As you may know by now, MTV’s third-generation Laguna Beach spinoff The City, starring laconic Hills character Whitney Port, premieres on December 29. The reality show will track Ms. Port’s relocation from Los Angeles to New York, where her superior fashion sense and interpersonal skills have landed her a job with Diane von Furstenburg. The producers–perhaps sensing that Ms. Port may not have the show-carrying magnetism of, say, Lauren Conrad–have also recruited long-suffering socialite Olivia Palermo (another DVF "employee"!) to serve as her guide to the mean streets of the meatpacking district. But, un-shockingly, Ms. Port’s relationship with Ms. Palermo is already causing her some trouble!
In a preview clip posted to People.com, we see Ms. Port torn by her desire to attend a Palermo-hosted party and fear of long-haired Australian rebel boyfriend Jay Lyon‘s disapproval of her new crowd. (Not to be confused with Ms. Port’s ex-boyfriend Ben Lyons.) "I don’t see her as being somebody I’d really hang out with…They’re like hipsters, you know," he warns her. "The one crowd you don’t want to get into is like the rich kids, they’re like art dealers’ kids." (We’re pretty sure Daddy Palermo is a real estate guy.)
"Everybody knows each other here! How does that happen?" Ms. Port sighs. Then she explains: "That’s part of the reason I left L.A.–so I could just like, be a stranger."
Filming a reality show on national television is indeed a good way to do that.
