More than two decades after “The Real World” exploded onto our television screens, the history-changing MTV program has returned for its 29th season. The guys are hot, the girls are hotter and, thanks to an overindulgence of alcohol, tensions flared and claws came out less than 30 minutes into the premiere — a feat even for MTV.
What began as a social experiment in 1992 has turned into a phenomenon that changed the face of television forever. Dubbed “the original reality show,” “The Real World” has devolved over the past two decades — for every thought-provoking season such as the ones in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Hawaii, there are others, such as those in Cancun and St. Thomas, that resemble nothing more than a never-ending party.
With a landmark 30th season on the horizon, it’s time for show co-creator Jonathan Murray and MTV to take a hint: “The Real World” has long passed its prime.
Here are eight reasons why the show needs to call it quits:
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1. Issues that were controversial in the ’90s are now the norm.
What made the first few seasons of “The Real World” iconic was that the show was fearless when it came to confronting social issues. Norman was the first bisexual castmate in New York, San Francisco’s Pedro had AIDS and Tami Roman (now of “Basketball Wives” fame) had an abortion in Los Angeles. They educated their roommates on these issues, and viewers experiencing the same problems realized they weren’t alone. But in 2014, MTV’s audience is no longer fazed by gay or mixed-race housemates.
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2. Co-creator Mary-Ellis Bunim died a decade ago.
Ray Mickshaw/WireImage Bunim, who championed MTV’s programming with shows such as “The Real World,” “Road Rules,” “The Challenge” and “Making the Band,” died in 2004 after a long battle with breast cancer. The show’s co-creator Murray took the reigns after her death, but without Bunim’s vision “The Real World” took a turn for the worse.
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3. “Road Rules” is no longer on the air.
Who doesn’t love a good rivalry? Long deemed the show’s sister program, “Real World” and “Road Rules” cast members often interacted with one another on-air and off. Casts from both shows would frequently “face off” on camera, which eventually gave birth to the “Real World/Road Rules Challenge.” Fans used to watch both shows and predict which “Real World” and “Road Rules” cast members would butt heads — but “Road Rules” was cancelled following Bunim’s death. With the rivalry disbanded, the show has lost its competitive edge.
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4. Housemates use the show to pursue their personal agendas.
Remember Puck? He found every loophole in the book to use reality programming to his advantage. He was the first person to understand that the more controversial you are, the more camera time you get. He also scammed MTV into paying for his 2002 wedding during an episode of “The Real World/Road Rules Challenge,” and dropped out of the cast an episode later.
Since then, aspiring models, rappers, actors and other wannabes have exploited the program as a launching pad for their future careers: Mike Mizanin debuted his professional-wrestler alter ego “The Miz” during “Back to New York,” San Diego’s Jamie Chung currently stars in “Once Upon a Time” and Mallory Snyder from Paris graced the pages of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.
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5. MTV has started casting locals.
Peter Yang/MTV Already deemed the biggest train wreck on the latest season, Ashley Mitchell showed us on the season premiere exactly why you can’t bring locals into the house: They think they know everything. Mitchell chose where the roommates partied based on who she knew was working the door. And when a fight broke out between Mitchell and the other roommates, she threatened to leave the show, saying, “Let’s see what the house does without Ashley here. All the clubs you guys get into, it’s because of me.”
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6. Sex, sex, sex.
Hey kids: Believe it or not, the roommates once had intellectual conversations. Now, the motto for producers seems to be less talking, more fornicating.
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7. MTV is double-dipping cities.
The team of William Foley and the Maloof family would be owners of an NHL expansion team in Las Vegas, the Post has learned. Joe Cavaretta/AP Photo For many young adults living in the ‘burbs, watching “The Real World” offered a taste of cities from around the world — the cultural melting pot of New York, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Hawaiian tropics and the Las Vegas nightlife all exposed Middle America to places they’d only dreamed of. The fact that the producers have decided to recycle cities shows that they’d rather stick with what they know than explore new destinations like Atlanta, Nashville, Minneapolis, Baltimore or Detroit.
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8. The cast is recognized wherever they go.
Jay Janner /The Austin American-Statesman The appeal of the first season of any reality show is the fact that the cast lives in obscurity until the program airs — think “Amazing Race,” “The Real Housewives” and “Jersey Shore.” Now, whenever the cast members go out, others in town instigate fights or flirt with them, in an attempt to land some camera time.
In Austin, Danny Jameison (second from right) was attacked in the street by a local, who landed a blow powerful enough to break a bone in Jameison’s face that required surgery to repair.