As Season 30 of The Real World rolls on in Chicago, it's 23 years since the show first debuted on the MTV airwaves in the summer of 1992. It is the longest-running show in MTV history, the longest-running primetime entertainment series in the history of basic cable, and the show that pioneered the ubiquitous genre of reality television.
If you're old enough to remember and have watched the show since the early days, then you'll easily notice how the both this current season, Skeletons in Chicago, and the most recent one Ex-Plosion last year in San Francisco, are totally different from the earlier, old-school seasons. If you're young and were introduced to this show only recently or by the mere luck of finding out about the new twist of people from the dark pasts of the roomies coming to Chi-Town, you'll be hard-pressed to find that the Real World you watch today was much different back then. And if you're one who's watched at least part of every season like me, you'll notice the evolution of the show and find while find many things were different back then, others have remained the same since.
If you're old enough to remember and have watched the show since the early days, then you'll easily notice how the both this current season, Skeletons in Chicago, and the most recent one Ex-Plosion last year in San Francisco, are totally different from the earlier, old-school seasons. If you're young and were introduced to this show only recently or by the mere luck of finding out about the new twist of people from the dark pasts of the roomies coming to Chi-Town, you'll be hard-pressed to find that the Real World you watch today was much different back then. And if you're one who's watched at least part of every season like me, you'll notice the evolution of the show and find while find many things were different back then, others have remained the same since.
The Real World has had an indelible impact on television, with its groundbreaking, fly-in-the-wall documentary approach to telling the stories of amazing people growing up at the turn of the 21st century, and putting into focus the issues and struggles of them that viewers can relate to. And of course, it captures these young people enjoying those first rites of being an adult and enjoying what it's like to live with random strangers in a city they have never lived in before.
The first season in 1992 in New York set the perimeter for what the show would become over the next two decades. Its cast of Eric, Heather B, Kevin, Julie, Norm, Becky and Andre provided MTV viewers with something they had never experienced before: a TV show they can actually relate to. From Eric becoming a heartthrob, to Heather B rapping & walking a dog, Kevin & Julie's street argument about race to Becky breaking the fourth wall, it set the mold for reality TV.
If you happen to own the DVD set of the very first Real World season from that pre-HD, pre-I Everything and more music-based MTV age of 1992, one of the special features included in that 2002 release is a commentary track from show co-creator Jonathan Murray. That was recorded just before I started watching the show religiously in Hawaii in 1999, and included in the RW New York DVD.
The first season in 1992 in New York set the perimeter for what the show would become over the next two decades. Its cast of Eric, Heather B, Kevin, Julie, Norm, Becky and Andre provided MTV viewers with something they had never experienced before: a TV show they can actually relate to. From Eric becoming a heartthrob, to Heather B rapping & walking a dog, Kevin & Julie's street argument about race to Becky breaking the fourth wall, it set the mold for reality TV.
If you happen to own the DVD set of the very first Real World season from that pre-HD, pre-I Everything and more music-based MTV age of 1992, one of the special features included in that 2002 release is a commentary track from show co-creator Jonathan Murray. That was recorded just before I started watching the show religiously in Hawaii in 1999, and included in the RW New York DVD.
It was the idea of both him and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim to create this series, a hybrid concept born out of her soap opera experience and his news & docs experience to literally change the game for both MTV and the entire television industry. More than two decades after The Real World's debut, and ten years after Bunim's passing, he continues to serve as an executive producer for the RW/Challenge franchise as well as serving as Chairman of Bunim-Murray Productions. In addition, BMP also produces The Kardashians franchise and Total Divas for E!, Bad Girls Club for Oxygen and Project Runway for Lifetime, among others.
Taking the opportunity to reflect on the show's impact and history prior to when it began filming Real World Hawaii, DCBLOG transcribed the entire 23 minute interview with Murray taken from the DVD. After the jump, read his thoughts and perspective on the origins of the series, that first season in SoHo and two of its key moments, and the show's growing popularity & impact just before the reality TV boom that would soon follow. And also check out the letter that changed the game.
In His Own Words: Co-Creator Jonathan Murray
> The Origin of The Real World
"The Real World is really an outgrowth of Mary-Ellis Bunim and my joint backgrounds. I came out of news and documentaries, and she came out of soap operas. And so, The Real World, in essence, is a real-life soap opera. We have been doing some consulting work for MTV back in the early '90s. They wanted to do some kind of a scripted soap opera with actors and writers and something like what you get on network daytime television, but hopefully a little edgier. Through the development process, we kept saying to them, 'You know, it's really expensive to so something with actors and writers.' And they kept saying, 'No, no. But we really want to do this.' And this was at the point when MTV didn't really do much in the way of series, they basically aired free videos.
