''Love & Hip Hop'' is a media franchise that consists of several

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record producers residing in various metropolitan areas of the United States. The original franchise version, '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'', premiered on March 6, 2011. Its success resulted in

spin-offs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Hollywood, and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. The series is known for its sprawling ensemble cast, with over 250 cast members. Many are notable figures in hip hop, including

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stud ...

, Soulja Boy,

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

Lil Scrappy Darryl Raynard Richardson III (born January 19, 1984), better known by his stage name Lil Scrappy, is an American rapper. Richardson was discovered by producer and performer Lil Jon while performing at a bar in Atlanta. Along with labelmates T ...

Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...

and

Trick Daddy Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami's Liberty City. Early life Trick Daddy was born on September 27, 1974, at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. ...

, as well as R&B artists like

Ray J William Ray Norwood Jr. (born January 17, 1981), known professionally as Ray J, is an American singer, actor, and television personality. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Carson, California, he is the younger brother of recording a ...

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

and music producer Stevie J. The franchise is also known for launching the careers of previously unknown artists, including

Joseline Hernandez Joseline Hernandez (born November 3, 1986), also known as "The Puerto Rican Princess", is a Puerto Rican reality television personality, rapper, and actress. She came to prominence as a main cast member of the VH1 reality series '' Love & Hip ...

, K. Michelle and Cardi B. The franchise has generated controversy since its inception, and is often criticized for tending towards a narrative format more commonly seen in scripted genres such as

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s, and appearing to fabricate much of its story line. However, it is one of the highest rated unscripted franchises in cable television history, and has been described as a "

guilty pleasure A guilty pleasure is something, such as a film, a television program, or a piece of music, that one enjoys despite understanding that it is not generally held in high regard, or is seen as unusual or weird. For example, a person may secretly like ...

". The show aired continuously from May 5, 2014 until May 11, 2020, with an incarnation of the franchise airing nearly every Monday on VH1. In the US, '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' usually aired in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

and through summer, followed by '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' in the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

and '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' and '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'' in the

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

. In early 2020, production on the franchise was shut down due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, forcing the series off air for the first time in 6 years. The franchise returned in a series of specials and spin offs from January 4, 2021, crossing-over cast members from all four incarnations. As of May 11, 2020, 431 original episodes of ''New York'', ''Atlanta'', ''Hollywood'' and ''Miami'' have aired over 28 seasons.

Franchise history

Beginnings (2006–11)

In 2006, rapper

approached VH1 executives to make a reality show about him. Jim Ackerman, senior vice president of development and production at the time, paired him with producers Stefan Springman and Toby Barraud of NFGTV, who produced the 11-minute presentation tape ''Keeping Up with the Joneses'', which also featured Jones' longtime girlfriend Chrissy Lampkin and his mother Nancy. VH1 were unsure if audiences would be invested in the concept full-time and Jones' manager, Yandy Smith, approached Mona Scott-Young, her former employer at Violator, to retool the show. The concept was tweaked to include Jim's girlfriend Chrissy Lampkin and her circle of friends, influenced by the female ensemble-driven reality shows of the time. The series was first announced in VH1's programming development report in April 2010, under the title ''Diary of a Hip Hop Girlfriend''. On January 4, 2011, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop'' would debut on March 6, 2011. The show would begin as an eight-episode series and star Chrissy, Jim Jones and his mother Nancy, along with

Olivia Longott Olivia Theresa Longott (born February 15, 1981) is an American R&B singer. She is best known for performing with the hip-hop group G-Unit and also known as a cast member on the VH1 reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''. Ea ...

and her manager Rich Dollaz,

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

's ex-wife

Mashonda Tifrere Mashonda Karima Dean (born January 9, 1978) is an American R&B singer from Boston, Massachusetts. She appeared on several songs from hip hop artists in the 2000s. In 2004, she married record producer Swizz Beatz, and was once signed to his lab ...

and stylist Emily Bustamante, the mother of

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

's son. The first season was later expanded to nine episodes in order to include the first season reunion, which aired on May 16, 2011. Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' praised the show's deconstruction of the public image of rappers, as well as the quality of the production values with "slick, beautiful shots of the women driving spectacular cars with no men in sight". However, he was critical of the "needless filler drama", a criticism that was shared by other critics who felt the "endless catty arguments and trashy behavior" detracted from the show's message and was too derivative of ''

The Real Housewives ''The Real Housewives'' is an international reality television franchise that consists of 57 programs; 11 American installments, 20 international installments and 26 spin-offs. Most of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives ...

