It was previously reported that MTV had decided to cancel their reality series Buckwild in the wake of the unfortunate death of Shain Gandee, who died in a car accident while mudding with two family members. Given the tragedy, it's not particularly surprising that MTV might decide not to move forward with the series for its planned second season. But producer J.P. Williams is is not happy about it and he's apparently not afraid to voice his opinion either.
Not only is Williams an executive producer on the series, which chronicled the drama and antics of a group of friends living in West Virginia, but he also apparently manages most of the cast. Williams bashed MTV for their choice to cancel the series, telling THR, "This is the network that has shows about teen pregnancy. They'll stick by a show that allows you to abandon a child, but a kid dies by accident doing what he does for a living [mudding] and they cancel the show? There's something that smells of s--- here on every level."
That last comment makes it sound like there's some other agenda here, but what? The series was performing decently in the ratings, bringing in over 2 million viewers per episode (for most episodes) in its first season. Those aren't exactly Jersey Shore numbers, but they're solid for a reality show on a cable channel. The only other known factor that I can think of that might relate to MTV's decision to drop the show would be Salwa Amin's legal troubles over a drug-related matter. If that had anything to do with it, I'd imagine it was less about the bad press and more related to the illegal activity, but that's pure speculation. And that's all we can really do right now. MTV's reported reason for canceling the show is that they "couldn't see any way to continue the series without Gandee." That may have been enough, but from the way Williams is talking, it seems like he thinks there's more to it than that.
THR says Williams is planning to continue on with Buckwild and possibly try to make a film. "My job is to protect these kids,” he told THR, adding: “This will get ugly.”
