Country of origin United States No. of episodes 25 | Original language(s) English Running time 30 minutes | |
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Created by Jonathan MurrayMary-Ellis Bunim Starring Svetlana ShustermanJohn DevenanzioPaula MeronekTyler DuckworthZach MannJose TapiaJanelle Casanave | ||
The Real World: Key West is the seventeenth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. It is the second season of The Real World to be filmed in the South Atlantic States region of the United States, specifically in Florida after The Real World: Miami.
Contents
The season featured seven people and was shot in the Key Haven neighborhood of Key West, Florida from August to December 2005. It premiered on February 28, 2006 and consisted of 25 episodes. The season premiere was viewed by 3.33 million people.
Production
The production faced a lawsuit by tourism mogul Ed Swift, a neighbor to the Driftwood Drive house, who sought to stop filming at the location, on the grounds that the production's floodlights, commercial-sized air conditioners, and outdoor cameras capable of rotating towards his house were a nuisance, and that local zoning laws prohibit commercial use of Key Haven homes. After MTV threatened to cancel production in response to the lawsuit, a judge threw out the lawsuit and allowed Bunim-Murray Productions to continue filming the season, with some minor production restrictions put in place.
During filming, Hurricane Rita made landfall, forcing the cast to evacuate to West Palm Beach. Subsequently, Wilma hit the area, forcing them to evacuate again, first to Ft. Lauderdale, and then to Orlando.
Assignment
Almost every season of The Real World, beginning with its fifth season, has included the assignment of a season-long group job or task to the housemates, continued participation in which has been mandatory to remain part of the cast since the Back to New York season. The Key West cast was assigned to assist in starting a Mystic Tan franchise at the Pineapple Gallery. It closed briefly after Hurricane Wilma had devastated the store, and later reopened.
The residence
The cast lived in a nearly 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) Spanish Mediterranean-style, five bedroom, four and a half bathroom house at 32 Driftwood Drive in Key Haven, just north of the Key West city limits. The property spans 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2) of waterfront property, and includes a tennis court, indoor racquetball court, gym, and an open dock. The house, which, along with two adjacent lots, was leased from June 28 to December 30, 2005, also included a 12-foot (3.7 m) x 20-foot (6.1 m) indoor pool that was converted into a sunken lounge area for filming. The house also included an outdoor pool. The house sustained some damage from Hurricane Wilma.
Cast
^Note 1 : Age at the time of filming.
After filming
After the cast left the Real World house, all seven of them appeared to discuss their experiences both during and since their time on the show, Fun, Sun, and Now Totally Done: The Real World Key West Reunion which premiered on August 22, 2006, and was hosted by Susie Castillo.
Devenanzio has become a mainstay on The Challenge.
In 2006, Paula Meronek was arrested for assault for allegedly biting then-boyfriend John Alyward. She has since married another man and has two children. Svetlana Shusterman became an aspiring actress and model who appeared in FHM as one of the "Girls of FHM". In 2007 she was arrested for disorderly conduct. She is now an artist. In 2014, Shusterman filed a restraining order against Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd. Boyd has responded that does not know Shusterman and does not believe he has ever met her.
Real World/Road Rules Challenges
Challenge in bold indicates that the contestant was a finalist on the Challenge.
Note: Paula appeared on the 2010 MTV special Spring Break Challenge as a color commentator.
Note: Johnny came into Invasion of the Champions at the 4th challenge as a twist with 7 other champions.