Lauren Conrad reality series turned down by MTV for being “too high brow?”

MTV announced last fall that it would be once again working with The Hills and Laguna Beach star Lauren Conrad on a new reality series focused on her life and attempt to make it as a fashion designer, but Lauren and all mention of the show was mysteriously absent from the network’s recent Upfront presentation.

The first confirmation that MTV had passed on the show came from blogger Rob Owen who posted this reader’s question in his “TV Q&A” column:

Q: Last year MTV had ads for a new reality show starring Lauren Conrad that was supposed to start in October 2010, but the show never aired. The ads just stopped with no explanation. Is the show still in production or canceled before it began?

-Kate, 44, Greentree

Rob: Looks like the latter. A publicist for the network said, “The show isn’t moving forward on MTV.”

The rejection was confirmed by Entertainment Weekly earlier today. They talked with David Janollari, EVP, Head of Programming for MTV, who tells the site “We decided not to go ahead with the show.” He clarifies by stating, “She did do a pilot. There were talks about whether we could somehow manage to put together a special based on that footage but that’s also a big question mark based on her interest in that and the finances. We love her! We would love her on our network!”

He summarizes the snub by politely saying, “It was a great attempt but it just didn’t feel like a perfect fit for us now.”

Lauren Conrad then responded to the EW article with this statement:

“We sold a show to MTV, filmed it and are really proud of the final result. MTV felt the subject matter was too high brow for their audience and offered me the opportunity to change the show by incorporating more of my personal life. We agreed going into the project that this show would be an aspirational one, focusing on my career and my goals and not my personal relationships. We delivered the show that we sold and are sorry MTV didn’t feel their viewers were savvy enough to appreciate it.”

OUCH!

Combining the fact that Lauren Conrad is still a very marketable name and that the series is basically “in the can,” I can’t imagine it won’t be picked up by another network with an audience “savvy enough to appreciate it.” Lifetime? Possibly Oprah?

Even if the series is deemed “un-airable” by the other networks, Lauren can always fall back on her career as a best-selling author! Perhaps she should write a book about her attempts to launch a fashion career?