| The Real World |
300px
Title frame for the latest season |
| Genre |
Reality |
| Created by |
Mary-Ellis Bunim
Jonathan Murray |
| Country of origin |
United States |
| Language(s) |
English language |
| No. of seasons |
26 |
| No. of episodes |
532 |
| Production |
| Executive producer(s) |
Mary-Ellis Bunim
Jonathan Murray
Jim Johnston |
| Producer(s) |
George Verschoor
Matt Kunitz
Rick de Oliveira
Anthony Dominici
Russell Heldt
Ted Kenney |
| Running time |
30 minutes (1992–2008)
1 hour (2008–present) |
| Production company(s) |
Bunim/Murray Productions |
| Broadcast |
| Original channel |
MTV |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV) (1992–2008)
1080i (HDTV) (2009–present) |
| Original run |
May 21, 1992 (1992-05-21) – present |
| Chronology |
| Related shows |
Road Rules
The Challenge |
| External links |
| Website |
| Production website |
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history[1] and one of the longest-running reality series in history, credited with launching the modern reality TV genre.[2]
The series was hailed in its early years for depicting issues of contemporary young-adulthood relevant to its core audience, such as prejudice, sexuality, AIDS and substance abuse, but later garnered a reputation as a showcase for immature and irresponsible behavior.[3]
Following Bunim’s death from breast cancer in 2004, Bunim/Murray Productions continues to produce the program. The twenty-sixth season, set in San Diego, premiered on September 28, 2011,[4][5] and ended its first run on December 21, 2011. The twenty-seventh season, set in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, will premiere on June 27, 2012.[6] The show has been renewed by MTV through its 28th season.[7]
The Real World was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family,[8] It focuses on the lives of a group of strangers[9] who audition to live together in a house for several months, as cameras record their interpersonal relationships. The show moves to a different city each season. The footage shot during the housemates’ time together was edited into 22-minute episodes for the first 19 seasons, and into 44-minute episodes beginning with The Real World: Hollywood, the series' 20th season. The narration given over the opening title sequence by the seven housemates states some variation of the following:
| “ |
This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World. |
” |
Before the finished version of the show debuted, the idea of a "scripted" version was toyed with. Rather than being themselves, a set of strangers (not the first-season New York cast) were given story and character arcs to attempt to recreate (a la soap opera). Bunim and Murray decided against this, and, at the last minute, pulled the concept (and the cast) before it became the first season of the show, believing seven diverse people would have enough of a basis upon which to interact without scripts. Tracy Grandstaff, one of the original seven picked for what has come to be known as "Season 0," went on to minor fame as the voice of the animated Beavis and Butt-head character Daria Morgendorffer, who eventually got her own spinoff, Daria. Dutch TV producer Erik Latour claims that the ideas for The Real World were directly derived from his television show Nummer 28, which aired in 1991 on Dutch television.[10]
One early sign of the show’s popularity occurred on the October 2, 1993 episode of the sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, which parodied the second-season Los Angeles cast, whose members were prone to argument and bigoted, a parody of the arguments over cliquism, prejudice and political differences that typified that cast, who perceived themselves as contentious.[11][12]
The show also gained widespread attention with its third season, The Real World: San Francisco, which aired in 1994, and depicted the conflict between David "Puck" Rainey, a bicycle messenger criticized for his poor personal hygiene,[13][14][15] and his roommates, most notably AIDS activist Pedro Zamora.[16] As the show increased in popularity, Zamora’s life as someone living with AIDS gained considerable notice, garnering widespread media attention. Zamora was one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media,[17] and after his death on November 11, 1994 (mere hours after the final episode of his season aired), he was lauded by then-President Bill Clinton. Zamora’s friend and roommate during the show, Judd Winick, went on to become a successful comic book writer, and wrote the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his friendship with Zamora, as well as high-profile[18] and controversial[19] storylines in mainstream superhero comics that featured gay and AIDS-related themes. Zamora's conflicts with Rainey were not only considered emotional high points for that season,[15] but are credited with making The Real World a hit show, and with proving that the infant "reality" television format was one that could bring considerable ratings to a network.[20] By July 1995, the series surpassed Beavis and Butt-head as the network's top-rated show.[15]
Appearing on the program has often served as a springboard to further success, especially in the entertainment industry.[21]
Eric Nies of the New York cast went on to become a model, actor, and television host, and was inducted into the Television and Broadcasters' Hall of Fame for his pioneering work in reality television. His housemate, Kevin Powell, became a successful author, poet, journalist, and 2006 candidate for United States House of Representatives for New York's 10th district. Their housemate Heather B. had a career as a hip-hop music artist.
Los Angeles cast member Beth Stolarczyk has produced men's and women's calendars and television programs featuring reality TV personalities, including herself, Las Vegas' Trishelle Cannatella, Chicago's Tonya Cooley, and Back to New York's Coral Smith.
Stolarczyk, Cannatella and Miami's Flora Alekseyeun appeared in the May 2002 Playboy magazine,[22][23][24] with later issues spotlighting Las Vegas' Arissa Hill[25] Cooley appeared on playboy.com. In addition to Playboy magazine, Cannatella has also posed for the online Playboy Cyber Club,[24] as well as for Stuff magazine.[26]
London cast member Jacinda Barrett has become a film actress, appearing in films such as Ladder 49, The Namesake, The Human Stain, and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
2004 San Diego castmate Jamie Chung has appeared in various television and film roles, including Dragonball Evolution, Sorority Row, and The Hangover Part II.
Lindsay Brien of the Seattle cast became a radio and CNN personality.[27]
Hawaii cast member Tecumseh "Teck" Holmes III appeared in films such as National Lampoon's Van Wilder and in TV series such Friends.[28]
Chicago cast member Kyle Brandt’s acting career includes starring in the soap opera Days of our Lives.[29][30] His castmate Tonya Cooley also appeared on an MTV special of True Life: I'm a Reality TV Star.[31]
Las Vegas castmembers Trishelle Cannatella and Steven Hill appeared in the horror film Scorned. Cannatella has also appeared on other reality shows, such as The Surreal Life, Battle of the Network Reality Stars, and Kill Reality, the latter of which also featured Hill and Cooley.
