Show history
Beginnings
The idea for The Simple Life was generated in Fox's comedy department. Brad Johnson, Senior Vice President of comedy development, said The Simple Life was born out of a challenge from Fox Television Entertainment Group Chairman Sandy Grushow and News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin to find another way to do comedies outside of the traditional sitcom format.
"The areas that seemed simplest and cleanest was to go back to those high-concept '60s sitcoms and say let's do them for real," Mr. Johnson said. The Simple Life was inspired by Green Acres, a sitcom about a New York society couple who moved to a farm. Mr. Johnson said they originally thought of moving an entire family to the South. Cameras would observe as the former socialites, deprived of access to their bank accounts and Beemers, attempt to get a job, buy groceries and fit in with average Americans.
At the same time the comedy department was developing the idea, Paris Hilton was meeting with the studio's casting department. Sharon Klein, senior VP of casting at the studio, said she was immediately fascinated by Ms. Hilton and wanted to do a show with her. "I'm used to meeting with actors who are putting on a facade," Ms. Klein said. "She was so real. She was funny. At that first meeting she did not come off stupid. She was in her own reality and not embarrassed to talk about it. There was a sweetness to her."
The two departments talked and realized they had their show: Send Paris Hilton and her sister Nicky, who had never worked a day in their lives, to live and work on a farm. At the time, the studio was working closely with Mike Darnell, head of reality programming at Fox, who liked the idea. "They wanted to see stilettos in cow shit," Ms. Klein said. Paris was convinced to come on board, however Nicky, being somewhat shy to the limelight at the time, opted out. Paris told some media that she was in talks to do the show by herself, but ultimately, Fox decided the city-living cast had to be a duo.
Paris allegedly asked several close friends on board, including Kimberly Stewart and the late Band Aid heiress Casey Johnson. After Johnson declined, Hilton ended up making the agreement with Nicole Richie. Fox hired established reality producer Bunim/Murray to produce the show. Bunim/Murray found the Leding family in Altus, Arkansas, for Paris and Nicole to move in with. Production began May 2, 2003.
Fox cancellation
Bunim/Murray originally had plans to send the cast on a trip to Mexico in its fourth season, but plans were quickly put on hold, and rearranged. In an interview with USA Today, Paris confirmed the longstanding rumor that Nicole and she were no longer friends by that time, and that Nicole would not be part of the fourth season. Plans at this point were now to shoot on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Instead, said Paris, the new co-star would be Paris' friend Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, and someone Paris had wanted on the show to begin with. Kimberly said that producers would attempt to mollify Nicole by giving her a new reality show of her own, a Newlyweds-styled effort focused on her then-upcoming wedding to Adam Goldstein, known professionally as DJ AM.
Fox was quick to debunk what Paris and Kimberly had said. Fox Network head Peter Ligouri told the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles that Paris and Nicole were actually both contracted for another two seasons. Kimberly was not going to be involved at all, and Paris and Nicole are, in his words "TV professionals, who will be ready to work together when the time comes."
Fox then unexpectedly canceled its plans for any further seasons of The Simple Life in October 2005, both because it had filled its mid season show quota, and because Paris and Nicole had the falling out as friends.
Picked up by E!
After it was dropped by Fox, other networks, such as NBC, The WB, VH1 and MTV were all reported to be interested in obtaining the rights to air new seasons of the show. On November 28, 2005, E! announced that they had picked up The Simple Life and had ordered production go ahead on the fourth season, along with the rights to re-air the first three seasons. Shooting for the new season finally began February 27, 2006.
The fifth season complications
Despite the fact that the stars of the show had sorted out their differences and agreed to shoot the season together, the fifth season had many complications during production. It was originally set to begin production in November 2006 and air in March 2007 but was put on temporary hold, as Nicole had to enter a health care facility for her ongoing weight issues."
Production resumed as of March 2, 2007, however more complications arose. Both Paris and Nicole faced major charges for DUI, and were at risk of serving jail time. Paris was sentenced to 23 days in jail, though this was after production of the season had finished. Nicole accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to 4 days in jail, again after production had wrapped.
