Floribama Shore season 5 won't happen after MTV unofficially canceled reality show

For those who loved MTV's classic reality show Jersey Shore, the cable network unleashed another series full of 20-somethings partying on the beach. In November 2017, MTV premiered Floribama Shore and it quickly became a favorite among viewers who had been starving for a bit of that Jersey Shore-level drama.

As the title suggests, the series takes place along the shoreline that stretches from the Florida Panhandle to Alabama. A group of eight young people spend the summer together in Panama City Beach, though the location changed to St. Pete Beach in season 3 and then again to various locations in Arizona, Georgia, and Montana in season 4.

While two seasons of the series are available to watch on Netflix (here's where to watch seasons 3 and 4), longtime fans of Floribama Shore might be wondering what's next for the show. More specifically, you're probably wondering what happened to the show. Where is season 5? Here's what fans need to know about the show's current status.

What happened to Floribama Shore?

On Aug. 26, 2022, Deadline reported that MTV had decided not to rush into a renewal for season 5. Instead, the cable network "indefinitely shelved" Floribama Shore. In other words, it's an unofficial cancellation, though the language of "shelving" the series seems to suggest that MTV could choose to return to the Floribama Shore for another season in the future if need be.

At the time, Deadline said that "future seasons were being evaluated," but we're nearing two years since the de facto cancellation announcement and no word on season 5 or other editions of the series have come to fruition. The related series Buckhead Shore premiered on MTV in June 2022 and seems to have also landed a similar fate after ending that September.

Although MTV didn't provide a reason for the indefinite shelving, it's likely down to the show's declining ratings and viewership. In its first season, Floribama Shore was pulling between 500-800K viewers, but by the second half of season 4, viewership dropped to about 200K, with the final episode hitting lows at 230,000 viewers. Even for cable, that's not really a number you want to see.

It's a stark difference to the success of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which returns for its seventh season in February 2024. The revival series has produced over 160 episodes and is clearly on pace to hit the 200-episode milestone. For comparison's sake, the original Jersey Shore ran for six seasons and only produced 71 episodes.

While Jersey Shore: Family Vacation's ratings have declined over the years and it's hovering around the same numbers Floribama Shore went out with, it's understandable why MTV would bet and bank on the veteran franchise with a built-in fanbase and proven pop culture appeal. However, who knows how much longer the Jersey revival could last or if Floribama could actually return in some form.

Watch Floribama Shore seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix!