The Hills: New Beginnings is an American reality television show, developed as a sequel to The Hills. The series documents the original cast members as they navigate from the carefree days that were their 20s to the more complicated reality of life in their mid 30s while still living in Los Angeles.[1][2] The series was canceled after two seasons in January 2022.[3]
On July 22, 2019, due to high viewership and ratings, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on May 12, 2021.[9][10] Production began in early 2020, with only a few episodes completed filming before being halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was to resume mid-late summer, with MTV at one point even considering filming in a quarantine bubble.[11] The network ultimately chose against this, and normal production resumed in November 2020 with strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place after California began to lifts its lockdowns.[12] However, due to long delay of season 2, the series received low ratings. On January 18, 2022, MTV canceled the series after two seasons.[3]
In March 2020, Cavallari announced that she was set to appear as a guest star on the second season.[25] In late 2020, it was announced that socialite Caroline D'Amore joined the cast of the second season, while Stephanie Pratt and Mischa Barton left the series.[12]
Audrina moves back to Los Angeles and reunites with Whitney and Heidi, they talk about motherhood and Audrina reveals to them that Justin has reached out to her since her divorce. Stephanie also moves back from London hoping to repair her relationship with her brother, Spencer. Frankie organizes a party for Stephanie's homecoming and the whole cast is invited.
At the party, Mischa confronts Perez Hilton about past online bullying. Meanwhile, Stephanie confronts both Spencer and Heidi, but it does not end well. Stephanie thinks Heidi is manipulating her brother, while Spencer thinks Stephanie is too self centered. Brandon invites Brody and Frankie to his new house and opens up to them about his struggles with alcohol abuse. Audrina still likes Justin, but she is afraid he is unreliable.
Spencer feels that Brody has changed since marrying Kaitlynn and that she is one of the reasons why they are not as close as they once were and the two have a heated discussion during Justin's concert. Audrina finds out that Justin and Stephanie are closer than she thought.
Brody throws a party for his band's record release, he invites Spencer but he does not show up. Heidi and Spencer organize an event for their healing crystals brand, Stephanie shows up and the two siblings hope they can finally be civil with each other. During the event, Audrina tries to clarify the rumors with Justin, but her friend Joey thinks both he and Stephanie are shady and untrustworthy.
Brody and Kaitlynn are supposed to travel to Las Vegas with their friends, but they are surprised by a wildfire and Brody decides to stay in Malibu to protect their property. Stephanie, Justin, Frankie, Audrina and Mischa are already in Las Vegas and try to enjoy their stay, until Stephanie confronts Audrina about what Joey said during Heidi and Spencer's event. Stephanie gets really defensive, but Justin does not even try to debunk the rumors and this makes Mischa suspicious.
Heidi contemplates the idea of releasing new music and starts collaborating with Justin. Audrina and Joey meet Stephanie and try to squash the rumors, but it does not end well. Frankie invites everyone over for a dinner party but Audrina does not feel like going because she is afraid Justin and Stephanie would cause drama. Afterwards, Audrina and Justin meet in a restaurant hoping to move on, but they quickly realize they are probably not going to be able to remain friends.
Heidi and Spencer invite Stephanie over for Thanksgiving; all three of them are nervous but it all goes well and Stephanie talks about a fight she had with Brody. They later join the others at Frankie's house, where Justin brings his new girlfriend. Stephanie thinks this is proof the rumors about her and Justin were completely false and demands an apology from Audrina, but she denies her request.
After Justin, Audrina reconnects with another one of her ex-boyfriends, Ryan Cabrera. Heidi and Spencer's ten years anniversary is coming up and they decide to celebrate with a fancy dinner on a yacht, Heidi tells Spencer she is ready for another baby, but he does not think it is the right time for them since they are focusing on their marriage and their careers. Jason reveals to Spencer he has had a relapse with alcoholism, but he and Ashley are trying to keep things under control and attend Kaitlynn's party. Things between Brandon and his date start getting serious.
Heidi and Spencer start planning their vow renewal. Heidi is particularly excited for her bachelorette party since she didn't have one before getting married. Stephanie sees the party as an occasion for her and Heidi to become closer, but she is also nervous because Audrina is going to be there. After the party, the two end up having a heated discussion.
Brody apologizes to Stephanie, hoping to make amends with both her and Spencer. Audrina throws an event for her swimwear collection, while Kaitlynn is frustrated to hear people talking about her marriage.
Brandon reconnects with his father, but it leads to a break-up between him and his girlfriend. Whitney opens up to Kaitlynn about suffering a miscarriage and the feeling of guilt that came with it. The group reunites before Heidi and Spencer's vow renewal, but Kaitlynn starts feeling uncomfortable after overhearing Ashley Wahler and Jennifer Delgado talking about her and Brody.
Heidi introduces her choreographer to Brandon and the two end up hooking up. Audrina and Justin make amends and decide to start fresh and leave their drama behind. After the ceremony, Heidi performs her latest single, "Glitter and Glory", in front of her friends and family.
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 45% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "For a show called New Beginnings, The Hills is unfortunately stuck in its old ways—though for fans looking to catch up with their favorite characters there is plenty of drama to dive back into."[51] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[52]
