One of the young women starring on " The Hills," Audrina Patridge tried calling her friend Lauren Conrad and Patridge's on and off boyfriend Justin Brescia when she heard they had hooked up behind her back, to get her facts straight. The clock, after all, was ticking. The betrayal alone would be overwhelming. Nevertheless, the most important, when you're a regular on MTV's reality series "The Hills," it's only a matter of time before your business becomes pop culture fodder.Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton according to Patridge broke the news one week after she first heard it.

"That made it so much harder," she said. "I didn't even get to the two people I needed to talk to before everyone knew about it."

That is life on "The Hills," which in its fourth season now faces the bizarre challenge of having to compete with its own noise, its cast covered so greedily by bloggers, entertainment news magazines and the tabloids that the show itself can seem like a reflection. Even those who don't watch "The Hills" know what's going on with its stars thanks to the real-time news cycle. On the other hand, for viewers, the coverage rushed potentially spoils upcoming episodes.

Being still the most-watched program on MTV, it's almost certain that the series will continue to a fifth season. But the new dilemma raises a bigger question: Do fans even need to watch the show anymore to get a "Hills" fix?

Adam DiVello, the show's executive producer said of course they do.

"If anything, it keeps the awareness out there and gives you a sneak peek of what's coming. If viewers want to see the action unfold for themselves, they can't get it anywhere else but on MTV."