"Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams. Let it wash away my sanity..."
There was a time, twenty-odd years ago, when a plucky group of rich teenagers defined surf and surf-adjacent lifestyles to the outside world. Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County premiered on Music Television in 2004 and followed Laguna Beach High School students as they loved, lost, went to prom and, of course, shredded.
Housewives in Houston, stay-at-home-husbands in Hackensack, hoteliers in Hacienda Heights thrilled to sun-kissed lives of Lauren Conrad, Stephen Colletti and Kristin Cavallari, Lo Bosworth, Talan Torriero, Trey Phillips, Christina Shuller, Dieter Schmitz, Jessica Smith, and, of course, Alex Hooser.
Especially the episode when Kristin and Alex H. confronted Jessica about her alleged hookup with Jason in Girl in the Curl Surf Shop.
Well, you can imagine the thrill, then, when the streamer Roku announced a 20 year reunion special bringing the entire cast back together.
Liz Gateley, who created the series, told Deadline, “When I first pitched the show to my bosses at MTV, never in a million years did I think we would find such a perfect group of real friends. The show not only changed my life and the cast’s lives, but the series meant so much to a generation of fans who’ve been waiting for this. To partner with Roku to reunite the cast and produce this special with Lauren, Stephen & Kristin as Executive Producers 20 years later is a dream.”
Brian Tannenbaum, Head of Roku Originals, Roku Media, added, “Laguna Beach wasn’t just a television series; it defined a generation of pop culture and paved the way for the reality genre as we know it. Reuniting this cast two decades later is a dream, and we are delighted to give streamers a front-row seat to the nostalgia.”
Surf fans, everywhere, excited to return to halcyon days of yore.
The two-hour special is slated to air in 2026. BeachGrit will, of course, have a watch party.
Which character will you dress up like?
Stay tuned.