'' franchise.

Breakthrough (2011–14)

On May 25, 2011, ''Love & Hip Hop'' was renewed for a second season, which premiered on November 14, 2011. The season saw the addition of Kimbella Vanderhee, the girlfriend of

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...

, and Yandy Smith, Jim Jones' manager, to the cast, with

Teairra Marí Teairra Marí Thomas (born December 2, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress. At the age of 16, Jay-Z signed her to Def Jam and she released her first album, '' Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí''. After disappoi ...

and video vixen

Erica Mena Erica Jasmin Mena (born November 8, 1987) is an American television personality, model, and video vixen. She is best known for her appearances on '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' and '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'', appearing in the franchise since 2011 ...

in supporting roles. The season garnered big ratings for the network, averaging 2.8 million total viewers per episode, making it VH1's highest rated series in over three and a half years. On February 6, 2012, during the finale of ''

Love & Hip Hop ''Love & Hip Hop'' is a media franchise that consists of several reality television series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record produc ...

''s second season, series creator Mona Scott-Young officially announced that an

-based spin-off of ''Love & Hip Hop'', then titled ''Love & Hip Hop: Hotlanta'', was in production. On May 15, 2012, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would make its series premiere on June 18, 2012. The show premiered to a storm of controversy, with some viewers calling for a boycott for its seemingly negative and stereotypical portrayal of black women. One petition described the show as "another beautifully-blinged jewel of commercial exploitation" for its focus on dysfunctional relationships, materialism, hyper-sexuality and violence. The love triangle between former

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

producer Stevie J, his

baby mama A baby mama (also baby mother, or hyphenated baby-mama) is a slang term for a mother who is not marriage, married to her child's father, although the term often carries other connotations as well. This term is associated with African Americans ...

Mimi Faust Oluremi Fela Faust (née James), known professionally as Mimi Faust, is an American reality television personality who stars on the VH1 program '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. She first appeared as the long-time girlfriend of producer Stevie J. ...

and

, an ex-stripper-turned-aspiring artist who has an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

in an early episode, garnered significant media attention, as did singer and breakout star K. Michelle's domestic violence storyline and

's mother Momma Dee, who admits to being a former pimp. After the show's premiere, its audience grew substantially over the season, garnering even higher ratings than its predecessor. Its finale garnered 5.5 million people overall. On December 16, 2012, VH1 aired ''Dirty Little Secrets'', a special featuring unseen footage, deleted scenes and interviews with the show's cast and producers. The special garnered 1.22 million viewers. On September 7, 2012, VH1 announced that Chrissy Lampkin and

would leave ''

'', to star in their own spin-off show '' Chrissy & Mr. Jones'', which premiered September 24, 2012. The third season of ''Love & Hip Hop'', now titled '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' in promotional material, premiered on January 7, 2013. The show featured nearly a whole new cast, including

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

and their significant others. The season had a mixed reception from audiences, garnering the lowest ratings in the franchise's history at that point. On April 1, 2013, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would be returning for a second season on April 22, 2013. The show's ratings continued to grow, with an average of 3.27 million viewers per episode. During the season's reunion special, K. Michelle announced that she was leaving the show to join the cast of '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''. On October 10, 2013, VH1 announced ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would be returning for a fourth season on October 28, 2013. The season would premiere back to back with the second and final season of '' Chrissy & Mr. Jones''. It was preceded on October 24, 2013 by ''40 Greatest Love & Hip Hop Moments'', a 2-hour

clip show A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicte ...

special hosted by Mona Scott-Young, and showcased the franchise's most "shocking, scandalous and dramatic ''Love & Hip Hop'' moments", featuring clips from the show's first three seasons, as well as the first two seasons of its spin-off '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. ''Love & Hip Hop: New York''s leading storyline for season four involved a dysfunctional love triangle (reminiscent of the more popular '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'') between rapper Peter Gunz, his

Tara Wallace and his wife, singer Amina Buddafly. The show's ratings improved significantly, up 54% over the previous season's average and attracting an average of 3 million total viewers per episode.