Sean Duffy of the Boston cast served several terms as the Attorney General of Ashland County in Wisconsin, and in November 2010 was elected to the United States House of Representatives, winning the seat as a Republican in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District.[32]
Mike Mizanin has also found fame as a WWE wrestler wrestling under the name "The Miz," a character he debuted during the Back to New York season.[33]
Dozens of former cast members from The Real World and its sister production Road Rules have appeared on the spin-off series The Challenge, which pays $100,000 or more to its winners. Various cast members have also earned livings as public speakers, since Bunim-Murray Productions funded their training in motivational speaking by the Points of Light Foundation in 2002, allowing them to earn between $1,500 and $2,000 for an appearance on the college lecture circuit.[34]
Each season consists of seven to eight people, aged 18–25 (a reflection of the network's target demographic), usually selected from thousands of applicants from across the country, with the group chosen typically representing different races, genders, sexual orientations, levels of sexual experiences, and religious and political beliefs. Should a cast member decide to move out, or be asked to do so by his or her roommates, the roommates will usually cast a replacement, dependent on how much filming time is left. Cast members are paid a small stipend for their participation in the show.[34] The cast of the first season, for example, was given $2,500. However, because cast members are not actors playing characters, they do not receive residuals routinely paid to actors whenever a TV show on which they appear is aired and replayed.[8]
Each season begins with the individual members of the house shown leaving home, often for the first time, and/or meeting their fellow housemates while in transit to their new home, or at the house itself. The exception was the Los Angeles season, which premiered with two housemates picking up a third at his Kentucky home and driving in a Winnebago RV to their new home in Los Angeles. Upon arriving at the house, the housemates choose their bedrooms, which is typically the first source of tension, with many choosing their rooms on a first-come first-served basis before the rest of the cast arrives.
The residence is typically elaborate in its décor, and is usually furnished by IKEA.[35] The residence usually includes a pool table, a Jacuzzi, and an aquarium, which serves as a metaphor for the show, in that the roommates, who are being taped at all times in their home, are seen metaphorically as fish in a fishbowl.[36] This point is punctuated not only by the fact that the MTV logo title card seen after the closing credits of each episode is designed as an aquarium, but also by a poem that Judd Winick wrote during his stay in the San Francisco house called "Fishbowl".[37] In some seasons, the group is provided with a shared car to use during their stay.[38]
The housemates are taped around the clock. The house is outfitted with video cameras mounted on walls to capture more intimate moments, and numerous camera crews consisting of three to six people follow the cast around the house and out in public. Each member of the cast is instructed to ignore the cameras and the crew, but are required to wear a battery pack and microphone in order to record their dialogue, though some castmembers have been known to turn off or hide them at times. The only area of the house in which camera access is restricted is the bathroom.[39]
Despite the initial awkwardness of being surrounded by cameramen, castmembers have insisted that they eventually adjust to it, and that their behavior is purely natural, and not influenced by the fact that they are being taped.[40] Winick, an alumnus of the show's third season (San Francisco), adds that castmembers eventually stop thinking about the cameras because it is too exhausting not to, and that the fact that their lives were being documented made it seem "more real."[41] Other cast members have related different accounts. Members of the London cast found the cameras burdensome at times, such as Jay Frank and Jacinda Barrett, who felt they intruded on the intimacy of their romantic relationships. Lars Schlichting related an anecdote in which roommate Mike Johnson asked a question when cameras were not present, and then asked the same question five minutes later when cameras were present, which Schlichting adds was not typical of Johnson. Johnson himself has remarked that castmate Barrett "hammed it up a lot," and that roommate Sharon Gitau withheld details of her life out of fear that her grandmother would react negatively.[42] Movement of the roommates outside of the residence is restricted to places that are cleared by producers[43] through contractual arrangements with locations to allow filming.[44]
The producers made an exception to the taping protocol during the third season, when Pedro Zamora requested that he be allowed to go out on a date without the cameras, because the normal anxieties associated with first dates would be exacerbated by the presence of cameras.[45] Filming of the Chicago season was also suspended during the onset of the September 11 attacks.
At the end of each week, each housemate is required to sit down and be interviewed about the past week's events. Unlike the normal day-to-day taping, these interviews, which are referred to as "confessionals," involve the subject looking directly into the camera while providing opinions and reflective accounts of the week's activities, which are used in the final, edited episodes. The producers instruct the cast to talk about whatever they wish,[41][46] and to speak in complete sentences, to reinforce the perception on the part of the home viewer that the cast is speaking to them. Winick described this practice as "like therapy without the help."[41] The confessionals were originally conducted by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jon Murray, but were eventually delegated to production staff members like George Verschoor and Thomas Klein. Beginning with the second season (Los Angeles), a small somewhat[47][48]-soundproof room was incorporated into each house for this purpose, which itself has also become known as the Confessional.
The various casts were often creative in their use of the confessional, which Bunim and Murray referred to as "inspired lunacy," such as a group confessional that the Los Angeles cast conducted on their last day in order to appear less contentious, but which ended with them arguing and storming out, an appearance by San Francisco housemate Judd Winick in a nun's habit, and Miami roommates Melissa Padrón and Flora Alekseyeun dressing up as prostitutes for a shared confessional in which they discuss why their roommates did not get along with them.[12] During Mardi Gras, 2000 New Orleans cast member Danny Roberts used the confessional to engage in a sex act.[49]
Initially, the show documented the housemates as they struggled to find and maintain jobs and careers in their new locales, with minimal group activities aside from their day-to-day lives in the house and their socializing in the city. The only group activity engineered by the producers during the first season was a trip for the three females to Jamaica. By the second season, sending the entire cast on a vacation and/or short-term local trip would become the norm for most seasons. By the fifth season, the cast would be given an ongoing, season-long activity, with the Miami cast given startup money and a business advisor to begin their own business. This aspect of the show remained in most subsequent seasons.[50] The assignments are obligatory, with casts assigned to work at an after-school daycare program, a radio station, public-access television station, etc. Beginning with the tenth season, a roommate fired from the group job would be evicted from the house and dropped from the cast. Hollywood's Greg Halstead and Cancun's Joey Rozmus were evicted from their respective houses after they were fired from their group jobs.[51][52]
Footage taped throughout each season is then edited into episodes (half-hour episodes for the first 19 seasons, one-hour episodes beginning with the twentieth).[53]
Physical violence of any kind was not tolerated by the producers. After an incident during the Seattle season in which Stephen Williams slapped Irene McGee as she moved out,[54] a response to the event was debated by the housemates, who were not present but were shown a videotape of the incident. The producers, not wanting to be seen condoning violence, gave the housemates the choice of having him leave, but instead the housemates chose to let him stay, and Williams was ordered to attend an anger management class.[55] Trisha Cummings was ordered out of the Sydney house after a physical altercation with Parisa Montazaran.[56] Hollywood castmates William Gilbert and David Malinosky were ordered into anger management for incidents that occurred during their season.[57]
