What I learned from The Hills

On the 10-year anniversary of the show's premiere, a look at how it changed reality TV

The Hills shaped many viewers' outlook on high school and college.
(Image credit: Facebook/The Hills)

It was the tear seen 'round the web. A single streak of mascara down a perfectly pretty and pained face.

If you've been on the internet in the last decade, you've seen that GIF before. It shows SoCal princess Lauren Conrad, in the midst of a friendship-defining conversation on her MTV reality show The Hills, shedding a single, picture-perfect tear. When it first happened, it was as relatable as it was heart-wrenching. After all, who among us hasn't lost the fight against their stubborn tear ducts during a hard talk with a best friend?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.