The Show That Launched a Thousand House Tours

"When MTV Cribs premiered 25 years ago, it promised to pull back the curtain on celebrity homes. The series followed in the mold of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, which aired from the mid-1980s to the mid-'90s and showcased how the wealthy lived. (It wished its viewers "champagne wishes and caviar dreams.") But MTV's take had a distinctly informal air: A star welcomed viewers at the front door, then leisurely steered them from room to room, their chatter directed toward a Steadicam-secured camera."

"These extravagant, often eccentric displays involved living-room jacuzzis, shag carpets, and costly collections-of lingerie, limited-edition sneakers, even tropical fish. The tours also featured more ordinary domestic details, such as unmade beds and the half-eaten contents of refrigerators. The goal, as David Sirulnick, one of the show's executive producers, said in a 2002 interview, was to demonstrate that celebrities were "just people like everybody else.""

MTV Cribs premiered 25 years ago to reveal celebrity homes through informal, room-by-room tours led by stars speaking to a Steadicam-held camera. The show mixed extravagant features—living-room jacuzzis, shag carpets, expensive collections of lingerie, limited-edition sneakers, and tropical fish—with ordinary details like unmade beds and half-eaten refrigerator contents. Producers framed the tours to suggest celebrities were just people like everybody else, balancing relatability and aspiration. Personal anecdotes—such as Usher buying L.A. Reid's former house and Travis Barker's childhood pool fantasies—turned mansions into attainable dreams. Across 17 seasons and spin-offs, Cribs normalized voyeuristic lifestyle entertainment for millennials.

Read at The Atlantic