Housemates were also responsible for any damage to furniture or other structures that occurred within the house. Most notably, Austin's Wes Bergmann, Brooklyn's J.D. Ordoñez and 2011 Las Vegas' Adam Royer were each required to pay restitution for property damage that occurred during their respective seasons.[58][59]
As their experiences on The Real World were often the first time that cast members encountered people of different races or sexual orientations,[60][61] many episodes documented conflict over these issues. First season housemate Kevin Powell had such arguments with Eric Nies, Julie Gentry, and Becky Blasband. The premiere episode of the Los Angeles season depicted regional epithets exchanged between Jon Brennan, Dominic Griffin, and Tami Roman. San Francisco housemate David "Puck" Rainey's treatment of Pedro Zamora's homosexuality was an issue for Zamora.[62] Flora Alekseyeun, during an argument with her Miami roommate Cynthia Roberts, dismissed what she referred to as Roberts' "black attitude," and their roommate Melissa Padrón, during a heated exchange with homosexual Dan Renzi, called him a "flamer".[63] Racism and religious intolerance was a point of contention among 2000 New Orleans housemates Julie Stoffer, Melissa Howard and Jamie Murray on more than one occasion.[64][65]
The stereotypical views about blacks imparted to Back to New York's Mike Mizanin by his uncle offended Coral Smith and Nicole Mitsch when he related them, and they tried to educate him on African American culture.[66][67] They were also offended by the fact that biracial roommate Malik Cooper wore a T-shirt with the image of Marcus Garvey, who was against miscegenation, despite the fact that Cooper was of mixed heritage and by his own admission had never dated a black woman.[68]
Philadelphia's Karamo Brown expressed being "borderline racist" towards Caucasians,[69] though he had softened in these feelings by the end of the season.[70] In the Denver season, Davis Mallory and Stephen Nichols confronted each other over Mallory's homosexuality and Nichols' race,[71] and Mallory later used a racial epithet during a drunken argument with black housemate Tyrie Ballard.[72][73]
During the Sydney season, Persian housemate Parisa Montazaran was offended at an anecdote related by housemate Trisha Cummings, in which Cummings described an Asian McDonald's employee whose command of English was not perfect, though Cummings later insisted that she misworded her anecdote.[74] A similar confrontation occurred during the Brooklyn season between J.D. Ordoñez and Chet Cannon, after a drunk Ordoñez made offensive statements about immigrants, following an incident at a drugstore.[75]
Hollywood's Kimberly Alexander got into an argument with Brianna Taylor, who is African American, and said, "Let's not get ghetto." When roommate William Gilbert saw this as racist, Alexander explained that Taylor had previously described herself has sometimes behaving "ghetto," and was merely referencing that.[76]
During the 2010 New Orleans season, tensions escalated between Ryan Leslie and openly gay Preston Roberson-Charles, amid questions about Leslie's own sexuality, and their mutual use of homophobic slurs.[77] During the 2011 San Diego season, tensions arose between Frank Sweeney and his male housemates Zach Nichols and Nate Stodghill, over Sweeney's bisexuality, and Nichols made what he said he intended to be a humorous remark to gay roommate Samantha McGinn that alluded to gay bashing, to which McGinn took exception.[78][79]
Los Angeles housemate Jon Brennan disagreed with Tami Roman’s decision to have an abortion, and argued with castmate Aaron Behle, and Behle's girlfriend, Erin, who were both pro-choice.[80] Rachel Campos, a conservative Republican member of the San Francisco cast, clashed with liberal roommates Mohammed Bilal and Judd Winick.[81][82] Paris housemates Simon Sherry-Wood and Leah Gillingwater argued over the Iraq War,[83] and in a subsequent episode, Chris "C.T." Tamburello became confrontational and threatening toward Adam King, referencing the war himself.[84] Nehemiah Clark, of the Austin cast, expressed disapproval of President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, coming into conflict with Rachel Moyal, who served in Iraq as a combat medic for the U.S. Army.[85] Sydney's Dunbar Flinn angered Parisa Montazaran and Trisha Cummings with his comments about Jesus and the Bible.[86] The 2008 United States Presidential election served to highlight the political differences among the Brooklyn cast.[87][88] In the Washington, D.C. season premiere, atheist Ty Ruff got into an argument with Christian roommates Ashley Lindley and Mike Manning.[89]
Many cast members tried to maintain long-distance relationships that predated their time on the show, though remaining faithful was often a challenge. Miami’s Flora Alekseyeun attempted to maintain relationships with two boyfriends simultaneously.[90] 2000 New Orleans’ Danny Roberts cheated on his boyfriend Paul, who was stationed in the military.[49] Seattle’s Nathan Blackburn’s girlfriend worried about their relationship.[91][92][93][94] Shauvon Torres departed from the Sydney house to reconcile with her ex-fiance.[95] Her housemates, Trisha Cummings,[96][97][98] KellyAnne Judd[95] and Dunbar Flinn,[99][100] all flirted, dated or had sex with people other than their significant others back home. Cancun's Jonna Mannion,[101][102] Washington D.C.'s Josh Colon[103] and 2011 Las Vegas' Nany González severed long-term relationships following suspicions and admissions of infidelity, and in the case of González, after she began a relationship with housemate Adam Royer.[104]
Some cast members developed romantic relationships with their castmates. San Francisco roommates Pam Ling and Judd Winick have since married,[105][106] as have their roommate Rachel Campos and Sean Duffy of the Boston cast.[107] In the 2002–2003 Las Vegas season, Trishelle Cannatella and Steven Hill consummated a romance during the show,[108] while their roommates Irulan Wilson and Alton Williams began a relationship[109] that continued for three years after they moved out of the Las Vegas suite.[110] The Austin cast spawned two relationships, between Wes Bergmann and Johanna Botta, as well as Danny Jamieson and Melinda Stolp; the latter couple married in August 2008 but divorced in spring 2010.[111][112] Hollywood's William Gilbert became involved in a relationship with The Real World: Key West alumna Janelle Casanave, who made guest appearances in several episodes during that season. However, their relationship ended when Gilbert later became attracted to his roommate Brittni Sherrod.[113][114] 2011 San Diego housemates Zach Nichols and Ashley Kelsey became attracted to each other.[115]
The level of sexual experience varies among a given season’s cast members. New York's Julie Gentry,[116] Los Angeles’ Jon Brennan[117][118] and Aaron Behle,[80] San Francisco's Cory Murphy,[119] Seattle’s Rebecca Lord,[91] 2000 New Orleans’ Matt Smith and Julie Stoffer,[120][121][122] Paris' Mallory Snyder,[123] Austin’s Lacey Buehler,[124] and Brooklyn's Chet Cannon,[125] for example, all stated they were virgins during their respective seasons. On the other end of the spectrum was 2000 New Orleans’ David Broom[126] and Cancun's Joey Rozmus,[127] who took pride in their promiscuity with various sexual partners during their respective seasons.[128] Cancun's Ayiiia Elizarraras was sexually intimate with three of her castmates.[129][130]
More than once, fellow housemates have been involved in pregnancy scares, such as Steven Hill and Trishelle Cannatella during the 2002–2003 Las Vegas season,[131] Cohutta Grindstaff and KellyAnne Judd during the Sydney season,[132] and Leroy Garrett and Naomi Defensor during the 2011 Las Vegas season.[133]
London’s Sharon Gitau expressed difficulty with relationships, and with being open about this and other aspects of her life with her castmates.[134]
Overt sexual behavior was minimal during the show's early seasons, relegated mostly to discussion. In subsequent seasons, the level of sexual activity greatly increased, beginning with the Miami season, which depicted or touched upon activities such as exhibitionism, frottage, voyeurism, and threesomes.[135]
Jon Brennan’s Los Angeles roommates speculated that he had developed a crush, or possibly had fallen in love, with Irene Berrera.[136] 2000 New Orleans’ Melissa Howard was attracted to Jamie Murray, who did not reciprocate.[137] Their roommate Julie Stoffer harbored similar feelings for Matt Smith, who also did not reciprocate.[138][139] Back to New York's Lori Trespicio developed an attraction for Kevin Dunn, though he only saw her as a friend.[140]