"So, at about nine months into the project, when a script had been developed, MTV realized, 'Hey, this is gonna cost too much money.' So, that's when we went back in and pitched them the idea of The Real World. And we told them, 'We want to do a real-live soap opera. We want to take six or seven kids, move them into a loft in New York City and chronicle their lives, tell the story of what they're going through at this unique age when you're 18 to 22, 18 to 24, and you're figuring things out. You know, it's an age where you're allowed to make mistakes, people forgive you for those mistakes, especially when you find yourself living for the first time with someone very different from yourself. So, if you're a white kid from the suburbs, and you're living with a black kid from Harlem, interesting stuff is going to happen out of that. So, we pitched the idea to MTV for The Real World over breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel just off Central Park, and by lunchtime MTV had bought it."
"The Real World is really an outgrowth of Mary-Ellis Bunim and my joint backgrounds. I came out of news and documentaries, and she came out of soap operas. And so, The Real World, in essence, is a real-life soap opera. We have been doing some consulting work for MTV back in the early '90s. They wanted to do some kind of a scripted soap opera with actors and writers and something like what you get on network daytime television, but hopefully a little edgier. Through the development process, we kept saying to them, 'You know, it's really expensive to so something with actors and writers.' And they kept saying, 'No, no. But we really want to do this.' And this was at the point when MTV didn't really do much in the way of series, they basically aired free videos.
"So, at about nine months into the project, when a script had been developed, MTV realized, 'Hey, this is gonna cost too much money.' So, that's when we went back in and pitched them the idea of The Real World. And we told them, 'We want to do a real-live soap opera. We want to take six or seven kids, move them into a loft in New York City and chronicle their lives, tell the story of what they're going through at this unique age when you're 18 to 22, 18 to 24, and you're figuring things out. You know, it's an age where you're allowed to make mistakes, people forgive you for those mistakes, especially when you find yourself living for the first time with someone very different from yourself. So, if you're a white kid from the suburbs, and you're living with a black kid from Harlem, interesting stuff is going to happen out of that. So, we pitched the idea to MTV for The Real World over breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel just off Central Park, and by lunchtime MTV had bought it."
> The Pilot You Never Saw
"And then what we did was we set about to make a pilot. We moved a group of six people into a New York loft for a long Memorial Day weekend. And we rolled cameras, we set up a little control room, we did temporary lighting, we shot it on Hi-8. And the pilot was pretty much successful from all sides. Certainly, it didn't look as good as the series was gonna look because we were using Hi-8 cameras, the lighting wasn't as good. But, in terms of all the steps we took, we were really pleased with the pilot. We knew the moment we started rolling cameras, the moment those people started arriving at that loft, as we watched them unpack, as we watched them get to know each other, we knew there was a series here. We knew we had something special. And that was reinforced even more when we got all the material back to L.A. and started editing it. We brought the tapes back to MTV, the two episodes; they tested it and it just went through the roof. Their audience loved it. So, they ordered the first season of The Real World back in 1992 and that's how the show was born."
"And then what we did was we set about to make a pilot. We moved a group of six people into a New York loft for a long Memorial Day weekend. And we rolled cameras, we set up a little control room, we did temporary lighting, we shot it on Hi-8. And the pilot was pretty much successful from all sides. Certainly, it didn't look as good as the series was gonna look because we were using Hi-8 cameras, the lighting wasn't as good. But, in terms of all the steps we took, we were really pleased with the pilot. We knew the moment we started rolling cameras, the moment those people started arriving at that loft, as we watched them unpack, as we watched them get to know each other, we knew there was a series here. We knew we had something special. And that was reinforced even more when we got all the material back to L.A. and started editing it. We brought the tapes back to MTV, the two episodes; they tested it and it just went through the roof. Their audience loved it. So, they ordered the first season of The Real World back in 1992 and that's how the show was born."
- NOTE: For one of those who was in the pilot - for which that is included in the RW New York DVD, Tracy Grandstaff, like all others, was eventually not picked for the original cast. But she would then get a rather nice consolation gift: Tracy became voice of the title character of the animated series Daria.
> Casting the Original Seven Strangers
"Finding the original cast members was not easy. First of all, we had to go and explain to people, 'Well, here's what we're gonna do: we're gonna put you in a house and we're going to have cameras recording your every move.' And most people thought we were insane, or they thought that we were doing a Candid Camera thing. We had to convince them to move there and I don't think they really know, we know exactly what we were going to be up to. I mean, we had ideas of what we wanted to do, but it was just something that hadn't been done.
> Casting the Original Seven Strangers
"Finding the original cast members was not easy. First of all, we had to go and explain to people, 'Well, here's what we're gonna do: we're gonna put you in a house and we're going to have cameras recording your every move.' And most people thought we were insane, or they thought that we were doing a Candid Camera thing. We had to convince them to move there and I don't think they really know, we know exactly what we were going to be up to. I mean, we had ideas of what we wanted to do, but it was just something that hadn't been done.
