'' is a
Reality Series , created by
Morgan J. Freeman for
Music Television . Filmed on location in
Maui over a three month period, the show explored the real lives of several young
Haole friends living in the
Kaanapali area.
1
''Maui Fever'' premiered on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 10:30 PM on . At the time of the series premiere, there had not been talk of a second season of ''Maui Fever''. As of the spring of 2007, MTV has not announced whether the series will be picked up for another season.
Following the style of MTV's '''', ''
The Hills '' and ''
8th & Ocean '', ''Maui Fever'' was shot as a "reality drama" (in the format of a scripted television show).
2 ''Maui Fever'' cast members never spoke directly to the camera or gave testimonials, a tactic used in MTV's ''
The Real World '' and in traditional documentaries. However, a voice-over narrative spoken by
Cheyne Magnusson , one of the main characters, was used at the beginning of each episode to set up the scene and tie together story-lines.
The opening credits of ''Maui Fever'' featured the song, "Horndog" by .
Producers casting for ''Maui Fever'' sought people who were willing to participate in the show and who were already part of a group of friends on the island. In June of 2006, the producers of ''Maui Fever'' shot the
Pilot Episode on location on the
Valley Isle (
Maui ).
3 After viewing the pilot and meeting with Hawaii's film commissioners, MTV executives gave ''Maui Fever'' "green light" status in August.
Filming of ''Maui Fever'' began on September 1, 2006 and continued for ten weeks. Initially the show was tentatively going to be called ''.
4 It is one of two MTV reality programs filmed on .
''Maui Fever'' was executive produced by Producers sought to capture the allure of living on a tropical island in a state of "permanent vacation."
When filming of ''Maui Fever'' began, everyone involved was excited about the potentially vast and beneficial
Exposure for
Hawaii . According to Hawaii's State
Film Commissioner at that time, Donne Dawson, ''Maui Fever'''s producers were receptive to
Community and cultural concerns, and wanted the show to be as
Authentic as possible. Maui Film Commissions Benita Brazier also expressed strong optimism regarding ''Maui Fever'', saying she was certain it would "put Maui in a good light," even though she knew there would be "some
Conflict Of Interest " (due to the usual content of
Reality Television programming). Brazier indicated that she expected the producers to educate themselves about the island and "document the Maui that most visitors will never experience."
Some critics expressed skepticism as to whether the "reality" in MTV's ''Maui Fever'' was real.
6 In the tradition of ''
Laguna Beach '' and ''The Hills'', ''Maui Fever'' has been called "MTV's latest faux-reality semi-scripted hit TV show." Many find that the aggressive
Editing tactics, used to mimic the style of a traditional television drama (rather than a reality show), make the scenes feel fabricated. In spite of this criticism, MTV's "reality dramas" have been popular, including ''Maui Fever''. The show's
Ratings were successful, attracting millions of viewers each week.
In .
Caucasians account for 33 percent of the county population. However, all seven of the ''Maui Fever'' core cast members were white. Due to the lack of racial diversity and the fact that very few of the cast members were long-time residents of Maui, at the time of the show's airing there were
Online Petitions against it on websites such as
MySpace . Locals were also disturbed by the show's sexual content, lack of
Cultural Diversity and resulting misconceptions about Maui. According to State Film Commissioner Dawson, public reaction to ''Maui Fever'' was stronger than the response to any other Hawaii production.
The core cast of ''Maui Fever'' included seven main characters: Chaunte, Cheyne, Anna, Corbin, Anthony, Sean and Jesse. Additionally, the show featured several supporting characters, including: Kevin, Justin, Rachael, Jesse James, Katie, Bryce and Carrie. Everyone in the cast already lived on Maui prior to filming. When the show was initially announced, MTV indicated that the majority of the characters were born and raised on the island. However, it was later revealed that none of the core cast members were Maui-born.