While cast members sometimes become inebriated in social situations during their seasons, Hawaii's Ruthie Alcaide,[141] Hollywood's Joey Kovar[142][143] and 2011 San Diego's Frank Sweeney[144][145] entered treatment programs for drug or alcohol addiction during filming. Other cast members recounted past troubles with addiction that they had endured prior to filming, such as Chicago's Chris Beckman,[146][147] Hollywood's Brianna Taylor[148] and 2010 New Orleans' Ryan Knight.[149][150]
Many times, housemates have left the Real World house (and the cast) before production was completed, due to conflicts with other roommates, personal issues, or violations of work assignment policies. Replacement roommates would sometimes move in as a result. Housemates who departed over personal conflicts with other housemates include Los Angeles' David Edwards, San Francisco's David "Puck" Rainey, Sydney's Trisha Cummings and 2010 New Orleans' Ryan Leslie, though Rainey and Leslie continued to appear in subsequent episodes following their departures. Housemates who moved out due to personal issues back home include Hawaii's Justin Deabler[151] and Sydney's Shauvon Torres.[95] Housemates who were evicted after being fired from group work assignments include Hollywood's Greg Halstead[51] and Cancun's Joey Rozmus,[52] though Rozmus returned by that season's finale.[152]
Housemates have also departed for other reasons. Irene Barrera moved out of the Los Angeles house when she got married.[136] Irene McGee claimed a relapse of Lyme Disease was the reason for her moving out of the Seattle house,[153] though in a previously unaired[154][155] interview from her time on the show that aired during the 2000 reunion show, The Real World Reunion 2000, she explained that the main reason was her ethical objections to aspects of the show's production, which she characterized as a inauthentic environment designed to fabricate drama and conflict, and not the social experiment it was portrayed to be. McGee further explained that this was an unhealthy environment for her to live in, and that the stress and manipulation of the production exacerbated her illness.[156][157] Frankie Abernathy moved out of the 2004 San Diego house due to a combination of homesickness and conflicts with her roommates.[158][159] Joey Kovar moved out of the Hollywood house, fearing a drug and alcohol relapse after spending time in rehab,[160] though he returned for that season's finale.[161] Cancun's Bronne Bruzgo was evicted from the ME Cancun hotel that housed that season's cast after Bruzgo threw a fire extinguisher from the cast's balcony, though he moved into the staff housing responsible for that season's cast assignment, and was allowed to remain as part of the cast, rather than return home.[162][163] Erika Lauren Wasilewski departed from the Washington D.C. house due to a combination of personal reasons, possible depression and homesickness.[164] 2011 Las Vegas' Adam Royer was evicted from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino that housed that season's cast, following a series of drunken and destructive incidents within the suite and accompanying Vanity nightclub,[165] though he returned for that season's twelfth episode.[166]
Irene Barrera got married during the Los Angeles season.[136] Pedro Zamora exchanged wedding vows with his boyfriend, Sean Sasser, during the San Francisco season.[167]
Pedro Zamora struggled with AIDS.[20] He succumbed to the disease on November 11, 1994, hours after the San Francisco season finale aired. 2004 San Diego housemate Frankie Abernathy suffered from cystic fibrosis. She died on June 9, 2007.[168] Philadelphia's Sarah Burke battled through and overcame an eating disorder.[169] Key West's Paula Meronek battled anorexia and bulimia, and saw a therapist during filming.[170] Denver's Colie Edison battled mononucleosis.[171] Ayiiia Elizarraras of the Cancun season had a history of drug abuse and self-harming,[172] the latter of which manifested during that season's fifth episode. She received treatment for it after filming ended, and recorded a public service announcement on the condition that aired at the end of that episode.[173][174] Ryan Leslie of the 2010 New Orleans season suffered from severe obsessive compulsive disorder, which had deleterious effects on his relationship with the rest of the cast.[175][176][177]
- Seasons one through nineteen aired 30 minute episodes. Seasons twenty through the current season air one hour episodes.
For more detailed information on seasons, cast lists, and DVDs, see: List of The Real World seasons.
In 2002, MTV also produced a made-for-TV movie The Real World Movie: The Lost Season, ostensibly about a season of The Real World whose cast members are terrorized by a rejected would-be member.
In 2008, prior to the airing of the Hollywood season, the first-ever Real World Awards Bash aired on MTV. Viewers voted the Austin season as their favorite season.[206]
Since the introduction of The Real World, Bunim/Murray has introduced a number of other reality shows, most notably Road Rules, in which five strangers (six in later seasons) are sent off in a Winnebago RV and asked to travel to various locales and complete certain tasks to eventually gain a "handsome reward." Other Bunim/Murray productions include The Challenge, which pits teams of alumni from both shows against each other in physical competitions. Bunim-Murray also produced Pedro, a 2008 film by director Nick Oceano, which dramatized the life of Pedro Zamora, including his stay in the Real World house. The film, Bunim/Murray's first scripted project since the original unaired "Real World" concept, was an Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.[207][208]
As with other reality shows, The Real World has received criticism for being staged.[42][209] During a reunion show featuring the first four Real World casts, Heather Gardner, of the original New York cast, asked some members of the San Francisco cast if their situations were real. She noted that situations from the original season seemed to repeat themselves in the other incarnations, stopping short of accusing them of acting. On an edition of the E! True Hollywood Story that spotlighted the series, cast member Jon Brennan revealed that he was asked by the producers to state on the air that he felt hatred towards housemate Tami Roman for her decision to have an abortion, and that he refused to do so, stating that although he disagreed with her decision, he did not feel hatred towards her. Another accusation is that producers selectively edit material in order to give the false impression of certain emotional reactions or statements from the castmates.[210] New York cast member Rebecca Blasband says producers paid a man $100 to ask her out on a date, and that she terminated that plan when she learned of it. She also says that the argument she and Kevin Powell had in the seventh episode of that season was edited to make both of them appear more extreme.[8]
Some critics see the very concept of being in "the real world" as a misnomer, asserting that in the real world, people do not live in luxurious dwellings for free, are not given jobs in the media without any effort, and are not taken to exotic locations for free.[211]
After airing for several seasons, the series began to develop a reputation for immature or irresponsible behavior on the part of its stars,[5] which Nola.com has described as being "sometimes fit for a police report."[3] On the final track of his Become the Media spoken word album, activist Jello Biafra discusses a conversation he had with The Real World: Seattle cast member Irene McGee, who was slapped by castmate Stephen Williams, saying:
| “ |
We know Real World is not the real world. I recently met a woman named Irene McGee who quit this show and said not even the house was real. The fridges were all filled to the brim with Vlasic pickles delivered daily by the crate load along with gallons of Nantucket Nectar. If she drank anything else, the crew took it from her hand and made sure the Nantucket Nectar label was facing the camera instead. When she walked out, another guy in the cast of Real World hit her and the camera guy did nothing ... When she spoke out, MTV sued her. And Entertainment Weekly rated Irene getting smash mouthed the 47th most interesting event on TV that whole year ... Can’t you MTV think of a better way to raise audience awareness of domestic violence than to make it look cool?[212] |
” |
McGee has toured colleges to discuss media manipulation and the falsehoods of reality television. She later started a youth-oriented radio show/podcast, No One's Listening,[213] covering a wide range of pop-culture and media-related issues.