"We had built a loft for six people. We had six wireless mics set up for people, we were really set for six. And then when we got down to casting the show, we had this great group of people, and the number was seven, and we just couldn't agree on cutting someone. So, we ended up putting an extra bed in the hallway and ended up making it seven people. And actually, I think it was a good decision because the additional person really increased the odds of getting additional story. And when you have to fill so many episodes, and you're completely at the whip of what happens with that cast, you want to increase those odds as much as possible. Because unlike Road Rules, that we spun off of Real World in the mid '90s, there's no game to this show. We're just basically hoping that out of those seven people that we put together, interesting stuff will happen. So, I think it was a good decision to go from six to seven, though certainly it wasn't initially planned that way.
"You know, they had no idea what they were getting into. They didn't know how it was gonna be edited. I mean quite honestly, we weren't sure quite how it was gonna be edited. And so, their experience was probably as innocent as you could make it because they didn't really understand how this was gonna go together. I mean, it was so funny. Eric in his interviews used to sort of say, 'Hey, kids out there.' He would talk directly to the audience like they were watching his interview thinking maybe the whole interview was used.
"Whereas today, certainly the cast members have grown with the show and they've watched it, and they sort of know that we are gonna be construct to be getting into an episodic series, that we're gonna have an 'A' & a 'B' story, that they have sort of learned how we use the interviews, how we use the confessionals. So, in that sense, they are probably more prepared for, though I would still say that I think that they do forget about the cameras, they forget about the mics and what we record, I think, is genuinely a real experience for them and one that is still relatable and entertaining for our audience."
> Problems with the First Season
"That first season of The Real World was really - it was sort of like Sherman's March for us. It was a huge undertaking. I don't think any of us were prepared for what we were getting ourselves into. For those of us in New York, we were incredibly understaffed as it turned out, and we were working basically from morning until night, and we didn't have enough crew people. We didn't have enough directors. Back at post-production in L.A., we didn't have enough editors. I mean, it was really - I think that if we had to shoot one more week or make one more episode, we would have probably all died, and the series would have ended.
"That first season of The Real World was really - it was sort of like Sherman's March for us. It was a huge undertaking. I don't think any of us were prepared for what we were getting ourselves into. For those of us in New York, we were incredibly understaffed as it turned out, and we were working basically from morning until night, and we didn't have enough crew people. We didn't have enough directors. Back at post-production in L.A., we didn't have enough editors. I mean, it was really - I think that if we had to shoot one more week or make one more episode, we would have probably all died, and the series would have ended.
"When we initially sold The Real World to MTV, they were concerned that, 'What if nothing happens?' And we told them, 'Well, if nothing happens, we'll throw pebbles in the pond. In the pilot, we set up a date for someone. And when we began our New York season, after the first week or two, it didn't seem like a lot was happening. So, we threw a couple pebbles in the pond. We set up a date for Becky, and there was an artbook that feature Eric, and I think it was a Bruce Weber book called "On Bear Pond,' and he had done some modeling and there were some nude shots of him. So, we threw that book into the loft and Heather B. had a field day with it, and Becky enjoyed her date.
"But, throwing those pebbles in the pond really created some trust issues for the cast. They weren't quite sure what was real and what wasn't real. And so, we met with the cast and we told them, 'You know, we'll just trust that the seven of you are interesting enough, and we won't throw pebbles in the pond.' We joke that if you throw pebbles in the pond, they'll throw boulders back at you. So, we committed ourselves to just trusting that the drama will come out of the casting, and we never used the video with Heather reacting to the Bare Pond book, or we never used the date that had been set up for Becky."
> The Real Story: Becky's Director Romance
"From the beginning, we had told our crew that the focus has to be on the cast members relationships to each other. We're here to document their story. So, yes. You can be pleasant to them. You can say hello, you can ask them how they're doing. But really, you're not there to become their friend because if you become their friend, they're going to start telling you their story and not each other.
"So, it was something new, and some of our crew members, for whatever reason in that first season, one in particular, found it hard to have this distinct line between cast and crew. Ironically, he was one of our directors, one of our leaders of this production. And we had noticed that there was a spark between Becky and himself. And we had spoken to him and told him, 'You know, again, your relationship has to be professional. You need to draw a line because we're here to document her relationship to other people, not to you.' And even when they went down to Jamaica that the three girls had, we again reminded him of this.
"Unfortunately, while in Jamaica, some crazy stuff happened where the cast was off in some little town and some people there wanted money from the crew for shooting something, even though we already had arrangements. And basically, the crew and the cast made a quick retreat back to the resort being chased by these other people. And supposedly, at least this is the story that they tell, in the heat and the passion of the moment, she sought comfort in him. I'm not sure if sought comfort in her, but anyway she literally sucked him through the fourth wall and he broke the cardinal rule of our production, which is you don't get emotionally or physically involved with the cast members.
