The ‘Jersey Shore’ meltdown: cast strike and contracts create a Situation

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Are there troubled waters at the “Jersey Shore”? New reports suggest that the tanned cast of the MTV reality hit are burnt over contract negotiations for the third season of their fist-pumping exploits.

What we know: The second season of “Jersey Shore” was supposed to include away episodes featuring the cast in Miami, followed by “at home” episodes in Seaside Heights, N.J. A report from TMZ said that MTV decided to split the season in half, with the Jersey episodes to launch as Season Three.

The Situation, Snooki, Pauly D, JWoww, Vinnie, Sammi and Angelina ain’t feelin’ it.

Cameras were slated to roll in New Jersey this Saturday, but the cast didn’t show -- a strike, as TMZ tells it, until salaries are raised per episode for the proposed third season. Monday morning, it was revealed that roughly 150 crew are in place in the beach town, ready and waiting to capture the drunken madness.

“We don’t comment on any contractual conversations...[P]roduction is on schedule,” an MTV rep told E! Online.

The network is taking a “no one is indispensable” stance on their young characters, implying that any or all could be replaced.

“The show is not about famous rich people with managers coming to the Shore,” a source told TMZ.

What do you think about the “Jersey Shore” meltdown? Should a healing tequila brunch be deployed, or does the cast deserve a pay bump? Tell us in the comments section below.

-- Matt Donnelly

Get all of our Jersey Shore coverage, or we’ll give you a Situation.

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