Earlier this week, the president of MTV Chris McCarthy revealed to The New York Times that the famed Total Requests Live would be making its return to MTV this October.
Last October, McCarthy was tasked to revive the network by being named president and believes going back to its roots will be the beginning of new life. TRL was one of MTV’s staple series which ran from 1998 through 2008 and spawned names such as Carson Daly and La La.
MTV is currently in the process of building a revamped version of the iconic studio facing Times Square in New York City. “If we’re going to come back and reinvent MTV, the studio is a given. It is the centerpiece,” said McCarthy of the new digs.
TRL will initially be an hour per episode, but may be expanded to a longer format in the future and will also feature digital extensions across YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Musical.ly, all having content specific to their platform. The refurbished show will feature five rotating hosts including D.C. Young Fly, Erik Zachary, Amy Pham, Tamara Dhia and Lawrence Jackson. Time will tell if going retro will be the answer to turn MTV to its prominence.