"So, when they came back from Jamaica, we had learned that this had happened. We had no choice but to fire him. Also, we we concerned that Becky would be really upset about this. So, we felt the only way we could really do it was to do it on camera so that the audience would understand why Becky was in the frame of mind she was in. So, in the first season you actually see a storyline where Becky tells us...the plane leaves Jamaica, it stops in the air. We, electronically, in editing stopped it, the music, scratches to a stop, and she tells us that something else happened in Jamaica and she tells us the story of how she had had this relationship with Bill, the director, and how he is no longer the director. And now, he is the guy she's dating. And that was something new for television. I don't think it was necessarily positive, but it certainly was interesting."
"From the beginning, we had told our crew that the focus has to be on the cast members relationships to each other. We're here to document their story. So, yes. You can be pleasant to them. You can say hello, you can ask them how they're doing. But really, you're not there to become their friend because if you become their friend, they're going to start telling you their story and not each other.
"So, it was something new, and some of our crew members, for whatever reason in that first season, one in particular, found it hard to have this distinct line between cast and crew. Ironically, he was one of our directors, one of our leaders of this production. And we had noticed that there was a spark between Becky and himself. And we had spoken to him and told him, 'You know, again, your relationship has to be professional. You need to draw a line because we're here to document her relationship to other people, not to you.' And even when they went down to Jamaica that the three girls had, we again reminded him of this.
"Unfortunately, while in Jamaica, some crazy stuff happened where the cast was off in some little town and some people there wanted money from the crew for shooting something, even though we already had arrangements. And basically, the crew and the cast made a quick retreat back to the resort being chased by these other people. And supposedly, at least this is the story that they tell, in the heat and the passion of the moment, she sought comfort in him. I'm not sure if sought comfort in her, but anyway she literally sucked him through the fourth wall and he broke the cardinal rule of our production, which is you don't get emotionally or physically involved with the cast members.
"So, when they came back from Jamaica, we had learned that this had happened. We had no choice but to fire him. Also, we we concerned that Becky would be really upset about this. So, we felt the only way we could really do it was to do it on camera so that the audience would understand why Becky was in the frame of mind she was in. So, in the first season you actually see a storyline where Becky tells us...the plane leaves Jamaica, it stops in the air. We, electronically, in editing stopped it, the music, scratches to a stop, and she tells us that something else happened in Jamaica and she tells us the story of how she had had this relationship with Bill, the director, and how he is no longer the director. And now, he is the guy she's dating. And that was something new for television. I don't think it was necessarily positive, but it certainly was interesting."
- NOTE: That director was Bill Richmond, who was also interviewed on a 2002 VH1 special on The Real World. This is not the first time this had happened: in 1998 in Seattle, David became close to the casting director who casted him, Kira. Kira, like Bill, was given her walking papers and then she went up to Seattle to meet David during the season, which set the stage for his infamous meltdown in a car parked in the streets of Seattle, captured via a wired mic and an isolated camera crew.
> The Real Story: Julie & Kevin's Fight, and Knowing When to Step In
"One of the rather explosive situations that happened during The Real World New York, first season: Kevin had challenged a lot of people in the loft on racial issues and towards the end of the production...I think we were probably in our second-to-last week before the cameras were to stop rolling, and we weren't in the loft at the time. But apparently Kevin had been on the phone doing something related to his job, the interviews he would do for various publications. And Julie had got on the phone, picked up the phone or somehow interrupted that call and he had asked her to wait and she felt he was monopolizing the phone and they got into, I guess, an argument and he didn't feel she was respecting him and the work he had to do and the fact that he was using the phone for professional purposes, and she didn't think he was respecting her. According to Julie, Kevin got upset through a candelabra near her. According to Kevin, that didn't happen. Someone stated someone spat on the other person. We didn't have cameras there.
"We actually learned of this. I think Julie placed a phone call to the production offices and so the cameras were just coming back from something. They went into the loft, found these people upset with each other. And so, we really didn't even know what happened and it was confusing. So when we put the episode together, it actually begins, sort of, in the aftermath of something that's just happened. And the roommates are coming back from their various things there were at that day and finding out that there's this huge argument going on between Julie and Kevin, and sort of trying to figure out whose side to take.
"At one point, Julie and Kevin ended up on the street of New York downstairs. We had to unhook the camera and we actually ended up throwing the cable out the window and rehooking the camera up down on the street. And we were photographing this argument, and it's not in the episode but you have to understand that the backdrop of this was: here's this black man and white woman arguing in front of this loft in SoHo. And meanwhile, it was at the same time that week where the L.A. Riots had occurred and there were a lot of tensions and a lot of concerns that similar riots could break out in New York. And here, we're filming this scene where this black man and white woman are yelling and screaming at each other and the camera's there, and people are gathering around and wondering 'What's happening?', and there was this tension.
