How many real worlds were there?
That first cast, set in New York, has reunited for another go-around. In celebration of that moment, here's our ranking of the 33 seasons of The Real World that have gotten us to this point.
See main article. Cast members receive awards for memorable moments throughout all 19 seasons. A special tribute is given to late Real Worlders Pedro and Frankie. The cast of The Real World Hollywood makes a guest appearance.
The Real World: New York is the first season of "The Real World" that aired from May 21, 1992 to August 13, 1992.
The Real World | |
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Running time | 30 minutes (1992–2008, 2019) 1 hour (2008–2017) |
Production company | Bunim/Murray Productions |
Release | |
Original network | MTV (1992–2017) Facebook Watch (2019) Paramount+ (in development) |
Ryan Leslie of Season 24 was evicted by his roommates due to unstable behavior, the first to have been evicted by the entire rest of the cast since Rainey. Brandon Kane was evicted from Season 27 by production after failing a drug test.
MTV canceled The Real World in 2017. Now, as it revives a handful of old franchises in an apparent overture to millennials who haven't cut the cord, the network's defining show is also back. But this time, it's meeting Gen Z on their home turf: the Internet.
The Road Rules series originally debuted on MTV with Road Rules USA – The First Adventure back in 1995. It featured a cast of Kit Hoover, Mark Long, Carlos “Los” Jackson, Allison Jones, and Shelly Spottedhorse traveling around in an RV.
Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as The Real World, then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises.
The cast of 'The Real World' wasn't paid much
According to Jezebel, The Real World: New York cast members were paid a collective $2,600. In total, they lived together for three months. This payout has naturally increased over the years, though.
According to IMDb, the highest-rated season of The Real World is number 32. Dubbed Real World Seattle: Bad Blood, the show consisted of seven original cast members, who are later joined by seven of their relatives who have a grudge to settle.
What is a Real World example?
The real world is the place in which one actually must live and the circumstances with which one actually must deal. An example of the real world is the life you are living right now, as opposed to the life you wish to live some day.
MTV made the switch from airing music videos to reality shows starting in the late '90s and early 2000s. For many MTV historians and fans, the change accelerated after the release of the TV show The Real World.

4 Some Events Are Staged (But It's Mostly Small Stuff)
Every season of the Real World starts the same way, with cast members paired up and arranged to meet each other at the airport, hopefully configured for maximum conflict ("Have the gay guy meet the Southern Baptist!
The show isn't scripted.
Contrary to popular belief, "Are You the One?" is not a scripted television series, former cast members told International Business Times in 2016. That means all of the raw emotions, temper tantrums, drunken jealousy, and fights were real.
Pedro Zamora, Season 3 (San Francisco)
The show provided a forum for his HIV/AIDS advocacy, and he became perhaps the most beloved cast member in the history of the show, His legacy continues to live on following his death on Nov. 11, 1994 -- hours after the final episode of Season 3 aired. He was just 22 years old.
Naessens briefly opened up to the Los Angeles cast during the Homecoming series about his partner Kimberly who had died a few years ago. He hasn't revealed details surrounding her death. But shared it was extremely tragic and had a profoundly painful impact on him today.
A bicycle messenger during the show's shooting, he became notorious as the second Real World cast member ever to be evicted from the house, due to his increasingly antagonistic relationship with his housemates, especially with Pedro Zamora, an HIV-positive AIDS educator.
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The Real World: New York | |
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Original network | MTV Syndication |
Original release | May 21 – August 13, 1992 |
Season chronology |
The first TV show to regularly feature members of the public as its stars was America's Candid Camera which premiered on ABC in 1948 (it was then called Candid Microphone and was a TV version of an established ABC radio show of the same name which began in 1947).
The Real World was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family. It focuses on the lives of a group of strangers 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.
Was real world the first reality show?
“The Real World,” the first modern foray into reality TV, ran for more than 640 episodes — and changed television in the process.