The show has also been accused of being characterized by the casts' drunken and sexual antics,[214] beginning with the show's 2002 Las Vegas season.[215][216][217] There is a larger conception that it has become increasingly superficial with respect to the drama and angst depicted on the part of cast members. As critic Benjamin Wallace-Wells put it:
| “ |
No longer an outlet for twentysomethings to brood about their future careers, the show has become a cyclic three-month on-air party for young adults to mingle in hot tubs and obsess about the present. The locales have changed from creative meccas like New York and London to vacation spots like Las Vegas and Hawaii. MTV has rejiggered the show to require characters to engage in artificial, season-long contests or projects -- like putting together a fashion show -- which the characters embrace in the way most American teenagers experience spring break: as a big party.[218] |
” |
A 2006 comment from LA Weekly's Nikki Finke reflects the same sentiments:
| “ |
The show that once seriously delved into hot-button issues like homosexuality, AIDS, racism, religion and abortion was now purposely pushing someone’s buttons to have that person implode on air.[219] |
” |
The Parents Television Council, which has frequently criticized MTV, has also frequently criticized The Real World for its overtly sexual content.[220] In addition, that organization contends that because MTV routinely reruns Real World episodes with a simple "TV-14" rating without the "L" (language) descriptor, parents cannot block out the show with a V-Chip,[221] although countering reports claim that the V-Chip does not totally rely on content descriptors added to the general ratings to work.[222] An episode of The Real World: San Diego that was broadcast in January 2004 came under intense criticism from both the PTC[223] and American Family Association for its sexual content.[224]
In December 2005, Aaron Gillego, a columnist for The Advocate, criticized the series for having never cast an Asian male in the then-13 years of its existence, opining that female Asians have been cast on the show because heterosexual men have been socialized by the media to think of them as exotic beauties or sex objects, but that Asian males have been largely invisible in popular media.[225]
- The show was satirized in the October 2, 1993 episode of the sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live. The episode, which was hosted by Shannen Doherty, featured a sketch depicting a Real World cast patterned after the Los Angeles cast, and poked fun at the discussions of racism, bigotry, and political differences that served as a recurring theme that season.[11] Another SNL parody of The Real World came in a 1996 episode hosted by John Goodman in which Bob Dole (Norm Macdonald) is thrown out of the house.
- The 1994 movie Reality Bites, starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke, focuses on a group of twentysomethings whose video diaries are misappropriated for a Real World-style documentary series. This fictional documentary series, as well as the title of the movie itself, closely parodies and satirizes The Real World format.
- A fifth season episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 called "Unreal World" depicted David Silver using a character named Tuck as the subject of a class video project. When Tuck refuses to participate, the rest of the cast pretend to be Tuck and his roommates for the project. Another character named Beth is also used in the project.
- In an episode of the animated comedy Pinky and the Brain, Pinky and the Brain join the cast of a show called Real Life hosted by TV personality Eisenhower for the network MTTV in order to broadcast the a cappella voice of Rush Limbaugh in order to take over the world.
- A satirical TV movie called The Lost Season parodied The Real World. It depicted a season of the show that supposedly took place in Vancouver, BC, and was abandoned because its participants were kidnapped.
- The reality show The Surreal Life is structured similarly to The Real World, except that the housemates, who live together for ten days, are celebrities. The show's original name was "The Surreal World."
- "Swept Away - A Very Special Episode", a Season 11 episode of the crime drama Law & Order that premiered February 28, 2001, featured a plot involving the investigation into the murder of a housemate on a reality show akin to The Real World called Deal With It. An episode of the crime drama Diagnosis Murder also featured a plot involving a murder committed during the filming such a show.
- Dave Chappelle lampooned what he perceived as the targeting of minority cast members for criticism or ejection on the show on his Comedy Central sketch comedy show, Chappelle's Show, with a sketch entitled "The Mad Real World", portraying, with hyperbole, the results of what would happen if one white person were to cohabitate with a collection of crazy black people.
- The Comedy Central series Drawn Together is an animated reality show parody that borrows much of its format and conventions from The Real World, but whose cast is populated by animated cartoon archetypes.
- The music video for the Eminem track, "Without Me", contains scenes which parody The Real World, with appearances by New Orleans castmate Julie Stoffer, Boston castmate Syrus Yarbrough, and San Francisco castmate David "Puck" Rainey.
- The 1999 romantic comedy She's All That features Matthew Lillard playing Brock Hudson, an ex-Real World cast member kicked out of the house for being obnoxious to his fellow castmates.
- In "Text, Lies & Videotape", a fifth-season episode of the television series Dawson's Creek, Audrey (Busy Philipps) is speaking with Joey (Katie Holmes) about recording her audition tape for the fictional The Real World: Ibiza season. In a sixth season episode, "The Importance of Not Being Too Earnest", some college students speculate whether Joey sent an e-mail to the whole campus (by accident) in an attempt to get attention or because she was on The Real World.
- In "The Route of All Evil", a third-season episode of the animated television series Futurama, the characters watch an episode of The Real World: The Sun. An incredulous Leela remarks on how much a house on the Sun would cost, a reference to the upscale houses in which that the casts on The Real World live.
- The WB television series Mission Hill based an entire episode on The Real World, in which the show's protagonist joins the cast and attempts to destroy The Real World from the inside by exposing it as an elaborate hoax with microphones and hidden cameras telling each person how to act and behave on camera.