"We made the decision not to include the L.A. Riots as part of it because it just felt like, by the time the show aired, it would feel very dated. But at the same time, Kevin has always felt that sort of the tensions from the L.A. Riots partly was the cause of the sort of the inflamed tensions between him and Julie. So, that's the story of that argument and sort of the backdrop that it was filmed in against.
"There's always been this question about when does production intervene in an argument? Our feeling has always been, we're there to document the relationships between the cast members. And if we always intervene and try and solve the problem from our adult perspective, that's not gonna be a very relatable situation to our audience. And really, it's not gonna be true to what the show is supposed to be, which is seven people living together and solving their own problems. So, our feeling has always been that we don't intervene in arguments. We only step in if we think someone is going to do some kind of physical harm to the other person or physical harm to themselves."
"We actually learned of this. I think Julie placed a phone call to the production offices and so the cameras were just coming back from something. They went into the loft, found these people upset with each other. And so, we really didn't even know what happened and it was confusing. So when we put the episode together, it actually begins, sort of, in the aftermath of something that's just happened. And the roommates are coming back from their various things there were at that day and finding out that there's this huge argument going on between Julie and Kevin, and sort of trying to figure out whose side to take.
"At one point, Julie and Kevin ended up on the street of New York downstairs. We had to unhook the camera and we actually ended up throwing the cable out the window and rehooking the camera up down on the street. And we were photographing this argument, and it's not in the episode but you have to understand that the backdrop of this was: here's this black man and white woman arguing in front of this loft in SoHo. And meanwhile, it was at the same time that week where the L.A. Riots had occurred and there were a lot of tensions and a lot of concerns that similar riots could break out in New York. And here, we're filming this scene where this black man and white woman are yelling and screaming at each other and the camera's there, and people are gathering around and wondering 'What's happening?', and there was this tension.
"We made the decision not to include the L.A. Riots as part of it because it just felt like, by the time the show aired, it would feel very dated. But at the same time, Kevin has always felt that sort of the tensions from the L.A. Riots partly was the cause of the sort of the inflamed tensions between him and Julie. So, that's the story of that argument and sort of the backdrop that it was filmed in against.
"There's always been this question about when does production intervene in an argument? Our feeling has always been, we're there to document the relationships between the cast members. And if we always intervene and try and solve the problem from our adult perspective, that's not gonna be a very relatable situation to our audience. And really, it's not gonna be true to what the show is supposed to be, which is seven people living together and solving their own problems. So, our feeling has always been that we don't intervene in arguments. We only step in if we think someone is going to do some kind of physical harm to the other person or physical harm to themselves."
> Looking Back on the First Season
"The thing we didn't anticipate in making that first season was how you essentially give up your own life when you're shooting somebody else's life. And so, it impacts family and friends. And when you come to the end of this, you so immersed your life in these other people's lives that you almost go into a depression because it's like, 'What do I do now?' And it was the same for the cast members. They had gotten so used to having people follow them with cameras and care about their every move. And then suddenly, the cameras go away and it's like, 'Well, doesn't anybody care that I'm going to the deli now?' So, I think the psychological impact on all of us, both those in front of the camera and behind the camera, was probably the thing we didn't anticipate in making that first season. It was a really amazing experience that the cast came together in Julie and Eric, Heather, Norm - I mean it was a great group of people. Julie's meeting with Darlene, the homeless woman was just not only fascinating but it was also incredibly poignant. Eric's flirtatious friendship with Julie - again, all things seems to lead back to Julie. Becky was like Julie's older sister, Andre was that rock n' roll musician. It was just a great group of people. So, that first season really came together in a way we didn't anticipate."
"The thing we didn't anticipate in making that first season was how you essentially give up your own life when you're shooting somebody else's life. And so, it impacts family and friends. And when you come to the end of this, you so immersed your life in these other people's lives that you almost go into a depression because it's like, 'What do I do now?' And it was the same for the cast members. They had gotten so used to having people follow them with cameras and care about their every move. And then suddenly, the cameras go away and it's like, 'Well, doesn't anybody care that I'm going to the deli now?' So, I think the psychological impact on all of us, both those in front of the camera and behind the camera, was probably the thing we didn't anticipate in making that first season. It was a really amazing experience that the cast came together in Julie and Eric, Heather, Norm - I mean it was a great group of people. Julie's meeting with Darlene, the homeless woman was just not only fascinating but it was also incredibly poignant. Eric's flirtatious friendship with Julie - again, all things seems to lead back to Julie. Becky was like Julie's older sister, Andre was that rock n' roll musician. It was just a great group of people. So, that first season really came together in a way we didn't anticipate."
