MTV has decided to pull the plug on Buckwild eight days after the reality show was rocked by the carbon monoxide poisoning death of cast member Shain Gandee , according to a TMZ report.
Buckwild followed the lives of young people in a rural West Virginia town. As originally reported, MTV decided to halt production of the second season of the show, but did not make it clear whether the move was temporary or permanent. Four episodes of Season 2 were completed, but will not air.
“We felt it was not appropriate to continue without him. Instead, we are working on a meaningful way to pay tribute to his memory on our air and privately,” the network said in a statement.
But not everybody is happy with MTV’s decision. Producer J.P. Williams, who manages most of Buckwild’s young cast, says MTV told him as of last Friday that it intended to continue shooting the series. Now that they have gone back on their word, Williams is furious, telling Hollywood Reporter:
“This is the network that has shows about teen pregnancy,” Williams gripes, in reference to popular shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. “They’ll stick by a show that allows you to abandon a child, but a kid dies by accident doing what he does for a living and they cancel the show?” says Williams. “There’s something that smells of s— here on every level… There was no explanation. My job is to protect these kids,” he said. This will get ugly.”
And we believe him since he’s the boss of getting “down and dirty.”
Williams also implied that he plans to continue shooting the series and will try to produce a Buckwild film from the resulting footage.
