MTV has renewed the longest-running reality TV series to date, The Real World, for two more seasons.
Currently airing its 25th edition, which takes place in Las Vegas — and casting for Season 26 — the two-season pickup means the MTV show will be on the air for the 27th and 28th installments.
In an exclusive interview with Real World co–creator Jonathan Murray earlier this month, he noted that the show has changed somewhat.
“I’d say the show mirrors society and sometimes leads society. You can argue the show has done a lot in terms of young people’s attitudes towards gay, lesbian and transgendered people because it has featured that community from the very beginning,” he told THR. “And when we first started, you didn’t see that community on TV — and you certainly didn’t see someone like Pedro from HIV. I think what we tapped into with the idea of people who are different from each other is that with difference comes conflict.”
And Murray certainly didn’t expect the series to last for 25 seasons. “We just thought it was something edgy and away to give the MTV audience something that they couldn’t get elsewhere,” he said.
The Real World, which debuted in 1992 with its New York City edition, has been performing solidly in its 25th season. Last week’s episode of the Las Vegas edition averaged a 2.3 rating in the persons 12-34 demographic and drew 2.2 million viewers, up 28 percent from the season premiere.