> Popularity of The Real World
"I think The Real World remains popular for several reasons. First of all, the show continues to evolve; it's not the same every year, and it evolves in many ways. One of the things we do, unlike most television shows, we change the cast every year. That is not normal television, that is almost breaking the cardinal rule of television. We were concerned that first year and we went from New York to L.A. In fact, the L.A. season began with the New York cast members sort of having a reunion and sort of speculating on who would be in the L.A. cast and we did that to help transition the audience from Julie and Eric to Tami and Jon and people in the L.A. cast because we were so afraid that they would reject the L.A. cast because they were so in love with the New York cast. And it was a real surprise here: L.A. did better than New York, they were ready for a new cast of people. And the fact that it was in a new city made sense that it would be a new cast. And I think that's the other thing that changes every year: the city. I think the city, some people have told us, is the 8th roommate. And I really do think it brings a special quality to each season."
"I think The Real World remains popular for several reasons. First of all, the show continues to evolve; it's not the same every year, and it evolves in many ways. One of the things we do, unlike most television shows, we change the cast every year. That is not normal television, that is almost breaking the cardinal rule of television. We were concerned that first year and we went from New York to L.A. In fact, the L.A. season began with the New York cast members sort of having a reunion and sort of speculating on who would be in the L.A. cast and we did that to help transition the audience from Julie and Eric to Tami and Jon and people in the L.A. cast because we were so afraid that they would reject the L.A. cast because they were so in love with the New York cast. And it was a real surprise here: L.A. did better than New York, they were ready for a new cast of people. And the fact that it was in a new city made sense that it would be a new cast. And I think that's the other thing that changes every year: the city. I think the city, some people have told us, is the 8th roommate. And I really do think it brings a special quality to each season."
> The Evolution of the Series
"The Real World has evolved over the years, though essentially it has remained the same. It's still the story of seven people coming to know each other, working through their differences and finding out that they have more in common with each other than they don't have in common with each other. But we have evolved the show over the years.
"The Real World has evolved over the years, though essentially it has remained the same. It's still the story of seven people coming to know each other, working through their differences and finding out that they have more in common with each other than they don't have in common with each other. But we have evolved the show over the years.
"In season 2, we added the confessional as another means of getting the cast to open up about themselves. What we did was we created this little sort-of closet-like room in the L.A. loft and we just told the cast members we gave them a tape and we told them, 'Whenever you're feeling anything, go in there and talk about it. Put the tape into the camera and talk about it.' We didn't want them to always have to wait until their next interview, which could be as long as six or seven days away; waiting that long to talk about something that you care passionately about, you lose some of that passion. And it's really interesting, as I think some people actually open up more when they're in a room by themselves asking themselves essentially questions than if I was in there asking questions. It has an intimacy that really gave us some real insight into who these cast members were.
"And then over the years, we've continued to evolve the process of how we shoot the show. We've added surveillance cameras so we can get late-night intimate conversations, we actually made those cameras infrared so we can shoot at night.
"Starting just after the Miami season, we made the decision to only cast members who were not from a specific town, so if we're gonna shoot in Boston, we don't want anyone from Boston because we found that if a cast member was from that local area, if the going got tough they ran home to their parents or they ran to their friends'. We wanted to set it so that they the cast members really had nowhere else to go. They had each other, they had to rely on each other as friends, whether they were getting along or not.
"The other thing we changed over the years is that, after the London season we decided to give the cast a part-time job. The London season did have some problems because we had 3 or 4 American cast members who really felt so lost over there. They couldn't get jobs because they didn't have work visas, they really didn't know what to do with their time. They didn't get involved in the community, they didn't get out and do volunteer work or meet people. They just sort of - several of them just sort of sat around and watched TV, which isn't good TV for us.
"So, starting with the Miami season we decided to create some kind of a job for the cast. In Miami, we gave them $50,000 basically and told them, 'Here's the start-up money, create a business.' It was fascinating watching them try to figure out what business and how to get it off the ground. And although they unfortunately failed in starting their business, it actually made great television and told us a lot about who they were. And then in Boston, we had the cast work at an after-school program; in Seattle they worked at a radio station; Hawaii, a surf shop and so-forth. So, the job has really given the cast members an immediate involvement in the community. It's got them out of the loft and into the community, where they've met other people. So, we've been pleased with that and we're going to continue that.
"So, although the show is still basically seven people chosen to live in a house together and be real, we have added some elements to continue to improve the series."
> Impact of The Real World
"You know, I think The Real World, besides being vouyeristic fun, awesome does serve a purpose. For a lot of kids out there, it's their first experience watching people live together who normally don't live together. We get tons of letters from kids and emails who are 14-15 years old who have never lived with someone of a different race, or they've never lived with a different sexual orientation. Their opportunity to sort of experience that and watch these cast members make their mistakes that they make and learn from them from those mistakes really helps prepare them for when they go off to college or when they move to a new city and find themselves suddenly in a diverse atmosphere.