Peak (2014–17)

On April 14, 2014, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would be returning for a third season on May 5, 2014. From this point on, the show would air continuously, with an incarnation of the franchise airing nearly every Monday on VH1. The season was a huge ratings success, with the series premiere having a combined rating of 5.6 million viewers and continuing to set ratings records throughout the season. The outrageous storylines and scandals, particularly Mimi and Nikko's

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to e ...

Benzino Raymond Leon Scott (born July 18, 1965), better known by his stage name Ray Benzino, is an American urban media proprietor, television personality, rapper, and record producer. He produced records (as part of the production team Hangmen 3) and ...

's non-fatal shooting and Joseline and Stevie's violent behavior at the reunion special, garnered a media storm and made its cast members tabloid fixtures. On August 18, 2014, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'', the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based spin-off of ''Love & Hip Hop'', would make its series premiere on September 15, 2014. The show was notable for its high-profile cast, with the youngest and most established group of cast members in the franchise thus far, including

B2K B2K (Boys of the New Millennium) was an American boy band that was active from 1998 to 2004, and again from 2018 to 2019. In 1998, the group was formed by American dance choreographer Dave Scott and Interscope A&R Keshia Gamble. The members ...

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the e ...

and Lil' Fizz, Soulja Boy and their significant others. On October 15, 2014, VH1 announced that K. Michelle would leave ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' to star in her own spin-off show '' K. Michelle: My Life''. The show would premiere on November 3, 2014 after ''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood''s eighth episode and run for six weeks. On December 2, 2014, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would be returning for a fifth season on December 15, 2014. On April 9, 2015, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would be returning for a fourth season on April 20, 2015, and would premiere alongside ''Love & Hip Hop Atlanta: The Afterparty Live!'', a half-hour-long interactive after-show hosted by

Big Tigger Darian "Big Tigger" Morgan (born December 22, 1972), also known as Big Tigg, is an American television/radio personality and rapper best known as the host of BET's '' Rap City'' and ''106 & Park''. Biography Morgan was born to a Jamaican immigra ...

. The series premiere garnered big ratings for the network, with VH1 announcing a combined rating of 6.2 million viewers. On August 19, 2015, VH1 announced the season as the summer's #1 cable reality series among adults 18-49 and women 18-49 and the 2nd most talked-about television series on social media overall. ''Love & Hip Hop: The Wedding'', a two-hour special featuring the marriage between ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' cast members Yandy Smith and Mendeecees Harris, aired live VH1 on May 25, 2015, in between ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''s fifth and sixth episodes of the season. The special aired to over 2 million viewers and featured appearances from other VH1 reality stars, including cast mates from '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'', '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'', '' Black Ink Crew'', ''

Mob Wives ''Mob Wives'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on April 17, 2011. The show focuses on the lives of several women residing in the New York City borough of Staten Island, whose family members and husbands have been arr ...

'', as well as from Bravo's ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...

''. On August 10, 2015, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' would be returning for a second season on September 7, 2015. The series premiere garnered big ratings for the network, with VH1 announcing a combined rating of 3.6 million viewers. The season featured the franchise's first openly gay couple Milan Christopher and Miles Brock, and several episodes featured

public service announcements A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

aimed to help viewers struggling with their sexual identity. On October 12, 2015, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: Out in Hip Hop'', a round-table discussion moderated by T. J. Holmes of

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

, would air on October 19, 2015. The special focused on the reality on being openly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

in the hip hop community, and coincided with the airing of the seventh episode of the season, in which bisexual cast member Miles

comes out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to his ex-girlfriend Amber. It garnered 1.5 million viewers, ranking No. 1 among women 18–49 in its time period. On July 7, 2015, shortly after her release from prison,

announced that she was joining ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'', along with her husband

Papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...