- The TV show Muppets Tonight featured a skit called The Real World: Muppets. Most segments of it were only shown in United Kingdom. It showed Rizzo the Rat, Bobo the Bear, Clifford, Bill the Bubble Guy, and a goth girl named Darci.
- In "Morality Bites," a second-season episode of the television series Charmed, the sisters travel to 2009, and on the television can be heard "Coming up, The Real World: On The Moon!"
- The computer game Afterlife features a Hell punishment called "The Unreal World", which features the description "This is the true story, of 5000 SOULs, picked to live in a house, and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting damned."
- In "My Hero", a 2001 episode of the TV series Scrubs, a cutaway gag shows a number of the characters introducing themselves in the style of The Real World's opening sequence.
- In the April 10, 2005 episode of the stop motion animated television series Robot Chicken entitled "The Deep End," Aquaman is one of seven housemates in the fictional parody of The Real World entitled The Real World: Metropolis.
- Dutch TV producer Erik Latour claims that the ideas for The Real World were directly derived from his television show Nummer 28, which aired in 1991 on Dutch television.[10]
- The Nickelodeon children's comedy show All That parodied The Real World in its last season with "The Unreal World", in which nearly all of the housemates were undead beings, such as vampires, zombies, ghosts, and a floating head.
- Video artist Eileen Maxson's short film Tape 5925: Amy Goodrow is set up as an audition tape for The Real World, a familiar component of the series' casting specials and season openers. Maxson portrays the title character, a sensitive and awkward young woman whose main hobby is paper craft, and reveals a surprising sexual encounter between her teenage self and a teacher. The resulting confession lands on the desk of a jaded MTV employee, who fast-forwards through the details of her depressing story. The video was named one of the "sweet 16" experimental film and video works of 2003 by Village Voice media critic Ed Halter.[226]
- ^ "The Real World: Hollywood; Press Release from MTV.com" (PDF). http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/about/pdfs/Real_World_Hollywood_location.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ a b Gorman, Bill. "MTV’s ‘The Real World’ Is Turning 25 And Returning To Sin City As Seven Roommates Take Over Hard Rock Hotel & Casino In March 2011" TV By the Numbers; September 17, 2010
- ^ a b Thompson, Richard. "Real World New Orleans: Toothbrush-as-toilet scrubber sickens housemate, triggers police action" Nola.com; March 21, 2010
- ^ "Real World San Diego Trailer". MTV. August 24, 2011. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/684742/real-world-san-diego-trailer.jhtml#id=1669598.
- ^ a b c Dehnart, Andy (June 7, 2011). "Real World returning to San Diego for its 26th season". RealityBlurred.com. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/the_real_world_26/2011_Jun_07_san_diego. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ a b "MTV's "The Real World" hits 20-year anniversary". CBSNEWS. May 21, 2012. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57438567-10391698/mtvs-the-real-world-hits-20-year-anniversary/.
- ^ "'MTV renews 'Real World' for seasons 27 and 28". MSNBC. March 23, 2011. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42238359/ns/today-entertainment/.
- ^ a b c Roberts, Michael. "The Unreal World". Denver Westword. March 14, 1996
- ^ Each cast consisted of seven cast members, except for the twenty-first through the twenty-fourth seasons, which featured eight. In addition, replacement cast members are sometimes brought in when a member of a season's original cast leaves the show prior to its conclusion.
- ^ a b Zeven werklozen samen op zoek naar een baan by Raymond van den Boogaard, NRC Handelsblad, September 28, 1996 (Dutch) - about Nummer 28 being the inspiration for The Real World.
- ^ a b "Shannen Doherty/Cypress Hill". TV.com Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ a b The Real World Diaries. 1996. Pocket Books. Page 5 Introduction by Mary Ellis-Bunim and Jon Murray.
- ^ "You Gotta Have Art". The Real World: San Francisco. episode 5. season 3. July 28, 1994. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/357674/simple-pleasures.jhtml#id=1607527.
- ^ The Real World Diaries. Page 131
- ^ a b c Fretts, Bruce. (July 21, 1995). "The British Invasion The Real World returns for fourth season — The MTV hit invades London". Entertainment Weekly. Page 1 of 4
- ^ "Love Stinks". The Real World: San Francisco. season 3. July 7, 1994. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/357656/saint-pucks-day.jhtml#id=1607523.
- ^ Heigl, Alex. "Twelve Crucial Moments in the Evolution of MTV". Nerve. August 2011.
- ^ Winick appeared on Phil Donahue's MSNBC program to discuss his gay-related storylines on August 15, 2002. Source
- ^ Bronski, Michael (August 22–29, 2002). "Comic relief". The Phonex. http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/02404906.htm.
- ^ a b Webley, Kayla. "32 Epic Moments in Reality-TV History: 7. The Real World: Puck vs. Pedro". Time magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve. "TELEVISION - A 'Real World' of Difference". Los Angeles Times. September 19, 1993. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ "Girls of Road Rles & Real World". Playboy May 2002.
- ^ "Beth Stolarczykof Real World LA Booking Appearance". MM Agency. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ a b The E! True Hollywood Story: Bad Girls of Reality TV. Broadcast January 3, 2008.
- ^ Playboy: Girls of Reality TV. 2003. Playboy Home Video.
- ^ "Passport to Pleasure". Stuff. April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070929131932/http://www.stuffmagazine.com/articles/index.aspx?id=1843. Retrieved May 1, 2007.
- ^ "People Enjoy Music in Atlanta". CNN. May 5, 2002
- ^ "The One with the Mugging". Friends. episode 15. season 9. February 13, 2003. NBC.
- ^ "Cast Bio: Kyle Brandt". Days of our Lives. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "Photo Gallery: Martha Madison". TV Guide. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "True Life Episode Guide 2006 - I'm a Reality TV Star". TV Guide. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ Weber, Christopher. "'Real World' Star Sean Duffy Elected to Congress in Wisconsin". Politics Daily. 2010. accessed October 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Miz Bio". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/themiz. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
- ^ a b Aurthur, Kate (October 10, 2004). "Reality Stars Keep on Going and Going". The New York Times. p. 2. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/10/arts/television/10aurt.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ "The Palms suite at". Realworldhouses.com. http://www.realworldhouses.com/realworld12.html. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ "Columbia Square Building Fish Tank at". Realworldhouses.com. 2007-12-21. http://www.realworldhouses.com/rw20fishtank.html. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ Seen at the end of "White Like Me", the third episode of The Real World: San Francisco.
- ^ The Hollywood cast was given a hybrid car, as documented in that season's online videos, as were the Brooklyn roommates, as shown in that season's eighth episode, and the 2010 New Orleans season, as seen in that season's tenth episode.
