Jersey Shore is an American reality television series which ran on MTV from December 3, 2009 to December 20, 2012 in the United States. The series follows the lives of eight housemates— Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, Vinny Guadagnino, Deena Nicole Cortese (season 3-6), and formerly Angelina Pivarnick (season 1-2) — spending their summer on the Jersey Shore. Season 2 follows the cast escaping the cold northeast to Miami. Season 3 saw the cast going back to the Jersey Shore for the Summer with Deena Nicole Cortese replacing Angelina.
The first season had five special episodes, with some airing after select episodes. Several after hours specials have aired on MTV following select episodes along with various specials. The end of each season has been accompanied by a reunion show. Also a number of after-show internet specials titled "Jersey Shore: Hook-Up" hosted by Kenny Santucci have been released on MTV.com after select episodes. Also, there have been a number of internet specials exclusively on MTV.com.
For the first quarter of 2010, season 1 of Jersey Shore was the highest-rated original cable series among 12- to 34-year-olds, with a season-high 2.6 rating for the finale. The season also ranked #1 for its time period versus all cable competition among 12- to 34-year-olds. The season finale was MTV's highest-rated original series telecast in almost two years. Overall, the season averaged 2.7 million viewers. The season featured five special episodes, including a half-hour show titled Jersey Shore: After Hours hosted by Julissa Bermudez which aired occasionally after select episodes featuring cast members discussing the week's episode.