. On November 2, 2015, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would be returning for a sixth season on December 14, 2015. The season would feature an entirely new opening credits sequence and visual aesthetic, subsequent seasons of ''Atlanta'' and ''Hollywood'' would follow suit. The cast would undergo a major cast change for the third time in the show's history, with its storylines focusing more on the struggles of female rappers in the industry than ever before. The season was also notable for the addition of social media personality and aspiring rapper Cardi B, who was dubbed the show's breakout star. On August 27, 2015, VH1 confirmed that ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' stars Stevie J and

would star in their own spin-off series, set in

. On December 2, 2015, VH1 announced that '' Stevie J & Joseline: Go Hollywood'' would premiere on January 25, 2016, back to back with the second season of ''K. Michelle: My Life'', after ''Love & Hip Hop: New York''s seventh episode of the season. ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' returned for a fifth season on April 4, 2016. On August 8, 2016, VH1 and 345 Games announced the release of ''Love & Hip Hop: The Game'', a mobile game for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Android. It was released worldwide on September 22, 2016. ''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' returned for a third season on August 15, 2016. On November 14, 2016, VH1 announced that '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would be returning for a seventh season on November 21, 2016. On December 1, 2016, VH1 announced the spin-off '' Leave It To Stevie'', featuring Stevie J's life as a bachelor after his break up with Joseline. The show would make its series premiere on December 19, 2016, back-to-back with the third and final season of '' K. Michelle: My Life'', after ''Love & Hip Hop: New York''s seventh episode of the season. On December 30, 2016, Cardi B announced that she was leaving ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' to focus on her rap career. On February 21, 2017, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would be returning for a sixth season on March 6, 2017. The series premiere garnered big ratings for the network, with VH1 announcing a combined rating of 5.2 million viewers, up 17% from its fifth season bow. On April 19, 2017, VH1 announced ''Joseline's Special Delivery'', a special documenting the birth of Joseline's child with Stevie J. The special aired between the season's eighth and ninth episodes on May 1, 2017 and garnered 2.18 million viewers. ''Dirty Little Secrets 2'', a special featuring unseen footage and deleted scenes, aired on May 10, 2017. With this season, ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' became the first incarnation of the franchise to reach 100 episodes. Production on the season became increasingly troubled, with later episodes showing scenes of Joseline Hernandez breaking the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

to express her displeasure with the producers. Behind the scenes during the reunion taping on June 1, 2017, tensions between Joseline, Mona Scott-Young and the other producers exploded, with Joseline announcing that she had quit the show after six seasons. This would be a turning point for the franchise as ratings would begin to decline from that point forwards. On April 13, 2017, VH1 announced that

would be joining the cast of ''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' in season four, which would premiere on July 24, 2017. Three weeks before the season four premiere, VH1 aired ''Dirty Little Secrets'', a special featuring unseen footage and deleted scenes from the show's first three seasons, along with interviews with the show's cast and producers.

Ratings decline (2017–19)

On October 2, 2017, VH1 announced that '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would return for an eighth season on October 30, 2017. The season would feature an entirely new opening credits sequence and visual aesthetic, as before, subsequent seasons of ''Atlanta'' and ''Hollywood'' would follow suit. Two weeks before the season eight premiere, VH1 aired ''Dirty Little Secrets'', a special featuring unseen footage and deleted scenes from the show's first seven seasons, along with interviews with the show's cast and producers. On November 16, 2017, VH1 announced that ''Remy & Papoose: A Merry Mackie Holiday'', a holiday special starring

and

, would air on December 18, 2017. On February 12, VH1 aired ''Love & Hip Hop: The Love Edition'', a

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

special featuring clips from the show and interviews with cast members from all franchises. This season was poorly received by viewers, with ratings dipping below 2 million viewers for the first time in four years. On October 30, 2017, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'', the

