Yet another confirmation of the adage that things were better in the “good ol’ days”?

As of now, specific details on how the new Total Request Live are mostly scarce. It’s presumed that it will follow a similar format to the original series which combined an interactive user-determined music video countdown with celebrity interviews, live performances and more. One thing we know for sure is that Carson Daly will not be returning for the new TRL, and he’s been replaced by five relatively unknown hosts.
–Ethan Anderton, Slash Film, “MTV is Rebooting ‘Total Request Live,’ But How and Why?”

The primary problem with this reboot (before it even airs on MTV) of this popular after-school show dedicated to fun music and celebrity interviews and premiering hot music videos pre-YouTube and social media is that the show’s defining host, Carson Daly, either passed on this forthcoming project or wasn’t asked. The former reason seems more likely, but it’s ultimately irrelevant.

Why?

There were lots of guest hosts in the prime TRL (Total Request Live) days in that very cool lounge-like studio. And while some guest hosts were entertaining in small doses, TRL was Carson Daly as much as Carson Daly was TRL. Mr. Daly was the captain of the ship lead singer of this amazingly awesome band that sold out both arenas and tiny clubs in equal measure. Plus, he knew/knows everybody in music. The genre doesn’t even matter. If you’re talented (rising or established), Carson Daly knows and he’ll score an exclusive. It’s what the fans wanted and what the fans loved about Carson Daly’s TRL.

Add in the fact that this TRL reboot is on an MTV today that is far different than the golden era of the ’80s, ’90s and early-to-mid ’00s of this music-centric channel. For a cable channel, MTV was king for a long time. Oh, and by different, I mean way, way worse in 2017 and its recent years. As in completely unrecognizable and, yes, unwatchable.

Without Carson Daly (NBC Today Show) and the incredible bands and singers of the late ’90s and early-to-mid ’00s, the TRL reboot, as cool as it could be, looks like its heading down the same road as modern day MTV:

Unwatchable.

Pro tip: Nostalgia doesn’t work years later if it’s unrecognizable to its dedicated fans.

Just ask MTV (and all of the people who have stopped watching throughout the past decade).