Each season The Real World sets up in a new city, with a new cast of seven young adults, picked from thousands of applicants reflecting a diverse set of backgrounds, ideologies, and stereotypes. The Real World Chicago (season 11) is typical, and includes a biracial lesbian; a recovering alcoholic; a homosexual male; an all-American, football-playing Princeton student; a sexually fixated black male who is determined to sleep with the house lesbian; and a religious woman who is intimidated by blacks and believes homosexuality is a sin. As a result of the selective casting, drama between the roommates inevitably ensues, especially when placed in The Real World environment. For example, no televisions or radios are allowed in The Real World household. As a result of this and other devices, cast members must interact with each other instead of zoning out on music or television.

Episodes of The Real World cover the day-to-day activities of the cast. They are usually required to perform some volunteer work with a local organization. Snippets of the roommates’ activities are highlighted by “confessionals,” allowing cast members, in solitude, to directly address a video camera in a manner similar to a video diary. The “confessional” is a Real World invention that dozens of other reality shows, including Survivor, Boot Camp, Making of the Band, Big Brother, and The Real World’s sister show, Road Rules, have adopted. By allowing the audience to listen to a cast member explain his or her thoughts or give context to events they are witnessing, the viewer has an even closer look at the lives and individual thoughts of cast members.

In some ways, then, The Real World combines the soap opera format with elements of documentary film to create a distinctive reality television experience. The cast and their reactions to events are real. However, through the magic of editing, storylines and sensational moments are pulled from the material to build an ongoing saga. It is no surprise to learn that the creators of The Real World, Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray, previously worked with soap operas and documentary films, respectively.

Since its inception, The Real World has continued to garner impressive ratings in the highly coveted young adult market. In addition, the success of The Real World has launched a home-video market. These videos primarily feature content—nudity or other “adult-oriented” material—that could not be shown on basic cable television. The Real World’s spin-off, Road Rules, is similar to The Real World, but instead of living in a lavishly decorated house, the Road Rules cast lives on a huge, traveling bus and competes in challenges to win money and prizes. The producers of The Real World and Road Rules have tapped the combined drawing power of the shows to create television specials such as The Road Rules/Real World Challenge, which features cast members from the two shows competing against each other for prizes and cash. Other Real World specials include cast reunions, love specials (featuring cast members who engaged in romantic relationships), and fight specials (featuring the worst—or best—arguments). There are even specials devoted to examining the “rejects” of the show, splicing together in comical fashion clips of audition tapes from the thousands of Real World wannabes who did not make the cut.

The Real World’s commercialism and synergy extends beyond home-video sales and television specials. Fans of the show are prompted at the end of each episode to purchase a CD of the music featured on The Real World. Additionally, Real World enthusiasts can visit the show’s website, buy Real World merchandise, and even bid on items from the current Real World house that are auctioned off to the highest bidder. In this manner The Real World blends nicely with the basic programming format of the Music Television network (MTV), which is designed essentially to sell music and music-related merchandise through the advertising potential grounded in airing music videos and music-related programming.

The Real World served as an important foundation for other reality series to follow. It was instrumental in popularizing the voyeuristic, real-life soap-opera format and was the first to utilize the “confessional,” which has become a mainstay for many reality television programs. Its popularity has spread to the creation of hundreds of websites maintained by and engaging thousands of fans, to sales of videos and merchandise, and to the creation of Real World auctions, specials and spin-offs. As a result, The Real World can be viewed as the grandfather of the contemporary reality television genre.