W. Va. senator calls on MTV to pull plug on new reality show "Buckwild"

(CBS News) MTV's newest reality show, "Buckwild," is being described as the "Jersey Shore" of Appalachia. And now, a senator from West Virginia is condemning the new program's view of his home state.

The show is about a group of wild and crazy friends partying, hooking up, and cursing up a storm. And people in West Virginia are not happy about it.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D), said, "In no way shape or form is this reality, and definitely not reality in West Virginia. We have an awful lot of constituents. They're very much offended that they're trying to portray our state in this light. As I'm told and I understand, this was all scripted and ... (they would do) four or five or six takes if that's what's needed to make it look as outrageous as it possibly can."

MTV declined our interview request, but the show's executive producer told Entertainment Weekly magazine, "It's not like looking at a train wreck. ... I think it's going to get people talking and it might change people's perspectives. ... It will be very refreshing to the MTV audience."

But Manchin said "Buckwild" is offensive and asked MTV to pull the plug. Manchin said, "If it was your state, and these were your children, how would you feel about it?"

The show is taking the coveted Thursday night time slot being vacated by "Jersey Shore," which rankled Italian-Americans before its premiere and drew the ire of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said in Nov. 2011, "I want to remind all of you of something: they're not from New Jersey -- they're from New York."

"Buckwild" is an example of a genre some have dubbed "redneck reality," like TLC's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo." Animal Planet has two hits, "Call of the Wildman" and "Hillbilly Handfishin'. "

But Manchin says "Buckwild" has gone too far. "If that's what you're calling entertainment, it's a sad state of affairs in America today," he said. "I love West Virginia, and I know this is not the West Virginia that I know, the people that I know, and it's not the youth that I know. And I would hate to see this depicted as the norm."

That may be, but it's also the reality of reality television.

Watch Chip Reid's full report in the video above.