MTV is putting the “M” back in Music Television.
MTV is putting the “M” back in Music Television.
The network revives its after-school classic “Total Request Live” on Monday at 3:30 p.m. — nearly nine years after it went off the air.
Replacing original “TRL” host Carson Daly is Atlanta rapper D. C. Young Fly along with a cohort of co-hosts and social media influencers.
Young Fly, 25, says he sometimes watched “TRL” growing up — although not much because he didn’t have cable — but he doesn’t plan on taking too much from Daly’s days.
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“We’re not trying to overdo what has already been done,” Young Fly tells the Daily News. “(We’re) trying to come back to recreate and bring more spunk to it and this show has so much diversity … right now we need diverse.”
“We (are) just going to bring our spunk to it and just turn up,” adds the social media personality.
Other hosts include Erik Zachary, Amy Pham, Tamara Dhia and Lawrence Jackson.
“TRL” originally aired from 1998 to 2008 in a 3,000 square foot studio overlooking Times Square.
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Every weekday, the show brought on big-name guests like NSYNC, JAY-Z, Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, B2K, Blink-182, Outkast, Eminem and more while also airing requested videos from fans before YouTube was a household name.
The show will still feature fans requesting their favorite music videos live — even though times have changed thanks to the internet, and anyone can pull up a video on demand at any time.
“We live in a society right now that is all on request,” showrunner Albert Lewitinn tells The News. « Think about it, you request an Uber, you could request food delivered to your house. So what we are incorporating is that idea of request throughout all of your life.”
He also pointed out that « TRL » was social media before it was cool.
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« You went home like, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, did you see what happened on TRL?’… The idea is to do the same thing, » Lewitinn explains.
However, the accessibility of all these same things on the web now can’t be ignored.
“There are a lot of people saying they can easily go on YouTube, but when we are giving them all the elements at once, how could you go wrong?” D. C. Young Fly says.
« We need a show right now that can be in tune with the people they are watching (while) growing up, » he adds. « Everyone is on the show for a different reason. We don’t really have a music video show, we are pop culture, we (are) bringing you the news, the music. »
Most teens are nose-deep in their Snapchat accounts, so the new “TRL” will have “social media correspondents” to get down with the times.
Enter New Jersey’s 17-year-old Dolan Twins, Grayson and Ethan, who have more than 4.4 million YouTube followers.
The teens didn’t grow up with “TRL” — they were watching “Spongebob” at the time instead — so they’re proud to help introduce it to their generation.
“It’s a new thing for us and our fans because we are all around the same age and we didn’t grow up watching the first ‘TRL’ really,” Ethan says. His brother Grayson adds that he’d watch it himself, if he weren’t starring on it.
Joining the Dolan Twins is fellow content creator Liza Koshy.
The updated studio, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Times Square, now boasts almost three times the space of the original — complete with digital monitors throughout — even on the floor — and a mainstay DJ booth.
There’s no permanent seating area in the revamped studio, as the plan is for fans to be able to move around organically with their favorite celebs — maybe even reach out and touch them.
And yes — the streets of Times Square are waiting for the screaming sign-holding fans to return just like they did 10 years ago.
DJ Khaled and Ed Sheeran will help launch the new « TRL » Monday, and other first-week guests include Migos, Demi Lovato, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott and Noah Cyrus. Also expect up-and-coming artists, TV, movie and social media stars.
“I mean that’s sort of the idea of TRL — we’re in that mode of, ‘What’s happening?’, ‘What’s the hottest thing?’, ‘What’s the bubble before the bubble happens?' » Lewitinn says. « We want to see who’s bubbling up and so that’s what we will do here. »
While Monday’s debut happens on MTV, it’s 2017 after all, so you can catch it online, too.