- ^ Haberman, Lia. "A 'Real World' Rape?" E!. November 26, 2003
- ^ Various castmembers insisted this during The Real World Reunion, the first multi-season reunion show in 1995.
- ^ a b c Pedro & Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned by Judd Winick (Henry Holt; 2000); Pages 62 & 110
- ^ a b Fretts. 1995. Page 3 of 4
- ^ Posted 7/12/08. "The Real World: Hollywood Reunion (Segment 4 of 8)". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1590314&vid=256516. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ Williams, Paul K. "‘Real World’ house has rich gay history: Dupont mansion once home to lesbian bar". Washington Blade. June 19, 2009
- ^ Winick; 2000; Page 104
- ^ "To a New Beginning...". The Real World: Los Angeles. episode 2. season 2. July 1, 1993. MTV. http://www.hulu.com/watch/228240/the-real-world-to-a-new-beginning.
- ^ "Looks Can Be D.C.-ving". The Real World: DC. season 23. December 30, 2009. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-washington-dc-ep-1-looks-can-be-dc-ving/1628228/playlist.jhtml.
- ^ "The Real World: Hollywood Dailies: Greg overhears confessional, calls mom". MTV.com. January 1, 2008. http://www.realworlddailies.com/Video/Greg-overhears-confessional-calls-mom/092ECFFFF00A1312F0017001BDDD6.
- ^ a b "Mardi Gras Mayhem". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 12. August 22, 2000. MTV.
- ^ This element was not present in the seasons located in Brooklyn, D.C., and 2010's New Orleans season.
- ^ a b "Arrival and Departure". The Real World: Hollywood. episode 8. season 20. June 4, 2008. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-hollywood-ep-8-arrival-and-departure/1588278/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=24776&channelId=1.
- ^ a b "Peak Week". The Real World: Cancun. episode 7. season 22. August 6, 2009. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/the-real-world-cancun-ep-7-peak-week/1617242/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=27379&channelId=1.
- ^ Sicha, Choire (May 13, 2008). "The Real World: Brooklyn. For Real". The New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/2008/real-world-brooklyn-real. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ "Irene Calls It Quits". The Real World: Seattle. episode 15. season 7. MTV.
- ^ "The Aftermath of 'The Slap'". The Real World: Seattle. episode 16. season 7. MTV.
- ^ "Enjoy Your Flight". The Real World: Sydney. episode 18. season 19. November 28, 2007. MTV.
- ^ "Get It On". The Real World: Hollywood. episode 7. season 20. MTV.
- ^ "Angry Boys and Dirty Girls". The Real World: Brooklyn. episode 8. season 21. February 25, 2009. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-brooklyn-ep-8-angry-boys-and-dirty-girls/1605449/playlist.jhtml.
- ^ "The Real World: Brooklyn Ep. 6 Aftershow". MTV. April 13, 2011. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-brooklyn-ep-8-angry-boys-and-dirty-girls/1605449/playlist.jhtml.
- ^ "No More Practical Jokes". The Real World: Los Angeles. episode 12. season 2. September 9, 1993. MTV. http://www.hulu.com/watch/228231/the-real-world-no-more-practical-jokes#x-0,vepisode,1,0.
- ^ Two examples are Los Angeles' Jon Brennan and 2000 New Orleans' Julie Stoffer, who indicated that they never interacted with black people prior to their experiences with the show.
- ^ "Trouble in Paradise". The Real World: San Francisco. episode 6. season 3. August 4, 1994. MTV.
- ^ "Act Out". The Real World: Miami. episode 12. season 5. MTV.
- ^ "Race Matters". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 9. season 9. July 13, 2000. MTV.
- ^ "Matt Explores His Options". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 11. season 9. July 27, 2000. MTV.
- ^ "Conveniently Single". The Real World: Back to New York. episode 2. season 10. May 25, 2001. MTV.
- ^ "Coral vs. Mike". The Real World: Back to New York. episode 3. season 10. June 1, 2001. MTV.
- ^ "Nicole vs. Malik". The Real World: Back to New York. episode 7. season 10. June 29, 2001. MTV.
- ^ Biography page for Karamo Brown. MTV. 2004. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "Losing You". The Real World: Philadelphia. episode 26. season 15. March 1, 2005. MTV.
- ^ "Heating Things Up". The Real World: Denver. episode 2. season 18. November 29, 2006. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season18/episode.jhtml?episodeID=104487#moreinfo.
- ^ "Davis vs Tyrie". The Real World: Denver. episode 4. season 18. December 13, 2006. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season18/episode.jhtml?episodeID=104492#moreinfof.
- ^ 40 Greatest Reality TV Moments 2. VH1. August 10, 2007
- ^ Posted January 16, 2008. "Video of Escape from Oz: The Real World Sydney Reunion". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1579401&vid=203750. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ "The Outs And Ins of Brooklyn". The Real World: Brooklyn. Episode 2. MTV. January 14, 2009
- ^ "Let's Not Get Ghetto". The Real World: Hollywood. Episode 2. MTV; April 23, 2008
- ^ "Superbrawl 2010"; The Real World: New Orleans (2010); Episode 4; MTV; July 21, 2010
- ^ Summary page for Episode 5 ("Over the Rainbow"). MTV.com. October 26, 2011
- ^ "Over the Rainbow". The Real World: San Diego. episode 5. season 26. October 19, 2011. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-san-diego-ep-5-over-the-rainbow/1673251/playlist.jhtml.
- ^ a b "Pro-Choice or Pro-Life?". The Real World: Los Angeles. episode 10. season 2. August 26, 1993. MTV.
- ^ "White Like Me". The Real World: San Francisco. episode 3. season 3. July 14, 1994. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/357662/words.jhtml#id=1607524.
- ^ "Just Friends". The Real World: San Francisco. episode 18. season 3. October 27, 1994. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/358223/putting-up-a-wall.jhtml#id=1607634.
- ^ "Episode 18". The Real World: Paris. episode 18. season 13. September 23, 2003. MTV.
- ^ "Episode 19". The Real World: Paris. episode 19. season 13. September 30, 2003. MTV.
- ^ "Love & War". The Real World: Austin. episode 5. season 16. July 12, 2005. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season16/episode.jhtml?episodeID=87386.
- ^ "Whining and Dining". The Real World: Sydney. episode 7. season 19. September 12, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124420.
- ^ "Summary page for Episode 11 of The Real World: Brooklyn ("Saving a Private Ryan") at". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/real_world_brooklyn/episode/episode.jhtml?episodeId=148950. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ Posted 3/19/09. "Video of Episode 11 of The Real World: Brooklyn at". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-brooklyn-ep-11-saving-a-private-ryan/1606893/playlist.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ Posted 12/30/09. "Video Episode 1 of The Real World: Washington D.C. ("Looks Can Be D.C.-ving")". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-washington-dc-ep-1-looks-can-be-dc-ving/1628228/playlist.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ Biography page for Flora Alekseyeun. MTV. 1996. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ a b "Sleeping in Seattle". The Real World: Seattle. episode 1. season 7. June 16, 1998. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season7/episode.jhtml?episodeID=47207.
