[2] Considered as a pioneer in the reality television genre with local hit programs like The Real World, Road Rules and Bad Girls Club, it was founded in 1987 by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray after an agent named Mark Itkin of the William Morris Agency put the two together to develop a scripted soap opera for MTV.

Attempts at scripted series, including Jam Bay, a show that would have co-produced with Universal Television for ABC, never went past the pilot stage.

[4] On June 28, 1999, the company attempted to enter into the syndication business, by planning on to partner with Columbia TriStar Television Distribution to launch a reality strip Love Hurts.

Cooley claimed in the lawsuit that Santucci and Starkman inserted a toothbrush into her vaginal canal while she was passed out from heavy drinking, and stated that she was subjected to an environment in which degrading and harassing behavior was directed at female contestants, including bathing suits stripped off their bodies.

"[8] Cooley also alleged that the show's producers encouraged and rewarded such behavior, and that when she raised concerns she was told to "just deal with it."