Is the cast of Jersey Shore being replaced after season 5?

Official cast photo of Jersey Shore from Season 4 in Florence Italy

An end of an era may soon be coming to the world of reality television. The cast of Jersey Shore has returned from their Italian season 4 adventure and are currently under virtual house arrest by MTV to keep their vibe going so that they can knock out filming for season 5 back in Seaside Heights. According to a recent report the end of season 5 could very well be the end of the line for the entire cast of Jersey Shore!

With each new mega-rating season the cast of Deena Nicole Cortese, Jenni ‘JWoww’ Farley, Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Paul ‘Pauly D’ Delvecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammy ‘Sweetheart’ Giancola and Vinny Guadagnino keep understandably asking for more bank. Snooki, JWoww and Pauly D have already signed up for their own spin-off shows and at some point, though it hasn’t happened yet, these guidos and guidettes will jump the shark. That fact is inevitable.

According to US Weekly the suits at MTV are aware that the graffiti is on the wall and plans may already be underway to recast Jersey Shore. In fact their insider source doesn’t mince words:

“After this group comes back from Italy and shoots season 5 this summer, that will be the end for them.”

This inside adds that the cast members will be free to pursue other endeavors and that new fame-hungry folks along the shore will come much cheaper than the $100,000 per episode payout it’s costing MTV for the current cast members.

All of this makes sense except for one glaring omission. Is it plausible to believe that you can simply recreate the magic that these original cast members formed when they exploded on to the pop landscape? I find it difficult to imagine tuning into a show called Jersey Shore that didn’t have Snooki, JWoww or The Situation but hey, I’ve been wrong before. Do you think a new batch of Jersey boys and girls would work or should MTV walk away from the show while it’s on top?

One other thought, if this actually plays out can you begin to imagine the casting call scene? That would be a freakin’ mad house!

UPDATE! MTV has refuted this rumor, telling Access Hollywood: “We love the present cast, and their summer adventures have just begun. We currently have no plans to recast the show.”

Photo: Mario & Luigi / WENN.com