coming. Ronnie, Jenni and Zack, Angelina … stories that are about to take a massive turn, huge things that have yet to be announced that are going to shape the whole series. So much stuff coming out,” she continued. “I look at Nicole and Jenni, and it’s my favorite thing right now to watch. They were the cool girls who had everything under control, and now they have basically two pre-teen daughters who are like, ‘Oh, you two don’t know anything.’ We really are having more fun showing the family stuff, because now they’re old enough to understand and interact. I gotta tell you, it makes me laugh every time.”
The 200th episode arrives as “Jersey Shore Family Vacation” is tracking to have its best shares since 2021, according to Nielsen data. The show stands as the No. 1 show on cable on Thursday nights. Share is pacing up +81% when compared to the prior season (5.49 vs. 3.03), and rating is up 14% (0.559 vs. 0.491).
“Jersey Shore Family Vacation” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
