In the era of reboots and revivals, everything from '80s sitcoms to '90s reality shows is being reimagined. The latest “oldie but goodie” to be added to the list is MTV’s The Real World. But instead of focusing on Gen Z and a new location, this revival will go back to the beginning, as The Real World revival has announced an official launch date and has confirmed a familiar cast.
The Real World Homecoming: New York will see the return of all the original New York cast members: Becky Blasband, Andre Comeau, Heather B. Gardner, Julie Gentry, Norman Korpi, Eric Nies and Kevin Powell, and it will explore how the series transformed all their lives since appearing on the first season. News of The Real World revival came as the show’s original home will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a few other MTV series being revived, including Daria and Beavis and Butt-Head.
The revival will be a collaboration between original franchise creator Bunim/Murray Productions and MTV Entertainment Studios. Bunim/Murray’s Jonathan Murray, Julie Pizzi, Erica Ross, Kevin Lee and Trish Gold will serve as executive producers alongside Sitarah Pendelton-Eaglin, Candida Boyette-Clemons and Nadim Amiry for MTV Entertainment. Jacob Lane will serve as the series’ co-executive producer with George Verschoor acting as the consulting producer.
The Real World Homecoming: New York will see the return of all the original New York cast members: Becky Blasband, Andre Comeau, Heather B. Gardner, Julie Gentry, Norman Korpi, Eric Nies and Kevin Powell, and it will explore how the series transformed all their lives since appearing on the first season. News of The Real World revival came as the show’s original home will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a few other MTV series being revived, including Daria and Beavis and Butt-Head.
The revival will be a collaboration between original franchise creator Bunim/Murray Productions and MTV Entertainment Studios. Bunim/Murray’s Jonathan Murray, Julie Pizzi, Erica Ross, Kevin Lee and Trish Gold will serve as executive producers alongside Sitarah Pendelton-Eaglin, Candida Boyette-Clemons and Nadim Amiry for MTV Entertainment. Jacob Lane will serve as the series’ co-executive producer with George Verschoor acting as the consulting producer.
The Real World revival signals the return of the series credited with jumpstarting the reality genre. MTV Entertainment Group president Chris McCarthy spoke on this point when discussing the revival in a statement:
MTV's The Real World has been credited with creating the reality TV genre and was one of the first series that tackled important and yet unrepresented topics of the time, from HIV/AIDS, race, gender, orientation and religion. With Paramount+ being the home to so many global reality hit franchises, it seems only fitting to bring back the franchise and cast that started it all.
The Real World Homecoming: New York will mark the first new installment in the franchise since The Real World: Atlanta premiered on Facebook Watch in 2019. The original series joined Facebook Watch after MTV’s demographic and new media began changing viewer habits. If you want to revisit the series before The Real World Homecoming: New York arrives, you can stream The Real World on Prime Video.