"You know, I think The Real World, besides being vouyeristic fun, awesome does serve a purpose. For a lot of kids out there, it's their first experience watching people live together who normally don't live together. We get tons of letters from kids and emails who are 14-15 years old who have never lived with someone of a different race, or they've never lived with a different sexual orientation. Their opportunity to sort of experience that and watch these cast members make their mistakes that they make and learn from them from those mistakes really helps prepare them for when they go off to college or when they move to a new city and find themselves suddenly in a diverse atmosphere.
"I've been told that Real World has has an enormous impact on television. Certainly after we had our first season of Real World, we saw that a lot of people who make commercials started to adopt our style of shooting and integration of music. Some people have told us that shows like Friends, about a group of people who live across the hall from each other and who hang out at a coffee shop, very much was developed based on the idea of Real World.
"And then with reality programming, we've really seen Real World...sort of the roots of a lot of it. This idea of putting the cameras on real people, of editing the material that you get into episodic television with an 'A' and a 'B' story...I really think it goes back to Real World."
> The Real World Forever?
"I think The Real World can probably can go on for just about forever. It's really, you know, when we did that first season, we weren't quite sure whether there would be a second season. And when we did the third and fourth season, we thought, 'Well, how long is this going on?' Most shows have about five or six years and then they're done with. But it really seems like The Real World continues to be relevant to its audience. It continues to be entertaining. The ratings have only increased every year. So, it seems that The Real World could go on literally forever."
The Letter
Finally, DCBLOG has also transcribed from the DVD the text from the Season 1 Acceptance Letter that was mailed out to Eric, Heather B., Kevin, Julie, Norman, Becky and Andre. Here it is in full...
Dear Julie,
We are thrilled to have to have you as a member of the seven privileged experimentalists to form the "cast" of MTV's "THE REAL WORLD."
The following is meant to help orient you to the program, the people, and the process.
The Program and People Behind-The-Scenes
The show was conceived by Bunim-Murray Productions for MTV. Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray are L.A. based show producers. Bunim has Executive Produced lots of network soap operas; Murray has a news and documentary background. Lauren Corrao is the MTV Executive in Charge of Production--the person who had the foresight to buy this crazy experiment. (You've met all or some of the above during the "finalist" interviews.)
We have a large staff of dedicated professionals working on this project, most of whom you won't get to know until the series is completed. However, Danielle Faraldo, our Associate Producer, is your contact. She'll be speaking to you on a regular basis and you should feel free to call her if you need help or advice about anything.
The Concept
The concept is, simply, that seven young strangers (to each other) move in to a Soho loft and we tape the events of their lives, together and separately--a real life soap opera. You've been chosen because those who had the privilege of voting felt that you have something interesting to share and that you will be a compelling addition to the group dynamic.
Routine Stuff
- 1. You'll be given $100 cash per person each week as spending money. In addition, you'll receive $1,300 at the end of the 13 weeks which constitutes payment for the rights to your story.
- 2. The group will be given $350 each week as a food allowance. This is to be spent in food stores only (not restaurants) and must be accounted for with receipts on a weekly m basis. Determining who is responsible for shopping (and accounting), cooking, etc., is up to you guys.
- 3. The loft has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Again, how you share the space is up to the group. If you want to move a bed to another location (within the Loft!) be our guest. Also feel free to re-decorate.
- 4. We have a control room, on one side, in the back, with our own entrance. There are 2 entrances to the loft. One is for you, the camera and sound people following you. And the second (back entrance) will be for the crew (Directors, Producers, etc.).
- 5. Please don't look into the camera, and don't mention MTV when referring to this experience. You can call it "the project" or come up with another expression. Also remember, certain four letter words will have to be bleeped, so have mercy on our editors and keep them to a minimum.
- 6. All of the "glasses" in the kitchen are opaque so that the viewers aren't aware of what's being consumed. So don't drink beer out of cans or bottles--use the opaque glasses for all liquids. And remember, we have a No Drugs on Premises rule (including hallways, the elevator, the front foyer of the building) that is vitally important, and enforced.
- 7. Music/TV: We need your cooperation with this: we can't edit the footage if there's music or TV sound playing in the background. So while we're shooting please keep it turned off. And while we're not shooting: we've agreed with the loft owner that music is limited to the back living room/game room area of the loft only, since there's a neighbor on the right side.
- 8. About This Neighbor: He's only there for 6 or 7 days a month and we'll let you know his schedule. He plays a lot of rent and the building owners want to keep him happy. (So don't throw a party while he's in town!)
- 9. The telephone is restricted to local calls, so bring a phone credit cars if you plan to call long distance.
- 10. The washer/dryer is odd the back hallway of your floor.
- 11. We trust you to be good tenants--treat the place and your neighbors in the building with respect--whether or not "big brother" is watching!
