MTV Cribs Makes Its Instagram-Era Comeback
The show’s creator says viewers will still show up to see ‘how the other half lives’.
The show’s creator says viewers will still show up to see ‘how the other half lives’.
Before there was Instagram, there was “MTV Cribs.”
These days, the internet is crowded with photos of pajama-clad celebrities lounging in their bedrooms. But when “Cribs” made its debut in 2000, the unscripted television show was one of the few ways fans could get a peek inside stars’ homes. MTV’s take on “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” “Cribs” featured celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Mariah Carey giving self-narrated tours of their blinged-out homes.
Now, two decades after its original release, “Cribs” is back with a new season, which premiered August 11.
“‘Cribs’ was the blueprint for these real-estate shows and for celebreality, for the genre,” said the show’s creator, MTV executive Nina L. Diaz. One of the reasons for bringing the show back, she said, is that the public’s appetite for real-estate voyeurism has only grown since the original “Cribs” went off the air in 2010. “People just crave [seeing] how others live, and how the other half lives,” she said. At its peak, during Season 4 in 2002, the show averaged 1.6 million viewers per episode.
This season, viewers will get a tour of Martha Stewart’s 156-acre horse farm in Katonah, N.Y., where the sweater-clad lifestyle guru explains that there are seven houses on the property, along with three horses, 150 chickens and 14 blue canaries. In rapper Big Sean’s seven-bedroom, Mediterranean-style home in Los Angeles, there is a secret nightclub he inherited from the previous inhabitant, Slash of Guns N’ Roses. T.J. Lavin, the BMX rider and host of MTV’s “The Challenge,” shows “Cribs” viewers his backyard full of bike jumps.
One of this season’s participants is two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir. Mr. Weir, 37, said he was a fan of “Cribs” growing up; favorite episodes included Ms. Carey and Nelly, who had a living-room fish tank, he recalled. “Most people of my age and demographic, we loved ‘Cribs,’ ” he said.
Located in rural Delaware, Mr. Weir’s circa-1950s home had Tuscan-style interiors when he purchased it in 2018. “Think of the Olive Garden—that’s what I moved into,” he said. When the “Cribs” crew arrived, he was in the midst of transforming the home’s interiors to Gustavian Swedish, or as he puts it, “the most beautiful little Narnian, Doctor Zhivago ice house.”
“My home is very, very white and gray and crystal chandeliers and nods to emerald green, which is my lucky color,” he said.
Shortly before the house was filmed for “Cribs” in January 2021—with the home’s white, herringbone-pattern floors yet to be installed—Mr. Weir left to commentate the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Las Vegas. “There was no floor,” he said. “I was panicked that there wouldn’t be anything to show.” By the time he arrived home, luckily, the floors were complete.
Mr. Weir, who was known for designing his own skating costumes, said he did all of the home’s interior design, selecting every carpet and door handle. His closet, however, hadn’t yet been renovated at the time of the “Cribs” shoot, which made him feel “a little bashful,” he said, about showing off his trademark bold fashion statements. Still, the episode will “focus on the clothes, of course, because it wouldn’t be a trip to my house without that,” he said.
One of his reasons for doing the show, Mr. Weir said, is that the original was a source of inspiration for him. “I grew up watching ‘Cribs’ and dreaming that maybe one day I’ll do well enough to be on ‘Cribs,’ ” he said.
Indeed, Ms. Diaz said the show was rebooted in part because celebrities kept asking when the show was coming back. “It’s like a milestone for them, to be able to appear on ‘Cribs,’ ” she said.
A new addition to the series is drone footage of the homes, technology that wasn’t widely available in the early 2000s, Ms. Diaz said. For example, viewers will see aerial footage of Ms. Stewart’s three horses grazing in a pasture next to her stately Winter House. But the new season also differs from previous ones in that it was shot during Covid, starting in summer 2020. Production started and stopped several times as the virus surged in various areas, Ms. Diaz said. Film crews abided by strict Covid protocols and were kept as small as possible to limit potential spread of the virus. At times, she said, the show’s crew members were homeowners’ first visitors in months.
“It was nerve-racking to have people in my home,” said Mr. Weir. “But we took every precaution possible.”
Ms. Diaz said the pandemic, rather than dissuading celebrities from appearing on the show, seemed to encourage them to participate. “People were really craving some contact with the outside world,” she said.
