To wit, MTV has renewed Hard Times for a second season, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. The decision comes after a recent upswing in viewership that coincides with the 16-year-old pop superstar endorsing it as "funny stuff." Twelve new episodes will premiere sometime next year.
Here's how our friend with the famously flippable locks lent a hand: On July 19, Bieber tweeted "Just met the guys who created that new show on @MTV "The Hard Times of #RJBerger" — good dudes. Show's on tonight at 10pm. Funny stuff." That night, ratings shot up 9 percent from the week prior. The following episode gathered even more steam, jumping 14 percent from the episode before Bieber's tweet.
All told, the show has grown 31 percent in the last four weeks among MTV's target 12-to-34-year-old audience. Hard Times centers on the high school trials of a nerdy teen who achieves some notoriety when his classmates discover he's, er, well-endowed.
David Katzenberg, who co-created and executive produces Hard Times with Seth Grahame-Smith, said he knew Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, and sent the singer some DVDs of the show to get his opinion. The supportive tweet came shortly after.
"The show gets a big teen male audience," Katzenberg said, adding that Bieber's tweet couldn't have come at a better time. "Hard Times is a word-of-mouth show and kids are not in school right now where they would be talking about it. That's a problem for us, but Bieber's fans are insanely loyal and I think it's rubbing off on our show."
Katzenberg personally helped to combat ratings erosion by getting his famous friends who enjoy the show — including girlfriend Nicky Hilton and her sister Paris — to use their social networking for good. Other celebrities who have tweeted their love include Holly Madison, Travis Barker (who appeared as himself in an episode), Ryan Seacrest, Rob Dyrdek, and Lil Jon.
A new episode of MTV's Hard Times airs Monday at 10/9c.
MTV
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