Shooting
We plan to shoot 13 episodes, 1 per week, beginning February 16th. Most weeks our crews will shoot during 3 ten hour shifts in the loft, and three 10 hour shifts outside; you'll be given some notice about when we plan to be there and what we hope to shoot. Danielle will keep you informed.
You'll be mic'd during all working hours that we're shooting.
We'll shoot in the loft and often outside, following you as you live your life. However, since we have to clear certain shooting areas (and certain people) in advance, stay in touch with Danielle about what you (and the group) has planned.
If you come up with spontaneous plans, express them out loud so we know what's on your mind. For instance, if you decide that after dinner you're going dancing--"brainstorm" out loud the place you might go to. We'll call ahead, clear them with the management, so here will be no problem getting our cameras in to shoot.
For your privacy, we caution you to use first names only while on camera.
What to Bring
We supply linens (sheets, blankets, towels) but you should bring anything that makes your life comfortable.
Some Ideas:
- An Alarm Clock
- Stereo/TV
- An extra towel and washcloth
- Toiletries
- Things to "personalize" your bedroom, favorite poster, paintings, etc.
Also Consider:
- Any sports equipment you might use
- A bathing suit (You never know!)
We think "The Real World" is going to be ground-breaking television and we're anxious to get started.
The Producers
Mary-Ellis Bunim, Jon Murray
Sixteen years have passed since that interview was conducted with Jon Murray, twenty-three years have gone that letter was mailed to the original seven strangers, and The Real World is still on the air. And during that time, things have changed considerably for the show, for MTV and in the media landscape.
For the series, that Hawaii season in 1999 helped permanently glue me in on the show after having watched it on and off in its first generation. And that season in paradise would introduce the TRL generation to the show and helped set the stage for the reality TV onslaught of the next decade that would not only take over MTV but every network as well. Then, while I continued to enjoy the show, those other shows would take its playbook and somewhat steal The Real World's thunder. And in response, last year the series took the unprecedented step of tweaking their formula to also include non-casted roommates in the exes of five of the housemates in San Francisco, which translated to plenty of buzz for RW Ex-Plosion. It's also the case for RW Skeletons in Chicago, Season 30.
Also, Bunim-Murray also developed the first reality competition series Road Rules three years after The Real World's debut. And the success of that now-erstwhile show helped spawn in 1999 The Real World/Road Rules Challenge, now simply called The Challenge, which also remains on the MTV slate and has become arguably TV's most-intense reality competition show which even gained many's unlikely status "the unofficial 5th major pro sport." Its latest season, Battle of the Exes 2, is airing as the backend of a MTV/BMP doubleheader this season after RW Skeletons, and feature RW NOLA2'sRyan Knight and Diem Brown, whose lives were cut short since taping of it last summer and for whom his season is dedicated in their memories.
And of course, MTV has changed considerably since 1992. But today, as one of the last-remaining links between MTV of old and MTV of new, The Real World stands as not just its longest-running show and a TV pioneer but also basic cable's longest-running primetime entertainment series. All other reality shows can thank Jon, Mary-Ellis and The Real World for introducing everyone to reality TV.
All season long, DCBLOG has been covering Real World Skeletons, as well as The Challenge: Battle of the Exes, using the same winning playbook that's been used successfully to cover RW Ex-Plosion, the last two Challenges and both seasons of Are You The One?, all to tremendous web traffic and acclaim. This is headlined by our signature, one-of-a-kind DC SocialPulse diaries, featuring exclusive tweet-by-tweet diaries of every moment from the season as seen by cast, alumni, fans and me.
And serving as a complement to the numerous website wraps and podcasts by other websites, DCB is offering a unique perspective as this season unfolds, focusing also on the people and stories of these shows and providing timely perspective such as this article. Before the RW30 premiere, we brought you quotes from the cast from when they appeared for the first time on MTV, before they became famous on The Challenge or otherwise. I'll also be offering Fan's View posts throughout the season where I'll be bring on webcast hosts, bloggers and fans to talk about these shows.
And for the live tweeting of Real World Skeletons and Battle of the Exes 2, plus the big events in sports & entertainment, follow my dedicated live twitter handle, DCNOW at @DC408DxNow, as well as my usual Twitter and Instagram handle @DC408Dxtr for tweets, chats, alerts and photos. There at DCNOW as this is being posted prior to EP10 of RW Skeletons, tonight we'll be meeting the roommate Bruno's Skeleton, brother Briah, to be followed by Exes 2 which will kick off with the conclusion to the elimination battle between Johnny & Averey and Brittany & Adam from Are You The One S1, plus a trivia contest.
So, thanks for reading this look at The Real World with the thoughts of its creator Jon Murray. And until I talk to you later tonight on Twitter, see you then and stay warm.
So, thanks for reading this look at The Real World with the thoughts of its creator Jon Murray. And until I talk to you later tonight on Twitter, see you then and stay warm.
- I AM DC
Bibliography
- The Real World: New York Season 1, Special Features
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