Review: Sonic's New Paris Hilton And Nicole Richie Drinks Are Sweet Throwbacks To The Hot Aughts

It may have been a hot minute since you last tuned into "The Simple Life," one of the first so-called reality shows that followed pseudo-celebrities Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie through their antics and adventures. But there's never a bad time for a comeback, and with Peacock's special "Paris & Nicole: The Encore," the carefree duo remerges 20 years later and makes their return to television (Paris Hilton's cooking show notwithstanding). With this auspicious re-debut of the wild debutantes comes a set of Sonic specialty drinks, aptly named The Paris and The Nicole, each with its own formulation that captures these icons' distinctively bubbly spirit.

Sonic's latest promotional set-up aims to be a sippable time machine, a Paris and Nicole tribute that takes you on a trip back to the early 2000s — the era before iPhones and social media cropped up on the pop culture landscape to make famous-for-nothing people out of just about anyone. Paris and Nicole were arguably the first influencer team of the 21st century, neo-nepo babies sharing their wild times with an adoring public while giving rise to the Kardashians, who don't have their own Sonic drinks yet but seem to be doing okay.

Can Sonic translate these two pop culture heroines into sweet sips two decades down the line, or are some things better left in the past? When I got word that these beverages were hitting the market, I made a beeline for the closest Sonic to see just what the buzz was all about.

Paris and Nicole may be a team-up as inseparable as PB&J, but each icon has her own distinctive spirit, essences Sonic tries to tap into for these fizzy sippers. For Paris, the formula shimmers with a vibrant candy-coated pink hue that looks as rich as it does bubbly. Anyone glancing at the menu board without knowing what they were looking at might mistake it for pink lemonade, something with a tart twist designed to surprise their taste buds — an assumption that isn't entirely off-base, but that doesn't follow with the saturated Sprite-based sweetness they'll find in the cup. And unlike Paris's microwave-based kitchen fire fiasco on "The Simple Life," there's no safety lesson required to enjoy it.

The Nicole is a little deeper, with a more traditional cola-based Dr Pepper foundation that appears more substantial than its perky pink partner. But beneath the surface is a fizzy sweetness that does its best to balance out the larger-than-life spectacle of its frothy BFF. With each heiress getting their own glamorous gulp that reflects their place in the two-person pecking order, there's no squabbling over which drink is better. They both have something special to offer on their own or side-by-side, an apt metaphor for the overarching Paris-Nicole chemistry adored by their followers.

It's not for nothing that Sonic is launching a dynamic drink double-up for Paris and Nicole. The promotion is a strategically-timed kick-off to help push Peacock's "Paris & Nicole: The Encore," which reunites the adorkable debs and reignites their antics for both the nostalgia set and a whole new generation of potential fans. Tapping into pop culture's unending thirst to revisit beloved figures and fads from the past, Sonic is adding a tasty dimension to the at-home enjoyment for watchers as they tune in to see how Paris and Nicole have gotten on in the two decades since "The Simple Life" came to a close. The two even gave their personalized drinks a try, dropping a fun clip in which they revisit their "Sanasa" theme song while brainstorming names for the concoctions before settling on their own iconic names.

Anyone hoping for a full-fledged series that brings the silly pair back to the airwaves on a more regular basis will have to wait for further announcements. For now, the show is a one-and-done special, and the drinks that accompany it are only around for a limited time.

Sonic may not be Paris Hilton's favorite fast-food restaurant, but regular customers can take comfort in the drive-up's use of its stock ingredients remixed and remastered into a set of glossy glugs that sparkle with a sugary sheen. The Paris is a bubble gum pink blend of dragon fruit syrup and Sprite, garnished with lemon and lime slices, and blinged out with a whipped cream topper and a glitzy sprinkle of Nerds. It wouldn't be out of place in a new Barbie movie-themed food promotion, though everyone knows Paris is the original living Barbie doll, proving all things Hilton end up working out for the best.

The Nicole is a contrasting Dr Pepper-based potion with a jazzy swirl of sweet cream, vanilla flavoring, and strawberries sunk into the cup. Not to be outdone in the glam department by her counterpart, this syrupy swizzle is capped with its own whipped cream spritz, adorned with even more actual strawberries. If there's anything the world learned watching Nicole make merry mischief with her bubble-headed bestie, it's that too much is never enough, and this drink sets out to prove it in a bodacious way. You can get medium versions of each luxury drink for around $3.99, with other sizes priced accordingly.

I was fully expecting to be walloped in the taste buds with two super sugary beverages, considering the descriptions and ingredient list. Instead, these drinks are much lighter than their recipes suggest, with The Paris delivering a crispy, almost cocktail-like fruit freshness with the peppy tang of Nerds adding zip to the whip on top. It's not as hot as Paris's Taco Bell collab; it's more of a cool connection instead, and rightly so. There was no sign of the neon-pink hue in the cup, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I chalked it up to my location being out of food coloring. The Nicole is a mellowed-out version of Dr Pepper Strawberries and Crème, offering a jam-like layer to the 23 elements in the original soda formula, with a drizzle of glaze and real berries in the cup. I don't know if it's Nicole and Paris's favorite ways to use strawberries, but it's a revelation just the same.

Anyone looking to sample Sonic's ode to the 2000s power team should get in on the goodness as soon as possible. If The Paris and The Nicole turn out to be sweet successes, it could trigger a nostalgia tsunami for other flavors from the era. Maybe next we'll get a "Jersey Shore" collab with a Snookidoodle Shake and a JWowwerade Slush. On second thought, that might be taking sweet nostalgia a bit too far.

Since each beverage has its own distinct profile, it was easy for me to try them side by side. I ordered mediums of both, thinking that if I liked what I tasted I'd want to keep swigging. I gave The Paris a try first and found myself surprised by how light the finished product is. Whatever the dragon fruit syrup does to Sprite ends up taking out some of the sweetness while adding a fresh, unobtrusive flavor. I also took a swipe of the whipped topping and Nerds along with the drink to see how well they play together; the beverage is perfectly enjoyable even without these adornments.

Then I gave The Nicole a test run and found the straw clogged with an actual strawberry — proof of life for the real berries promised by the description. The strawberries and cream combined with the Dr Pepper dims the sharpness of the soda in a pleasing manner. Unlike The Paris, adding the whipped cream to a second sip actually enhanced the experience, lending a soda shop vibe that took the nostalgia machine even further back in time.