During some early shooting days, Nicole complained of illness. After she was examined by the on-set doctor she was taken to a nearby hospital where she received intravenous fluids for 15 minutes before being released. This incident set production behind schedule.
Courtney Love described Paris's birthday party on her website as having a "big pile of white powder" in the bathroom. It was thought the description of the incident, which took place on the eve of the Oscars, might have cost Paris and Nicole the new season. Despite all the problems, the shooting of the season finished in time and the season actually premiered earlier than otherwise expected.
Final cancellation by E! and attempted continuation
Nicole confirmed on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles that she and Paris signed a contract for a sixth and seventh season of the show. In an interview on Larry King Live, Paris confirmed that she and Nicole would start shooting Season 6 by the end of 2007. "In a couple of months" in her own words. Despite the initial hopes for continuation, E! announced they had canceled the show on July 30, 2007, mainly due to personal problems overshadowing the show. E! networks final statement: "The Simple Life has been a wonderful addition to the E! Schedule for two years and we will always be grateful to Paris and Nicole for their hard work and graciousness." Paris herself made a statement at the premiere of Rush Hour 3 saying "It's been a great five years and we had so much fun, but I'm happy to end it at that." suggesting she has opted out of any continuation of the series.
Kelly and Kimberly begin shooting a spin-off to The Simple Life that is not picked up
Series producer Twentieth Century Fox held out hope another network would pick it up for another go-round. It was reported a new incarnation may not feature Paris and Nicole. Other networks were said to be interested, including MTV as a strong possibility. A new incarnation nearly occurred, in a newly-developed spin-off that, following negotiations, was set to air on E!, featuring Kelly Osbourne and Kimberly Stewart in Paris and Nicole's shoes. The show was not picked up, however, after Kelly opted out of the project after a few days shooting, branding it "demeaning and juvenile". Distribution rights to The Simple Life are still held by 20th Century Fox, who may submit the series for syndication in the USA in future. In Australia, it is already syndicated; with various seasons now airing on Arena TV (on Foxtel & Austar).
Seasons
The First Season
In the first season, Paris and Nicole agreed to leave behind their cellphones, credit cards and celebrity status to move in with the Leding family in Altus, Arkansas for a month.
What was supposed to be an experiment in learning how to adapt to doing chores and getting their hands dirty turned out to be a failure. In the process they would ruin a dairy farmer's milk supply, wreak havoc at a local Sonic Drive-In and take advantage of an employer's credit card, ultimately getting fired from every job they took up. This was greatly upsetting to the Leding family. Despite all of this, the two would often get a reality check from the family themselves. Whether Paris and Nicole took it to heart remains to be seen.
The show started airing on Fox December 2, 2003, to surprisingly well received ratings. The premiere episode drew 13 million viewers, increasing Fox's Adults 18-49 rating a phenomenal 79%. The second episode drew 13.3 million viewers, an increase of 300,000 viewers over its premiere.During the airing of the series, Fox added two extra episodes and a reunion special, which continued to draw ratings. The DVD of this season was released in U.S. on January 20, 2004. Some international releases included the bonus episode and the reunion episode.
Road Trip
A second season, subtitled Road Trip, began broadcasting in the summer of 2004. In this season, Paris and Nicole traveled across the United States in a pink pickup truck (driven by Paris), pulling an Airstream trailer. They participated in such activities as catching crayfish, working as maids in a nudist resort, and sausage-making.
The premiere episode (drawing 9.8 million overall viewers) showcased Hilton's horseback-riding accident, which made headlines when they were still filming.
The ratings continued to climb during the season, and Fox was quick to announce heading into production on Season 3, not before airing a special episode titled The Simple Life - The Stuff We Weren't Allowed To Show You on November 17, 2004. The special showcased several cut scenes from the season (some of which appear on the Season 2 DVD) as well as preview clips for the third season. The DVD of this season was released in U.S. on November 2, 2004. A CD-soundtrack for this season was also released.
Interns
The third season began shooting October 27, 2004. The first episode premiered January 26, 2005. The third season, subtitled Interns, would see Paris and Nicole take various internships with companies along the East Coast of the United States. Paris and Nicole traveled around the northeast United States via the Greyhound Bus company's publicly available bus routes. But unlike season 2, this time around Paris and Nicole did not have a swanky home on wheels and instead were travelling around the northeast in a regular Greyhound bus that was also ferrying normal members of the public that are travelling to the same destination.
