The Real World

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Wednesday 10:00 PM on MTV - Music Television
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Show Summary

  • Returning Series
"This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped. Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. The Real World..." How many times have we heard those words? The Real World was the first reality show on tv, premiering in 1992. It is still on the air, about to air it's 21st season, set in Brooklyn. When The Real World was created, it created a new genre of television that years later would be copied by other networks and become almost an obsession around the world. MTV originally wanted to make a soap opera, but the costs were too high, so they thought "what if we could get rid of writers, and scripts, and sets?". That resulted on the first Real World, set in NY neighborhood of SoHo, Manhattan, where 7 people that had never met before had to live in a house together for some time. As the years went by, The Real World slowly gained its shape and space. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Miami, Boston, Seattle, Hawaii, New Orleans, Chicago, Las Vegas, Paris, San Diego, Philadelphia, Austin, Key West, Denver, Sydney and now Hollywood...all these locations have hosted the show. Auditions to be a cast member today attract hundreds of thousands of people in hopes to be one of the strangers in the house. Living rent-free for 6 months in a very hip house with very interesting (and often annoying) roommates, and being on an internationally broadcast tv show is quite attractive to people in their late teens/early 20s. How much of the show is actually true we'll never know. A lot of what we see on tv is edited to make it look like it all happened in a certain timeline. All the houses have cameras everywhere, and there's a clause in the contract of each housemate that says they're not allowed to go places where the cameras are not allowed in. And all the sounds are taped in a separate way, so, according to Melissa from New Orleans, a lot of times when they're talking and you can only see the back of their heads, the words you hear might not be the words they actually said at the time. Edited or not, none of the scenes aired on the show are acted. They all happened, without scripts. Each cast member receives around $250 per week, plus their house expenses paid (not including food. That's why every time a parent comes over, they cook). Anything else they want, they have to pay for. Plus, they don't get to take any of all the cool stuff you see in the house. Today, The Real World is shown in several countries, and local versions of the show have already been made. Loving it or hating it, you just know it's here. The Real World: the first and original reality show.moreless
8.0
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Episode Guide

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S 26 :  Ep 14 Aired 12/21/11
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MTV - Music Television
Free
S 26 :  Ep 13 Aired 12/14/11
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MTV - Music Television
Free
S 26 :  Ep 12 Aired 12/14/11
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MTV - Music Television
Free
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
VUDU
Buy
S 26 :  Ep 11 Aired 12/7/11
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iTunes
Buy
VUDU
Buy
S 26 :  Ep 10 Aired 12/7/11
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MTV - Music Television
Free
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
VUDU
Buy

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Fan Reviews (106)

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  • Not so Real

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By stanleyyelantes, Dec 19, 2011
    The Real World is often criticized for not being a great example of what the 'real world' actually is, and although this season had great drama and fights, it definitely did not live up to it's name. Putting seven strangers in a $8 million dollar mansion in San Diego for three months does not exactly show the audience what the real world is like. This season, to show they are like real people, they were given a job. This job was no desk job; they were given the opportunity to work for The House of Blues. Out of the twelve episodes, there were about only four that actually showed them doing 'work'. The rest of the episodes that mentioned House of Blues were ones where one of the housemates was sleeping with their boss. Other seasons of The Real World did a better job depicting reality, like the New Orleans season; their job included working at a homeless shelter and re-constructing a house that was destroyed during Katrina. The only reality depicted in San Diego involved two off the housemates; a lesbian and bisexual. Throughout the season they are shown struggling to get the rest of their housemates to accept them for who they are, something people do in everyday life. Even though that seems like good reality, it was the only reality that San Diego portrayed.moreless

  • This is the tv show that ruined american television forever, the jersey shore of the early 1990's

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By afijamesy2k, Dec 20, 2010
    This show not only was the downfall of MTV, But the downfall of television as a whole, I Still can't believe that people think this is a good show, this is not, this is shameful trash beyond believe, eric nies was the DJ Pauly D of the 1990's, Yes I Said it, he and the rest of his cronies that brought us trash that should be the dumpster for decades, this is just truly shameful trash and I Hate to say this, but this is a failure and it should be, Because people are so much into this mess, why.moreless

  • A show about 7 (prearranged) strangers. The producers intentionally pick people that will clash. The result? A bunch of people drinking, fighting and hooking up.

    1.3
    "Abysmal"
    By MrsPea, Dec 20, 2010
    This show was good for the first couple of seasons that I watched, but it's worn out. This show is definitely for the young immature high school crowd. The Real World has been going downhill for a while, but the season where I actually stopped watching was RW Key West. Maybe it's due to the fact that I actually have a real life. I don't need to watch losers on a "reality" TV show create pointless drama with each other. Especially when the lame drama is created by the producers. The only positive thing I have to write about this show is that they have some pretty cool music. Someone over at MTV has decided that the music MTV plays sucks. So, they throw in the good bands whenever they can - background music for sucky shows. Although, the music isn't a good enough reason to tune in to this tired show.moreless

  • The Real World is one the kind of shows I don't normally watch but the new season seems to be the most interesting yet...

    7.0
    "Good"
    By TKfan27, Nov 08, 2010
    The Real World is basically just about different types of people living under one roof. The newest season, "The Real World: Brooklyn", seems to be the most interesting season yet! I don't know if it's because Katie is transgendered or because one of the girls is passionate about dancing. I kind of like this show now. I just hope people aren't watching it just because someone is gay or transgendered. You can learn a little bit about how those kind of people work. Anyway, I say this show gets better every season. It's decent in a way. The new season is great!moreless

  • This show is about 7 people that move into a house and live together and they never meet each other.

    9.8
    "Superb"
    By gordosaros, Oct 22, 2010
    love the real world. man once you watch it you want to see what happends next.I gvie it about 5 stars beacause it is a great show and you will love it. I like the real world hollywood its has a lot of drama and fights and lots of love parts. The real world hollywood tells about the 7 people that move in want to be famous and they need to get along with all the other roommates. They need to start be comming real. the real world. trust me you will love this show. The real world rocks. The best tv showmoreless
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