The Real World: Brooklyn is the twenty-first 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 fourth season of The Real World to be filmed in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, specifically in New York City after The Real World: Back to New York.
It was the first season to include an openly transgender cast member, Katelynn Cusanelli. It also is the first season to feature more than seven cast members, as it featured eight housemates living on Pier 41 in Red Hook. Although it is the only season to set in the borough of Brooklyn, it is also the third season to take place in a city that had hosted a previous season, as the show's first and tenth seasons were set in New York in 1992 and 2001.
The season was aired as 13 one-hour episodes. MTV announced the location in May 2008. The series premiered January 7, 2009, and garnered an 18% increase in ratings over the previous season with 2.3 million viewers. The premiere was made available on iTunes on January 8. On January 4, MTV aired a special called The Real World: Secrets Revealed that documents the evolution of the series over the years.
Prior to the beginning of the season Jon Murray, co-creator of The Real World, and Chairman and President of Bunim-Murray Productions, explained the choice of Brooklyn: "The Brooklyn season, like the Hollywood season, will focus on what people loved about 'The Real World' when it launched in 1992 - genuine people, meaningful conflict and powerful stories...We're thrilled that MTV is allowing 'The Real World' turn 21!" Cast member Chet Cannon remarked on the city that was his home for three months, "Brooklyn is usually spoken of as more a place where you don’t want to go — I just don’t want to get shot down here."
Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead, makes an appearance this season when cast member Ryan Conklin attends a meeting of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
In 2010, the season was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program.
Season changes
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. However, no group assignment is given to the cast this season; the castmates are free to pursue their own interests, the first such season to do this since the fourth season. The group assignment returned the following season, though producer Jon Murray indicated a desire to dispense with the group assignment again with The Real World: Washington D.C.
Brooklyn is the first season of the series to feature eight cast members moving into the residence together in the premiere. (All previous seasons premiered with seven-member casts, and only introduced new cast members when the departure of others during production necessitated replacements.) This number remains in subsequent seasons. It is also the first season to include an openly transgender cast member, Katelynn Cusanelli.
This is the first season, and the first MTV series, to be broadcast in high definition.
The residence
It was originally reported that the cast would be staying at the BellTel Lofts in Downtown Brooklyn, but problems obtaining permits for the construction required MTV to seek a new location. The production chose Pier 41 at 204 Van Dyke Street in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. Pier 41 was also used as the setting for a bar scene in the 2005 Will Smith film, Hitch. This marked the second time a pier was used as a season residence for the cast after 1998's The Real World: Seattle.
Cast
This was the first season of Real World to feature a cast of eight roommates living together. The cast included a trans woman, Katelynn Cusanelli, a first for the series. The cast was photographed publicly for the first time at a Semi Precious Weapons New York Fashion Week party at the Manhattan club Rebel in early September 2008.
: Age at time of filming.