The season featured one memorable encounter with twin baby orangutans from Parrot Jungle Island in Miami, Florida. Nicole Richie's former fiance DJ Adam Goldstein also appeared in this season when he surprised Nicole and took her on a date. In this season, there were episodes where they were given little or no money while interning, or their internships were shortened because instead of being professional, they would goof off or fail to do the work properly.
The episode Mortuary was set in a funeral home. It drew minor controversy among viewers because Paris and Nicole struggled with unloading a casket from a hearse, then spilling cremated ashes on the floor and using a vacuum to clean it up. The show's producers claimed the casket was empty and the "human ashes" was just a stage prop made of cement and cat litter. In the last episode of the season, there was no party shown with friends or family. Instead, they were hounded by paparazzi, one of the final times the two were seen together on good terms for quite some time. The DVD of this season was released in U.S. on March 19, 2006.
'Til Death Do Us Part
The fourth season premiered on June 4, 2006, drawing 1.3 million viewers. While those ratings would have been dismal for Fox, it was actually more than four times E!’s prime-time average. And in key adult demographic groups, ratings more than tripled from the network’s average. The season features Paris and Nicole playing "Wife" to a different family every episode, in a similar manner to Wife Swap. Paris and Nicole alternate between the family each episode, with the family then deciding which of them was better in the role.
This season was also unique, as Paris and Nicole did not leave L.A. The families they stayed with were L.A. area residents, and the episodes often focused on Paris and Nicole's personal lives and careers as well as the challenge of being a wife and mother. This season also featured guest appearances from Paris and Nicole's well-known friends, family and associates. Since the season was set in their hometowns, Paris and Nicole had cell phone and credit card usage, previously denied to them in earlier seasons.
The season finale ended with Paris confronting Nicole, stating "We have to talk", and Nicole answering "So talk...", followed by a screen that read "To be continued... next season!" Many viewers were shocked and angry over this cliffhanger ending.
On Thursday, July 28, 2006, several E! series were added to the iTunes Music Store. Among these series was The Simple Life Seasons 1 and 4. The DVD of this season was released on December 26, 2006.
Goes to Camp
It was announced on October 9, 2006 that Paris and Nicole had rekindled their friendship and had agreed to shoot the fifth season of The Simple Life together. In an interview with Australian Cosmopolitan magazine in January 2007, Paris confirmed The Simple Life will resume shooting in March 2007, in Malibu, California. The tentative title for the season was Malibu: Camp Simple Life, but later adjusted to The Simple Life Goes to Camp.
Paris explained how she and Nicole will be counselors for multiple camps, including, but not restricted to, a beauty pageant camp, a fat camp and a couples camp.
It was subsequently confirmed that The Simple Life Goes to Camp has Paris and Nicole working as counselors at Camp Shawnee, a fictional camp on the site of an actual camp, Camp JCA Shalom. The camp was host to five different specialty groups: Wellness Camp, Pageant Camp, Couples Camp, Survival Camp and Drama Camp.
The season began picking up where the last left off, with Paris and Nicole recreating their true-to-life reconciliation onscreen for viewers, and then being driven by limo to the campsite.
At least one of the counselors, Hunter Cross, admits he is an actor who auditioned for the role. Also, the camp nurse is an actress according to IMDB. Although most of the campers were in fact non-actors, one of them (the high maintenance girl who quit the camp early) from the survival camp was also seen on an Oust air freshener commercial. The only real individuals from Camp JCA Shalom to appear on the show are Jorge, the camp chef.
The season premiere was on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2007, and the show began its normal Sunday night time slot the following week on E!.
The complete fifth season was released to DVD on January 22, 2008. It contained no special features and not even the extended version of the first episode that was only shown on the premiere. This season is also available for download on iTunes. Also released exclusively to iTunes on August 13, 2007 was a compilation of camp songs dubbed The Simple Life: Camp Songs. The album received no promotion and none of the songs on the album were heard on the show.
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