Nico Tortorella Spills the Tea on Season 2 of How Far is Tattoo Far

Following the worldwide success of its debut season, MTV’s How Far Is Tattoo Far is back for a second season and taking revenge ink to an even higher level. The show allows friends, partners, and family members the opportunity to choose tattoos for each other, and in many cases, these permanent designs act as an opportunity for personal vengeance or the reveal of a big secret. And while season 2 packs plenty of brand new tattoos, one thing’s the same and that’s Nico Tortorella.

Nico Tortorella hosts the show alongside Jersey Shore’s Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, often acting as the middle ground between feuding friends. We caught up with Nico to get the inside scoop on the show’s second season and learn from the source why fans should tune in to the premiere episode on Thursday, May 23rd at 9pm EST.

What was it like coming back for season two?

It was stressful, the first season kicked my ass. They came back with the second season relatively quickly and we shoot the show so fast—it’s a marathon. We’re shooting 14-16 hour days for two weeks and a half weeks straight to make twenty episodes. This type of work is super escapist, I get to go and play in a world that’s not necessarily reality, which has its ups and downs. But I was excited to be back with Nicole, the crew, and the tattoo artists. We’ve really built this little family.

What was the craziest tattoo you saw in season one?

I mean, that devil baby really fucked me up. And that was the first tattoo we filmed in the first season. It kicked off the rest of the season and I came back into work with crystals because we can’t put a hex on a baby. Then again, how do you pick because there were so many that were so bad. We have nothing to do with these tattoos, we’re not even accomplices. We’re just hosting in an environment where people can be their truest selves and you can’t fight that.

Even though you’re not personally part of the tattoo process, how does seeing this face-to-face impact you?

Intensely. We know what everyone’s getting tattooed, but they’re blindfolded with big headphones on that make everything completely silent—it’s almost like being in a sensory deprivation tank. And a lot of these tattoos are big pieces where they’re getting tattooed for five or six hours. I go through a back-and-forth because I obviously feel bad for the people who are getting the work done. But they’re also putting something super fucked up on their best friend, romantic partner, or their family members. Rarely do you get a situation where one person goes really hard and the other person doesn’t. Those are the situations where you feel the worst. But somehow, we’ve created this alternate bubble of reality where people can come in and communicate in ways, that for whatever reason, they couldn’t outside of this show. That for me, is the most special part. I get to facilitate true, honest, and real conversations between people. And the majority of people are from parts of the country that I’d never get to meet. There are little nuggets of special moments on the show that keep me coming back.

Let’s talk season two. What’s changed and what has stayed the same?

Nicole was pregnant when we were filming the second season, so there was no alcohol involved. There was definitely alcohol involved in the first season, it’s Nicole and she’s made a career out of that. So, we don’t have a drunk Nicole in the second season. We do have the same artists, but the tattoos are bigger, bolder, louder, and more intense for sure.

If you were to get a tattoo on the show, what’s the worst thing someone could pick for you?

The worst thing would be something that directly attacks another person or a group of people. Like a Nazi symbol, something racist, something homophobic, or transphobic. I would lose my shit completely.

If you could pick a tattoo for your co-host Nicole, what would you choose?

I think I would gas her up by saying that it was so bad, but I would probably do something really sweet. Nicole is really spiritual, which is something that not a lot of people know. She has a really good connection with the spirit world and I would probably do something along those lines that involves her and her kids.

Last season, there were a bunch of MTV personalities: such as Angelina from Jersey Shore and a few of the cast members from The Challenge and Floribama Shore. What can we expect to see this time around?

We have some folks from Floribama, some Challenge kids coming on, and a big Teen Mom situation.

What can fans count on seeing on screen?

There’s a lot more fighting this season. I’m talking blood on the fucking stage and we had to kick some people off the show. The Jerry Springer drama is on max this season.