-based spin-off of ''Love & Hip Hop'', would make its series premiere on January 1, 2018, after ''Love & Hip Hop: New York''s tenth episode of the season. The series is notable for its diverse cast, reflecting Miami's racially and economically diverse community. The storyline involving Afro-Latina star Amara La Negra was praised by critics for "inviting cultural conversations" about

misogynoir ''Misogynoir'' is a term referring to misogyny directed towards black women where race and gender both play a role. The term was coined by black feminist writer Moya Bailey in 2010 to address misogyny directed toward black transgender and cisgen ...

and the underrepresentation of Afro-Latinas in mainstream entertainment. On February 16, 2018, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would return for the seventh season on March 19, 2018. The season garnered the lowest ratings in the show's history, with its premiere episode down over a million viewers compared to last season. The second and final season of the spin-off '' Leave It To Stevie'' would premiere on March 26, 2018, after ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''s second episode of the season. On June 18, 2018, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' would return for the fifth season on July 23, 2018. Despite continuing the franchise's overall ratings decline, the season's over-the-top storylines were well received by fans and critics, with writer Michael Arceneaux praising the season for providing a "ratchet good time" and "making ''Love & Hip Hop'' great again". On September 24, 2018, VH1 aired ''Ray J & Princess' Labor of Love'', a special featuring

and Princess Love, as they prepare for the birth of their daughter. On September 17, 2018, VH1 announced that

and

would star in their own spin-off, ''Remy & Papoose: Meet the Mackies''. The show would air October 1, 2018 after ''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood''s eleventh episode of the season and run for three weeks. On September 27, 2018, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would return for the ninth season on November 26, 2018. The season would be accompanied by an official

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

, ''Love & Hip Hop: The Tea'', hosted by Jesse Janedy, TK Trinidad and Lem Gonsalves. On November 19, 2018, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'' would return for a second season on January 2, 2019. The season aired on Wednesday nights at 8pm/7c for the first two episodes, before being moved to 10pm/9c after '' Black Ink Crew: Chicago''. After three weeks of low ratings, the show was moved back to Monday nights at 9pm/8c after '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''. On February 25, 2019, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would return for the eighth season on March 25, 2019. On April 1, 2019, VH1 aired ''Love & Hip Hop Awards: Most Certified'', a special hosted by

Tami Roman Tamisha Akbar (born April 17, 1970) better and professionally known as Tami Roman, is an American television personality, model, businesswoman and actress. Roman first gained fame on '' The Real World: Los Angeles'' in 1993. After making cameo ap ...

and DC Young Fly, featuring ''Love & Hip Hop'' franchise cast members being awarded in various categories. On April 5, 2019, VH1 announced another

special, ''40 Greatest Love & Hip Hop Moments: The Reboot'', would air April 8, 2019. The cast of the show would win the ''Best Reality Royalty'' Award at the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards.

Production changes (2019–20)

On October 23, 2018, VH1 announced that they had taken Eastern TV off ''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'', inviting "new producers to come and pitch" as they look to take the show in a "new direction". On July 8, 2019, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' would return for the sixth season on August 5, 2019, with Big Fish Entertainment taking over as the show's production company. Despite VH1 initially announcing that there would be no other production changes, Eastern TV would be taken off the franchise entirely, with Big Fish Entertainment producing all subsequent seasons of ''New York'', ''Miami'' and ''Atlanta''. Season six of ''Hollywood'' would be the first of the franchise without its trademark cinematic aesthetic and high budget production values, instead resembling Big Fish Entertainment's other VH1 productions, such as '' Black Ink Crew''. Reactions to the show's visual changes were mixed to negative, with former main cast member Hazel-E tweeting "It went from #Hollywood to the hood". The season had the lowest-rated premiere episode in the show's history, dipping under 2 million viewers for the first time. On September 12, 2019, it was reported that several former cast members would return to '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' in its tenth anniversary. On November 4, 2019, VH1 confirmed that ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' would return for a tenth season on December 16, 2019, with original cast members Chrissy Lampkin,

and Somaya Reece rejoining the cast, along with

and Tahiry Jose. The season would feature an entirely new opening credits sequence and a return to the franchise's cinematic aesthetics, as well as reviving storylines from its earliest seasons. The season's return to its roots was well received by fans and critics, with writer Michael Arceneaux describing the season's premiere double episode as "magnifique". On December 11, 2019, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'' would return for a third season on January 6, 2020, with

