Come on, everybody, we were so close!  So very, very close.  With Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi pregnant, engaged, and seemingly retired from the hard-partying lifestyle for which she's famous only for stumbling through, it had seemed 'Jersey Shore' was at its end.  After all, even meatballs and gorilla juiceheads have to sleep sometime, don't they?

And with 'Jersey Shore' Season 5 having come to a close, with a Pauly D spin-off on the way and a Snooki / JWoww pilot in the works, it had seemed that the once mammoth phenomenons of GTL and the 'Jersey Shore' lifestyle would slowly, but surely ride off into the sunset.  Then, this happened.

Brace yourselves, folks.  'Jersey Shore' has been renewed for Season 6.

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, given that even after five seasons 'Jersey Shore' managed to pull 8 million viewers for its season finale this past week, but I was so very certain that we were finally putting the Shore to rest.  Sigh.  According to the network, Season 6 of 'Jersey Shore' will see the infamous roommates moving through “uncharted territory as their lives outside the Shore take off in exciting new directions...While things will definitely be a little different this time when they hit the boardwalk, their trademark hilarity and family dysfunction will remain the same."

For those unable to wait another summer for 'Jersey Shore' Season 6, the reunion special airs this Thursday night at 10:00 p.m. on MTV, leading up to the March 29 premiere of 'The Pauly D Project,' which follows the stone-haired DJ off on his own adventures.  Snooki and JWoww's as-yet-untitled spin-off continues shooting in the Jersey City area.

No word on when exactly the cameras will start rolling on 'Jersey Shore' season 6, or just how far along Snooki might be into her pregnancy.  I'm reasonably certain they don't allow babies into tanning beds.

What say you, 'Jersey Shore' fans?  Are you excited to see Pauly, Vinny, Ronnie, Sam, Snooki, JWoww and The Situation back for another season?  Yes, I deliberately left out Deena.  Give us your take, or preparations for the inevitable apocalypse in the comments below!

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