In its quest to get back past viewers by bringing back old shows, MTV is apparently rebooting Total Request Live. Typically referred to as TRL, the show was THE program to watch for teens living in the '90s and 2000's who wanted to see interviews with all the hottest musical artists while listening to people scream random shoutouts over the most popular music videos of the day. With a reboot comes changes though, and it sounds like this new TRL is going to be quite different, with a new look and some fresh faces when it premieres later this year.
A new Total Request Live means a studio facelift, and MTV President Chris McCarthy tells The New York Times that the network is building a fresh and "massive" Total Request Live set to draw both tourists and locals to the space during filming. (And presumably at other points, too.) As for hosts, it has been confirmed that Carson Daly will not be returning to TRL. In his place, TRL's producers will have five new hosts when the show launches. It's a wonder the name is staying the same.
For its new hosting squad, TRL 2017 will welcome former Vine celebrity and rapper DC Young Fly, Chicago radio host Erik Zachary, DJ and actress Amy Pham, Complex writer Tamara Dhia, and journalist Lawrence Jackson. Plenty of others stepped in for Daly when he left in 2003 (Quddus and La La to name a few), so we're used to seeing others pop up, but it's unknown if each of the five hosts will be taking a single day of the week, or it it'll perhaps be a co-hosting effort for the whole group. In either case, they'll all have a big opportunity to boost their stardom, since Daly launched his still-running career out of TRL.
The old TRL studio was about one story up in the first version of the series, and McCarthy did not indicate whether the new studio would be a revamped studio in the old location or perhaps somewhere else in the Viacom building. McCarthy did note the show will hopefully utilize the pedestrian plaza in Times Square for concerts and events in addition to the alleyway near the Viacom building, though, so maybe the location is getting a bit of a mix-up. Like its predecessor, the show is scheduled to run for an hour, although McCarthy teased that duration could stretch to an additional hour or two as they play with the format.
New hosts, new studio, and a potentially new format aren't the only changes coming to Total Request Live, as 2017 has more tools than ever to interact with viewers and advertise the brand. While the TRL of the past utilized just a phone line and basic online access to vote for the Top 10 music videos of the day, the new TRL will have Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter to make sure they're everywhere teens are. Seems like an easy way for people to manipulate votes via Catfish accounts, although maybe that's the point.
The new Total Request Live is set to air in October on MTV. The network has been making big moves lately with a Teen Wolf reboot in the works, although they were unable to nab the cast of the Jersey Shore for their massive television reunion. Those who need to fill their time until the premiere of TRL should check out our summer premiere guide or our brand spanking new fall premiere guide.
