The Real World: Philadelphia (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Real World: Philadelphia was the fifteenth season of MTV's popular reality television series The Real World, which focuses on of seven diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. The Philadelphia installment premiered in 2004. This was the fourth season to be filmed in the northeastern United States, after The Real World: New York in 1992, The Real World: Boston in 1997 and The Real World: Back to New York in 2001.

The house

The cast lived in a building at 3rd and Arch Street in Old City Philadelphia. The 11,000 square foot building was built in 1902. It was purchased in 2003 for $2.2 million dollars, and then approximately $3 million more went into the renovation and furnishings. The house had 42 fixed cameras mounted inside for the show. The building was formerly the Union Bank of Philadelphia Building. After that, it was the Church for Merchant Seamen's Center. The building has been on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places since 1977. In March of 2004, producers packed up everything in secret over a weekend and then announced they were stopping construction because of disputes with Philadelphia trade unions, causing a delay of several weeks. Joey Carson ,CEO, of Bunim-Murray, and Ted Kenney Producer of The Real World, met in private over two week period with the trade unions. The meetings were brokered by Mayor John Street, Governor Ed Rendell and other civic leaders in order to lure the show back to Philadelphia. The building is currently an art gallery.

Season changes

The Philadelphia season of the show is the first with two openly gay men, Karamo Brown and William Hernandez, in the cast. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the first season to have two gay characters, regardless of sex. That status belongs to the Chicago season, although the Hawaii season featured a bisexual woman and a gay man. This was the first season to feature an out black gay male.

Assignment

Every season of the The Real World, beginning with its fifth season, has included the assignment of a season-long group job or task to the housemates. The Philadelphia cast worked for the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena football team which is partly owned by Jon Bon Jovi. As part of their duties for the Soul, the cast planned and assembled a playground for underprivileged children.

Cast

Cast Member	Age	Hometown	Stats
William Hernandez	23	New York City, New York	Willie is a gay Puerto Rican American who loves his friends and is passionate about the arts and performing. His religious parents don't accept his lifestyle, which caused Willie to leave home when he was 15. Willie and his straight twin brother are the oldest of six children who all remain close. Willie admits that he possesses the "stubborn" family gene and isn't afraid to be confrontational. At times, Willie insists that it's "[his] way or the highway!" As a child, Willie worked in commercials and musical theater and was a regular on the children's television show Ghost Writer that promoted literacy for children. Born November 20, 1979.
Sarah Burke			Born and raised in Florida, Sarah just graduated from Emory University and plans to attend the University of Florida School of Law in the fall. Sarah isn't afraid to use her sex appeal to get what she wants. She is most attracted to boys who are witty, independent, athletic and a challenge. She's highly opinionated and ready to debate at a drop of a hat. Sarah struggles with her weight and has overcome an eating disorder.
M.J. Garrett			MJ is a blond Southern young man. He is a recent grad from Vanderbilt University, where he majored in Human and Organizational Development, and was a star football player. He had dreams of playing professional football, but those dreams were recently squashed when he was turned down by the NFL. MJ entered a two-month relationship before moving to Philadelphia, and he struggles to maintain this relationship while living with his new roommates. Born May 28, 1980.
Karamo Brown			Currently living in Los Angeles, Karamo is a gay African-American from Houston whose parents are from Jamaica. He's the youngest of four and has three older sisters whom he considers the most important people in his life. He lives his life for others and gives much of his time to charities, politics and non-profits. Karamo struggles with his feelings about interracial dating as a result of his upbringing that was filled with strong anti-white prejudices. He works toward keeping an open mind and overcoming these fears and prejudices. Karamo attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in Business Administration. Recently, he worked at the Brotherhood Crusade in Los Angeles writing proposals for grants and establishing new programs to help people who live in underprivileged areas. Born November 2, 1980.
Melanie Silcott			Melanie most recently attended the University of California at Santa Cruz and hopes to become a high school English teacher. Her long-term companionship with her friend Andy has evolved into a steady romance. Melanie claims to have a spontaneous, wild streak, loves to dance and party and believes if you follow your heart, you'll be happy. Born December 22, 1981.
Shavonda Bilingslea			Shavonda is an African American young woman who likes to party and to socialize with men. In high school, Shavonda was a cheerleader and her school's first African American homecoming queen. Shavonda struggles to support herself without any family aid and is putting herself through Grossmont Community College. Shavonda currently has a boyfriend to whom she wants to be faithful, even though he is not the kind of jock that usually pursues her. She likes a jock with a sense of humor and likes to be pursued. As a result of a turbulent childhood, Shavonda generally hopes for the best, but expects the worst. Born February 16, 1983.
Landon Lueck	23	River Falls, Wisconsin	Landon is a sports fanatic. In high school, Landon was a state champion in doubles tennis and ranked fifth in the state in wrestling. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was on the waterskiing and wakeboarding teams. Landon is sensitive about being labeled a "dumb jock" and is afraid to "let go," fearing that others won't accept him. He recently ended a seven-year relationship with his high school sweetheart and still hasn't gotten over her. He loves female attention, and he craves a real relationship again. Born August 21, 1979.

Season highlights

• MJ and Sarah have a flirtatious relationship, as do Landon and Shavonda. Shavonda, who has a boyfriend at home, struggles to choose between him and Landon.

• Landon also had somewhat of a relationship with an employee for the Philadelphia Soul. This was against the rules of the job. The relationship eventually ended after too many close calls with Soul management.

• The roommates sometimes perceive Melanie as judgmental and critical of their decisions. There are several conflicts with her, including fights with Sarah, Landon, M.J., and Shavonda.

• This season confronted issues such as Landon's problem drinking and M.J'.s homophobia.

• A particularly infamous episode featured a heated fight between Landon and Melanie. Melanie, somewhat of a loner on the cast, had her own group of friends that she had met in the city. When she invited them over one night, a drunk Landon became enraged and pulled out a knife from the kitchen. He began to walk over to Melanie but was led away by Karamo before he could reach her.

• As in previous seasons, racial issues were a central theme. Karamo, a black man, appears to harbor racist feelings, on account of his being raised to mistrust white people, but with the help of Shavonda, a half-white half-black woman, he begins to learn to understand his feelings about race.

• During the season's group trip, the cast traveled to the Fiji Islands for three episodes.

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