The Real World is a reality show that can, without doubt, be called the father of all the reality shows. It is the first ever reality show to be aired on television and has the distinction of being the longest running show on MTV. It created a new genre of reality television that almost became an obsession and was later copied by major networks not only in America, but across the world. Although, initially the show was planned as a soap opera, the high costs forced MTV to get rid of writers, scripts and sets which resulted in the first season of The Real World.

The Real World premiered on MTV on 21st May 1992 with Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray as the original executive producers of the series. However, when Bunim died from breast cancer in 2004, the production of the series was taken over by Bunim/Murray Productions. The series has aired twenty successful seasons and is currently airing its twenty-first season that premiered on the 7th of January. During the first nineteen seasons, the series aired the episodes that were of 22-minute duration each. But from the 20th season onwards, the episodes were elongated to 44-minutes duration each.

During each season of The Real World, a group of eight people who are in their 20s, from different backgrounds and countries are selected by the producers. They are then put together to live in a house full of camera’s, for several weeks and every action they do and every word they speak is recorded. The series entertains the audiences by showing the highlights of the spontaneous, unscripted interactions of the eight strangers with one another and the world around them. Every house member receives a weekly allowance of around $250 plus the house expenses that are already paid. However, it does not cover the cost of food or anything else that the contestants want.

Every year the show moves to a new city, attracting hundreds of thousands of people who hope to be chosen to be one of the strangers. Youngsters, in their 20’s are attracted by the idea of living in a very hip house for 6 months without worrying about paying the rent. They also take it as a golden chance to meet some very interesting (and often annoying) roommates, in addition to being on an internationally broadcast TV show. The participants not only make new friendships, relationships, but can also leave the house with new enemies added to their list besides taking along lifelong memories during the unforgettable journey each participant goes through.

The series has had its share of praise and criticism. Presently, the series is shown in several countries with many countries airing their own local version the series. The series has been nominated for seven different awards and has won three other awards.