‘Siesta Key’ Backlash: How Alex Kompothecras’ Dad Came Up With The Idea For MTV’s Controversial Reality Show

Siesta Key got off to a rocky start with a canceled premiere party, and now critics want to know how the controversial reality show got a spot on MTV’s schedule to begin with. More than a decade after Laguna Beach and The Hills ended their reigns on the former all-music channel, Siesta Key was poised to offer an unscripted look at twentysomethings’ post-college lives. Unfortunately, real life got on the way.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, a Siesta Key premiere party and screening in Sarasota, Florida, was canceled due to death threats aimed at one of the stars, Alex Kompothecras. Kompothecras is reportedly friends with one of the men shown in a recent viral video that shows a shark being dragged to death behind a boat, and the incident has prompted a boycott of the MTV reality show. But Alex’s father, Dr. Gary Kompothecras, told the Times the death threats weren’t the only reason for the premiere party cancellation.

Dr. Gary Kompothecras is a Sarasota chiropractor known for his medical referral service 1-800-Ask-Gary. But he can add reality TV pitchman and producer to his resume. Gary apparently thought his son and his wealthy friends would make for an entertaining TV show, so he pitched the idea to a production company. The idea was picked up by Matt Ford, the executive producer of Laguna Beach, one of MTV’s most famous early reality shows. Gary even scored an executive producer credit.

“I said this would be a good reality show,” Gary Kompothecras told the Herald-Tribune of his son’s lifestyle.

“Plus they’re good kids, so that was the main thing, they weren’t bad kids. I said this would be a good story because when I was growing up, you had Father Knows Best, you had My Three Sons, you had people with values and I didn’t see that in the TV of late.”

In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Alex Kompothecras revealed his father called a production company after some friends commented on his son’s lifestyle.

“My dad had some buddies come to town, and I took them out fishing,” Alex told the Tampa Bay Times.

“They thought our lifestyle was pretty unique. I kept hearing, ‘You need to do a show.’ Then my dad called a small production company to help do the pilot.”

The elder Kompothecras agreed that his son has “such a nice lifestyle,” something that he didn’t have when he was growing up.

“Seeing how much fun him and his friends were having, it felt like a good idea to show a positive image of growing up,” Gary said.

Siesta Key follows eight privileged friends as they summer in the posh coastal town in Florida. Gary’s son Alex is at the center of the group—and a love triangle. In addition to Alex, the Siesta Key cast includes Juliette Porter, Madisson Hausburg, Brandon Gomes, Kelsey Owens, Chloe Trautman, and Pauly Apostolides.

“I think it’s really going to put Siesta Key on the map,” Alex Kompothecras previously said he expected the show to put Siesta Key on the map.

“It’s like the day in the life of young adults living in Siesta Key,” he told Us Weekly.

“Yes, more fortunate than others, for sure, but we appreciate everything we have typically. It’s like a big brochure on what there is to do as youthful people in Sarasota [County]. Tons of girl drama obviously.”

Now, more than a year after the pilot for Siesta Key was shot on the sunny beaches of Florida, Alex’s real-life drama and his connection to the disturbing shark video has prompted a boycott of his father’s dream project.

Siesta Key airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.

[Featured Image by Chris O’Meara/AP Images]