MTV is counting on the power of '90s/aughts nostalgia to get young people to vote in the 2016 election. The cable network will channel the spirit of one millennial America's most beloved, defunct TV shows when it brings back TRL on Sept. 27, a day after the first presidential debate.
The catch? This time TRL doesn't stand for Total Request Live—it stands for Total Registration Live. It's a one-off special for National Voter Registration Day that MTV promises will give viewers the old-school TRL feels, while encouraging people to weigh in on the political issues they care about. Basically, it's still TRL, but instead of voting to see Korn's "Freak on a Leash" video for the 100th time, people can vote to let the world know they care about income inequality.
Entertainment Weekly reports that the special will feature appearances by Ty Dolla $ign, Kendall Jenner, Joss Whedon, Fifth Harmony's Camila Cabello, Vic Mensa, Natalia Dyer, actor and singer Mack Wilds, and others. MTV's Nessa will host Total Registration Live, which will air at 6 p.m. Eastern on MTV, while also streaming on MTV.com and ElectThis.com, as well as the MTV app and Facebook page.
TRL ran on MTV from 1998 to 2008. That was back when the network still played music videos and people would come home after school, fire up their AOL, and get online to vote for which videos the show, hosted by Carson Daly, would play that day. Sometimes Mariah Carey would show up and make everyone nervous.
MTV resurrected the show once before, in 2014, with Ariana Grande as host, also for just one day. If you're really dying to see more TRL, there's always MTV Classic, where you can get some Beavis and Butthead and Daria viewing in while you're at it.