returning to the franchise after three years. The premiere episode garnered 1.41 million viewers, up from its previous season's rating of 1.09 million viewers. This is the first time that ratings in the franchise have improved since season six of ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. Despite being credited as a main cast member for the entire season and heavily featured in its promotional material, Joseline disappeared from the show entirely after four episodes, after a series of interviews in which she criticised producer Mona Scott-Young, dismissing her as a "talent scout". In her absence, ratings once again began to decline. On February 18, 2020, VH1 announced '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would return for a ninth season on March 16, 2020. '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''s mid-season finale aired on March 9, 2020, with VH1 announcing that it would return in spring. On an episode of his podcast, released on March 26, 2020,

confirmed the show was still filming, despite the growing

. Production was affected by the pandemic, with cast members filming their green screen confessional scenes while quarantined at home. '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''s mid-season finale would air on May 11, 2020, and feature behind-scenes footage of production being shut down by the virus. Filming on the franchise was put on hold from May 6, 2020, with the remaining episodes of ''Love & Hop: New York'' and ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'', as well as season seven of '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' and season four of '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'', postponed until further notice. On June 12, 2020, VH1 announced that they had severed their relationship with Big Fish Entertainment, after their reality show ''

Live PD ''Live PD'' is an American television program that aired on the A&E Network from 2016 to 2020. It followed police officers in the course of their patrols live, broadcasting select encounters with the nation. The show was hosted by Dan Abrams ...

'' was canceled due to the handling of the video footage of the

killing of Javier Ambler On March 28, 2019, Javier Ambler II died while being arrested by police in Austin, Texas, after fleeing from deputies who sought to stop him for a traffic violation. Ambler was tased multiple times by authorities. Video of Ambler's death, record ...

, and due to the

protests against police brutality A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

in the wake of the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

Reboot (2021–present)

On October 8, 2020, Mona Scott-Young confirmed VH1 were working on a reimagining of the franchise, to be produced in-house. On December 3, 2020, it was reported that two new spin-offs were in production and set to premiere in 2021, one features various couples from the franchise's history, and another featuring cast members from ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'', ''Hollywood'' and ''Miami'' living together in an Arizona hotel. On December 10, 2020, VH1 announced the four part special ''Love & Hip Hop: Secrets Unlocked'', a reunion special hosted by Kendall Kyndall and featuring cast members from ''New York'', ''Atlanta'', ''Hollywood'' and ''Miami''. The special premiered on January 4, 2021. On January 12, 2021, VH1 announced ''Love & Hip Hop: It's a Love Thing'', a special featuring various ''Love & Hip Hop'' couples, would air on February 1, 2021, followed by '' VH1 Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition'', a six-part spin-off show featuring cast members from ''New York'', ''Atlanta'', ''Hollywood'' and ''Miami'', on February 8. This was followed by ''VH1 Couples Retreat'' on April 19, another six-part show featuring ''Love & Hip Hop'' couples, including ''New York''s Yandy Smith and Mendeecees Harris, ''Atlanta''s

Rasheeda Rasheeda Buckner-Frost (often stylized RaSheeda) is an American rapper, television personality, and businesswoman. Music career Music beginnings Rasheeda started her music career as a member of the female hip hop trio Da Kaperz, which made a n ...

and Kirk Frost, and ''Hollywood''s

and Princess Love, along with ''

Flavor of Love ''Flavor of Love'' is an American reality television dating game show starring Flavor Flav of the rap group Public Enemy. While not a direct spin-off, the show was a result of Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav's failed relationship on ''Strange ...

