The Philadelphia Season of The Real World first aired on MTV in 2004. In the fifteenth edition of the popular reality series, seven strangers were chosen to live in a renovated building that was previously a bank and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Season is the first season of the show with two openly gay men, Karamo and Willie, in the cast.
Cast
The seven strangers are:
- Karamo
- Landon
- Melanie
- MJ
- Sarah
- Shavonda
- Willie
Plot
Much of the plot centers around nightlife and relationships. Landon and MJ are portrayed as party guys, and both have one-night stands at some point. MJ and Sarah have a flirtatious relationship, as do Landon and Shavonda.
The roommates sometimes perceive Melanie as judgmental and critical of their decisions. There are several conflicts with Melanie, including fights with Sarah, Landon, MJ, and Shavonda. Shavonda, who has a boyfriend at home, struggles to choose between him and Landon.
This season confronted issues such as Landon's problem drinking and MJ's homophobia. Unlike in the Honolulu season of the Real World, when Ruthie was voted out of the house if she did not get substance abuse treatment, the season did not confront Landon's excessive drinking so much as display its disturbing effects.
As always, racial issues were a central theme. This season, the show was edited to portray Karamo, a black man, as being a racist. It appears that he was raised to mistrust white people, and must come to terms with the multiracial occupants of his new house. With the help of Shavonda, a black woman who identifies with both black and white culture, Karamo begins to learn to be more racially tolerant.
On holiday they went to Fiji Islands
Job
The 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.