The pandemic also affected the tone of the show. “In the 2000s, it was all about extravagance and over-the-top,” Ms. Diaz said. This season, by contrast, “you see a lot of wellness as a theme. People are focusing more on making their home an inner sanctum.”
With celebrities trapped at home for months, she said, “the homes are lived in.” A car belonging to former NBA player Nick Young, who has young children, was messy with “Happy Meal packaging strewn all over,” she said.
The question is whether “Cribs” can thrive when gawking at Kim Kardashian’s pantry is as easy as picking up a smartphone.
“Since ‘Cribs’ went off the air, there’s been a whole revolution with reality TV and the way we look into other people’s lives,” Mr. Weir said. In his view, however, “Cribs” is well-positioned to capitalize on that fascination.
“There’s so much interest in interiors and where people live, and how they live, and what they do with their free time,” he said. “This is the perfect time for MTV ‘Cribs’ to come back, because we are so invested in the inner workings of strangers’ lives.”
Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: August 18, 2021
As Australia’s family offices expand their presence in private credit, a growing number of commercial real estate debt (CRED) managers are turning to them as flexible, strategic funding partners.
Knight Frank’s latest Horizon 2025 update signals renewed confidence in Australian commercial real estate, with signs of recovery accelerating across cities and sectors.
Blending brutalist strength with warm, refined interiors, Rumah is a bold architectural statement in Brighton’s coastal enclave — a designer family home where luxury meets liveability.
Rumah means “home” in Indonesian and Malay, and it’s clear this designer property in Melbourne’s coveted beachside enclave of Brighton is a dream house in any language.
The uber-contemporary residence is a collaboration between builders Belot Property, Seidler Group architects, and the interiors team at Golden.
The result is a modern marvel that combines a brutalist concrete exterior ready to weather its coastal setting with inviting interiors using a mix of textures, from French oak to metal and brick finishes.
Just listed with Kay & Burton Bayside agents, Rae Mano, Matthew Pillios and Jamie Mi, the prestige property is on the market via a private treaty campaign with price expectations of between $10.5 million and $11.5 million.
Created to be a great entertainer while maintaining a level of discreet privacy, Rumah is, at its heart, a warm, family-friendly home that ticks all the boxes for detail-oriented design connoisseurs.
A palette of contradictions, Rumah blends angular and rounded forms, features hard steel and glass, and effortlessly incorporates the earthy finishes of brick and timber for a holistic sensory experience.
Beyond the oversized pivot door sits a large structural column wrapped in gold leaf, setting the tone for the rest of the residence. The three-storey layout offers a choice of multigenerational spaces, from the ground-floor everyday living level to the accommodation wing on the top floor and the large basement “clubhouse.”
At the heart of the home, a gourmet kitchen features a dramatic island bench, high-end appliances, and a full butler’s pantry. Multiple spaces feed off the kitchen, including a vast dining area and a large living room, which both spill out through full-height glazed doors to either a side barbecue terrace or the poolside deck to the rear.
Even the downstairs entertainer’s room – also known as the club – is effectively poolside thanks to an innovative glass viewing window framing swimmers and cleverly connecting the subterranean level to the rest of the home. This games room also houses a sophisticated bar, a wine cellar, integrated night club style lounge seating and a full bathroom.
Additionally, the lower floor features a hidden laundry room, two store rooms, direct access to a huge five-car garage with a convenient turning circle, and an extra bedroom or home office.
Via the private elevator, the top floor is dedicated to after-hours living. It has four spacious bedrooms, each with its own ensuite and walk-in wardrobes. In the luxurious primary suite, there is a hotel-inspired ensuite with a unique kidney-shaped freestanding bath and a dressing room.
Rumah’s added extras include warming indoor and outdoor fireplaces, automatic blinds, feature lighting, marble accents, bespoke wallpaper, built-in bedheads, an external spa and low-maintenance landscaped gardens.
Positioned on the corner of William and Halifax Sts, the 21st-century beach house is opposite William St Reserve, close to Brighton Primary School.
Rumah at 91 William St, Brighton is on the market via private sale with Kay & Burton Bayside and has a sales guide of $10.5 million and $11.5 million.
It’s being sold by a Chinese billionaire who’s accumulated a handsome portfolio of lavish real estate in the U.S.
Knight Frank’s latest Horizon 2025 update signals renewed confidence in Australian commercial real estate, with signs of recovery accelerating across cities and sectors.