''s Deelishis and Raymond Santana, and comedian Michael Blackson and Rada. On June 7, 2021, VH1 announced that ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' would return for a tenth season on July 5, 2021. The season was preceded by the special ''Love & Hip Hop Atlanta: Inside the A'' on June 28, 2021. The season crossed over cast members from both ''New York'' and ''Atlanta'' and focused more on social justice and the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement than previous seasons. The season premiere was the first in the show's history to garner under a million viewers, with ratings dropping with each episode. On August 9, 2021, VH1 announced that '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'' would return for a fourth season on August 23, 2021. The season would be preceded by the special ''Love & Hip Hop: Miami: Inside the 305'' on August 16, 2021. On November 9, 2021, VH1 announced that '' VH1 Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition'' would return for a second season on December 13, 2021, featuring more cast members from ''New York'', ''Atlanta'', ''Hollywood'' and ''Miami''. The show was followed by a two-part special, ''Love & Hip Hop: Lineage to Legacy'', which aired from February 7, 2022 and explored the ancestry of various ''Love & Hip Hop'' cast members in the vein of ''

Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

''. On July 11, 2022, VH1 announced that additional episodes for both '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''s tenth season and '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami''s fourth season would air together from August 8, 2022. A four-part special, ''Love & Hip Hop: Where Are They Now?'', featuring past cast members from all four franchises, began airing from October 31, 2022. On November 8, 2022, VH1 announced that '' VH1 Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition'' would return for a third season on November 28, 2022.

Proposed spin-offs

Since 2013, Mona Scott-Young has discussed expanding the franchise to other cities, such as

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. On February 28, 2016, it was reported that potential spin-offs set in

and Houston were in pre-production and the producers were auditioning potential cast members. However, Scott-Young denied reports of a spin-off being filmed in New Orleans, saying "I would love to do a show there but there is no ''Love & Hip Hop: New Orleans'' being cast or shot right now." ''Love & Hip Hop: Houston'' was to feature Jhonni Blaze,

Kirko Bangz Kirk Jerel Randle (born August 20, 1989), better known by his stage name Kirko Bangz, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He is best known for his single, " Drank in My Cup" which was released in 2011 and peaked at number 28 on the US ' ...

, Kat St. John, Just Brittany, Nessacary, J. Prince Jr, Propain, the Sauce Twinz, the Charlo Brothers, DJ Eric, Lil' Keith, and Mehgan James as cast members. However, the show was put on hold indefinitely midway through filming in June 2016 due to concerns for the crew's safety, after several shoots were shut down by cast violence, as well as locals interrupting filming. On July 7, 2017, Scott-Young said "Houston I love. We wanted to do Houston and we went into Houston to cast and we may go back to Houston." In 2021, VH1 revealed that Megan Thee Stallion auditioned for ''Love & Hip Hop: Houston'' before her career took off. On September 23, 2014, Tammy Rivera and

announced on social media that they would be leaving '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' to star in their own spin-off show ''Meet The Flockas''. However, the series never eventuated and Rivera returned to the main cast of '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' in 2016. On October 11, 2017, Waka confirmed that ''Meet The Flockas'' was in production and would be produced by Mona Scott-Young. Earlier on July 24, 2017,

Safaree Samuels Safaree Lloyd Samuels (born July 4, 1981) is a Jamaican-American rapper. Samuels started his musical career in the group the Hoodstars in the early 2000s alongside American rapper Nicki Minaj. Samuels is also known as a solo artist. In 2016, he ...

announced that he would be starring in his own spin-off ''Wild Safaree''. Neither spin-offs ever made it to air, and Waka and Tammy would instead go on to star in

We TV We TV (stylized as WE tv) is an American pay television channel. Owned by AMC Networks since its September 1997 launch, it is oriented mainly towards lifestyle and entertainment programming. As of February 2015, approximately 85.2 million Amer ...

's '' Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition'', ''Waka & Tammy Tie The Knot'' and '' Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta''. On February 25, 2019, Solo Lucci announced that he would be starring in his own dating show spin-off ''I Love Lucci''. The show was to be hosted by

and produced by Mona Scott Young, however it never made it to air and it is unclear if it was to be considered a part of the ''Love & Hip Hop'' franchise.

Series overview

Spin-offs

Specials

Awards and nominations

International versions

References

External links

''Love & Hip Hop: New York''

''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''

''Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood''

''Love & Hip Hop Live: The Wedding''

''Love & Hip Hop: Out in Hip Hop''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love and Hip Hop VH1 original programming Hip hop television African-American reality television series Reality television series franchises Television franchises