No surprises here…

via press release:

MTV GREENLIGHTS SEASON FOUR OF ITS

RECORD-BREAKING SERIES “Jersey Shore”

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Hit Series Begins Production Spring 2011 in Europe with Cast Set to Film In Italy

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NEW YORK (January 25, 2011) – MTV today announced the Season Four greenlight of its record-breaking series “Jersey Shore.” Set to begin production Spring 2011 in Europe, the hit show will film in Italy and air later this year. Going beyond the East Coast beachfront culture MTV viewers turned into a television phenomenon, America’s most talked about housemates are leaving the boardwalk behind for the piazzas of Italy. Poised to get their G.T.L. on abroad, ready to drop in on Vinny’s family for a famous Guadagnino dinner and excited to trade gorillas for Italian stallions, this wacky and dysfunctional family is about to turn “The Beautiful country” upside down.

“While the stateside ‘Jersey Shore’ locales have become iconic for our audience it’s really the constantly evolving dynamic amongst the cast that keeps them coming back each season and Europe is a fresh spin on a show that continues to reach new heights for us,” said Chris Linn, Executive Vice President of Programming and Head of Production for MTV. “The cast is headed to the birthplace of the culture they love and live by. We can’t wait to see what erupts as a result.”

“Jersey Shore” is MTV’s #1 series of all time among P12-34. Currently in its third season, “Jersey Shore” is averaging an 8.3 P12-34 rating, up 46% versus Season Two (5.7) and up 219% from Season One (2.6). “Jersey Shore” ranks #1 in its time period (Thu 10p-11p) across all television among P12-34 and P18-49, beating the broadcast networks. This season, “Jersey Shore” has produced MTV’s top four series telecasts ever; its most recent episode on 1/20/11 is MTV’s most watched series telecast ever, with 8.9 million total viewers, topping the network’s previous record set by “Jersey Shore” on 1/13/11. The 1/20/11 telecast was also the #1 telecast on Thursday among P12-34, beating “American Idol” by nearly 1 million viewers.

“Jersey Shore” is Executive Produced by Sally Ann Salsano from 495 Productions. Jacquelyn French is Executive Producer for MTV. Chris Linn is Executive in Charge of Production for MTV. Concept created by Anthony Beltempo.

Source: The Nielsen Company. Live+SD coverage ratings unless noted.

About MTV:
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is the leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA., one of the world’s leading crea tors of programming and content across all media platforms.