- ^ "Mistaken Identity". The Real World: Seattle. episode 2. season 7. June 23, 1998. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season7/episode.jhtml?episodeID=47208.
- ^ "I Love You, Don't Touch Me.". The Real World: Seattle. episode 4. season 7. July 7, 1998. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season7/episode.jhtml?episodeID=47210.
- ^ "Birthday Bashes and Romantic Crashes". The Real World: Seattle. episode 7. season 7. July 28, 1998. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season7/episode.jhtml?episodeID=47213.
- ^ a b c "Second Fiddle". The Real World: Sydney. episode 14. season 19. October 31, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124584.
- ^ "Suddenly Single". The Real World: Sydney. episode 3. season 19. August 15, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=118437.
- ^ "Breaking the Girl Code". The Real World: Sydney. episode 10. season 19. October 3, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124423.
- ^ "The Grilled Cheese Incident". The Real World: Sydney. episode 11. season 19. October 10, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124425.
- ^ "Off the Hook". The Real World: Sydney. episode 17. season 19. November 21, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124587.
- ^ "Friends Again". The Real World: Sydney. episode 19. season 19. December 5, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124589.
- ^ "The Love Square". The Real World: Cancun. episode 9. season 22. August 19, 2009. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/cancun/episode.jhtml?episodeID=156734.
- ^ "Flirting with Disaster". The Real World: Cancun. episode 6. season 22. July 29, 2009. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/cancun/episode.jhtml?episodeID=156731.
- ^ "Cheaters, Beaters and Pavement Eaters". The Real World: DC. episode 9. season 23. February 24, 2010. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-washington-dc-ep-9-cheaters-beaters-and-pavement-eaters/1632517/playlist.jhtml.
- ^ "Three Hook Ups and a Breakup". The Real World: Las Vegas. episode 10. season 25. March 30, 2011. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-las-vegas-ep-4-three-hooks-ups-and-a-break-up/1660964/playlist.jhtml.
- ^ Debra A. Klein (2001-09-09). "Weddings: vows; Pamela Ling and Judd Winick". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEEDB1139F93AA3575AC0A9679C8B63. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ This was mentioned at the end of the 2008 film Pedro.
- ^ "Rachel Campos-Duffy Welcomes Daughter MariaVictoria Margarita" People magazine; April 16, 2010
- ^ "Love Connection". The Real World: Las Vegas. episode 2. season 12. September 24, 2002. MTV.
- ^ "Stepping In". The Real World: Las Vegas. episode 9. season 12. November 12, 2002. MTV.
- ^ Lawrence, Christopher. "Past rears ugly head during 'Real World' reunion". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 28, 2007
- ^ Michael Martin (August 4, 2008). "Danny & Melinda have a Real World Wedding at Castle Hill near Boston". Michael Martin Agency. http://www.mm-agency.com/blog/mtv-real-world/danny-melinda-have-a-real-world-wedding-at-castle-hill-near-boston/3319/. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ Ernst, Amanda. "Real World's Melinda Smooches Someone -- Not Danny". Crushable.com. April 6, 2010
- ^ "Mexi-Loco". The Real World: Hollywood. episode 12. season 20. July 2, 2008. MTV.
- ^ The Real World: Hollywood Reunion. MTV. July 12, 2008
- ^ "An End To The Endless Summer". The Real World: San Diego. episode 12. season 20. December 14, 2011. MTV.
- ^ "This is the True Story...". The Real World: New York. episode 1. season 1. May 21, 1992. MTV.
- ^ Jon: The Real World: Los Angeles. MTV. 1993. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
- ^ White, Susan (8 July 1993). "Teen Faced Realities Of 'The Real World'". Orlando Sentinel: p. E.1. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-07-08/lifestyle/9307070839_1_jon-brennan-real-world-jon-began. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ The Real World Diaries. Pages 142-143
- ^ "New Orleans Newbies". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 1. season 9. June 13, 2000. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season9/episode.jhtml?episodeID=48595.
- ^ Pierce, Scott D. "Unlikely path: BYU to MTV". Deseret News. June 2, 2000
- ^ Larsen, Kent. "News about Mormons, Mormonism,and the LDS Church". Mormons Today/The Salt Lake Tribune/Associated Press. June 7, 2000
- ^ The Real World: Paris: Cast: Mallory. MTV. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ "Former Real World' star Lacey Buehler runs Florida salon". The Plain Dealer. July 14, 2008
- ^ "Real World: Brooklyn: Cast: Chet". MTV. 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ TV Guide. June 24, 2000
- ^ Biography page for Joey Rozmus; mtv.com
- ^ "Cancun Cassanovas". The Real World: Cancun. MTV. July 15, 2009. http://www.mtv.com/videos/the-real-world-cancun-ep-4-cancun-casanovas/1615514/playlist.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ She and Emilee Fitzpatrick shared a night of intimacy in Episode 3 of that season, she had a menage a trois with castmate Jonna Mannion and a coworker Jonna was dating named Pat in Episode 10, and had sex with Joey Rozmus in the season finale.
- ^ Lee, Amber. "21. Jonna Mannion". Bleacher Report. November 17, 2011
- ^ "Pregnancy Scare". The Real World: Las Vegas. episode 14. season 12. December 10, 2002. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season12/episode.jhtml?episodeID=60486.
- ^ "Praying for a Miracle". The Real World: Sydney. episode 20. season 19. December 12, 2007. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/sydney/episode.jhtml?episodeID=124590.
- ^ "Guys Who Like Girls Who Like Girls Who Like Sex". The Real World: Las Vegas. episode 9. season 25. May 4, 2011. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/lasvegas/episode.jhtml?episodeID=176657.
- ^ "Out of Africa...and Outta Here!". The Real World: London. episode 22. season 4. November 15, 1995. MTV.
- ^ "Lies, and Videotape". The Real World: Miami. episode 17. season 5. October 30, 1996. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/shows/realworld-season5/episode.jhtml?episodeID=42356.
- ^ a b c "Wedding Bells Ring". The Real World: Los Angeles. episode 12. season 2. September 2, 1993. MTV.
- ^ "Hookups and Linkups". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 5. season 9. June 15, 2000. MTV.
- ^ "The Never Ending Story". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 22. season 9. October 12, 2000. MTV.
- ^ "Cupid Strikes". The Real World: New Orleans. episode 7. season 9. June 29, 2000. MTV.
- ^ "Get a Nightlife!". The Real World: Back to New York. episode 4. season 10. January 30, 2001. MTV.
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