Wharton Journal

Issue date: 10/11/04 Section: Insider

Before Survivor, The Bachelor, Temptation Island, Punk'd or Wife Swap, there was The Real World. In 1992, MTV had an idea that putting seven "average" twenty-somethings in a pimped-out apartment in New York could mean big ratings. Twelve years and fifteen seasons later, The Real World is still going strong, welcoming young people all over the country to share their Tuesday nights with the newest incarnation of drama queens, high school misfits and aw-shucks cowboys. But for those of you who did not already know, this season, which premiered last month, was filmed right here in Philadelphia. That's right, after years of slumming it in such places like Paris, Hawaii, Miami and Las Vegas, MTV descended on the City of Brotherly Love in May, and for three months filmed the lives of the newest seven initiates of TRW family.

The route to the Real Worlders Northern Liberties house was a bumpy one. The company that produces The Real World planned on renovating the old Merchant Seamen's Church Institute (located at 3rd and Arch) using non-union labor. You probably don't need a Masters degree in labor relations or extensive local knowledge of Philadelphia to know that the non-union tactic, especially with such a high-visibility project, wasn't going to fly. The unions flexed their muscles, the controversy was splashed across local television and newspapers, and MTV threatened to simply not film the show in Philadelphia. But cooler heads prevailed, the mayor was brought in to smooth things over with MTV and in May, and The Real World commenced filming. You're probably thinking that Philadelphia could be one of the most non-glamorous cities in the world to film, but producers were attracted here by Philly's pedestrian-friendly set-up, access to the Jersey shore (a summer house in some horrible place like Wildwood is no doubt going to show up in a later episode) and the ability to shoot in a city during the summer months. The house, which features a dramatic two floor atrium, is one of the better in the series' history, both in terms of physical amenities and access to the core centers of the host city. The unique part about this season's filming is that due to the union labor controversy, there was no secrecy in either MTV's filming plans or the cast's residential location. (Historically, the word usually slowly diffuses through the community that TRW is filming in town.) Because of the premature visibility, fans, gawkers and inebriated pranksters were constantly descending on the very vulnerable Northern Liberties location.

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