- November 23, 2024
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“Siesta Key” is coming back, everyone.
MTV announced Dec. 17 in a Facebook Live video with the cast, two "super fans" and Us Weekly reporter Emily Longeretta that the show will return at 9 p.m. EST Jan. 22.
Season one of the MTV reality series, which was created by many of the same producers of the network’s early 2000s hit “Laguna Beach,” documented the lives of several wealthy young adults coming home to Sarasota for the summer. The season premiered July 31, 2017, and ended March 5.
Producers took to Instagram Dec. 12 to hint that the show would be coming back when all the photos on the official “Siesta Key” account were deleted. A single photo of waves overlayed with the letters “ISK” was then posted, hinting more pieces to the puzzle were to come.
Nine photos were eventually posted, and when viewed all at once on the @siestakey Instagram page, it spells out “Love at Your Own Risk.”
The show, which was initially pitched to MTV by local chiropractor Gary Kompothecras of medical referral service 1-800-ASK-GARY, had a tumultuous start to its first season. The local premiere party was canceled after it was revealed that Kompothecras’ son, Alex (who’s also the main focus of the show), was friends with Michael Wenzel, one of three Manatee County residents shown in a video of a shark being dragged behind a speedboat.
Animal cruelty allegations continued as social media commenters shared several screenshots of posts that have since been deleted from Alex Kompothecras’ Instagram account, some of which showed a hand pointing a gun at a fish in water and people drinking from beer cans in fishes’ mouths.
Allegations aside, the most common worry amongst Sarasota residents — particularly social media commenters — was the show would unfairly represent Siesta Key as a party destination, similar to MTV’s depiction of the Jersey Shore in the series of the same name.
The most-viewed story on yourobserver.com in 2018 announced the “Siesta Key” season one part two premiere date.