MTV has rounded up Snooki and her pals for a second season of its raucous summer party show “Jersey Shore,” while the Style Network is airing “Jerseylicious,” a series about a Green Brook hair salon “where big hair meets even bigger personalities.” Meanwhile, the second season of “Cake Boss,” about a Hoboken pastry chef, just concluded on TLC, and Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” returns to the air May 3.
The recent glut Jersey-themed reality shows (such as Oxygen reality show “Jersey Couture,” above) is just the latest example of the state’s prominent place in popular culture, a role that has sometimes brought unflattering depictions of its residents. But Jerseyans have come to take pride in their reputation for in-your-face bluntness.
Here are some of our favorite Jersey moments in pop culture.
The Boss -- arguably New Jersey’s favorite son -- lifted the state’s image with his paeans to the working class and ballads about Jersey shore towns. (Bill Kostroun / Associated Press)
The “Blaze of Glory” musician also hails from the Garden State and did a two-year world tour dubbed “The New Jersey Syndicate Tour” to support his 1988 album “New Jersey.” (Johannes Simon / Getty Images)