The first season of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County premiered on September 28, 2004. The series continued to air on Tuesday evenings until its conclusion on December 7, 2004, at which point it had aired eleven episodes. The second season was expanded to seventeen episodes and premiered on July 11, 2005, in its new timeslot on Mondays. The finale aired on November 14, 2005. The third and final season premiered on August 16, 2006, and aired a total of fifteen episodes by its end on November 15, 2006. In July 2012, MTV aired a month-long morning marathon of Laguna Beach, titled "Retro Mania". The following year, the marathon was renamed "RetroMTV Brunch". On August 13, 2016, reruns started to air on MTV's new sister channel MTV Classic. As of December 30, 2016, the series has been removed from the schedule.

In 2006, cast member Lauren Conrad was commissioned her own spin-off series The Hills. The program premiered on May 31, 2006, immediately after the second-season finale of Laguna Beach. For the first five seasons, the series focused on Conrad as she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the fashion industry. It additionally placed emphasis on her housemate Heidi Montag and their friends Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port. Initially, Conrad and Montag attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising together, though the latter left the college after receiving employment with Bolthouse Productions. Their friendship suffered after Montag began dating and eventually moved into an apartment with Spencer Pratt during the second season; it ended after Conrad suspected that Pratt circulated rumors of a sex tape involving herself and ex-boyfriend Jason Wahler. In the third season, Lo Bosworth became housemates with Conrad and Patridge, which became a distancing factor between the latter two.

After the third season of the revamped Laguna Beach failed to attain the success of the original format, producers began to search elsewhere for a potential fourth installment of the series. Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County premiered on August 13, 2007, and showcased a group of students attending Newport Harbor High School. The series was narrated by Chrissy Schwartz, and additionally emphasized classmates Clay Adler, Chase Cornwell, Sasha Dunlap, Grant Newman, and Allie Stockton. After the cast and storylines failed to achieve viewer interest, the program was cancelled on January 2, 2008, after broadcasting twelve episodes.

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County episodes aired regularly on MTV in the United States. Most episodes are approximately thirty minutes, and were broadcast in standard definition. The series' episodes are also available for download at the iTunes Store. Episodes were previously available for viewing through the official MTV website, though they have since become unavailable since the series' conclusion. The series, in addition to The Hills, were premiered in syndication in fall 2009. Since its debut, Paramount Pictures has released the first two seasons of Laguna Beach onto DVD, to regions 1, 2, and 4. Each product includes all episodes of the respective season, in addition to deleted scenes and interviews of series personnel.

By the conclusion of the fourth season, Conrad and Montag appeared to come to Common terms, though the former's suspicions continued to inhibit a reconciliation. Meanwhile, Port relocated to New York City to accept a position with Diane von Fürstenberg, at which point she was commissioned the short-lived spin-off series The City. Prior to production of the fifth season, rumors were widespread that Conrad wished to leave the series to pursue other career opportunities. However, producers persuaded her to film ten additional episodes in the following season to close her storylines. She made her final appearance on the series during the midseason finale, where she reconciled with Montag at her wedding to Pratt. Kristin Cavallari assumed the series' lead from the second half of the seasons onward. After airing six seasons and 102 episodes, The Hills ended its run on July 13, 2010. That September, supporting cast member Brody Jenner stated that he had filmed an alternate ending to the series that featured Conrad.