A funny and generous look at reality television’s most influential docusoap and how it changed the conversation on fame and young women
When The Hills debuted on May 31, 2006, the world was unprepared for its shiny, cocktail-fueled, and unprecedented success. Seemingly overnight, fans were either Team Lauren or Team Heidi, although everyone could agree that Justin Bobby was the worst. In You Know What You Did, culture writer Lisa Whittington-Hill charts the explosive rise of one of television’s first polished (and possibly scripted) docusoaps, one that set the trajectory for how women who were “famous for being famous” — from the Real Housewives to the Kardashians — would be seen by the world for the decades to come.
The Hills followed Lauren Conrad as she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams of working in fashion. At the show’s peak, 4.8 million viewers tuned in to watch Lauren and her friends Heidi, Audrina, and Whitney intern at Teen Vogue, spill tea over sushi, and lounge by the pool at the Roosevelt Hotel. As their popularity grew, they became bona fide celebrities, experiencing the same vicious tabloid culture as other young female stars, navigating familiar rumors about sex tapes, plastic surgery, and addictions. Soon, slick docusoaps focused on the lifestyles of the wannabe rich and almost famous were everywhere and encouraged their female leads to stay skinny, behave badly, and, above all else, keep their names in the headlines.
With a healthy dose of cynicism and empathy for the chaos of the Hollywood maelstrom, You Know What You Did shows us that, no matter your team, you loved The Hills for its skinny jeans, black eyeliner, and dating angst. But now you can also love — and question — it for changing everything we know about celebrity, reality, and young womanhood.
