The Real World: San Diego is the twenty-sixth season of MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's reality television

Reality television

Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 series The Real World

The Real World

The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras document their lives and interpersonal relationships. San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

 was first reported as the location for the twenty-sixth season on June 7, 2011.

This season, which is housed in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla, is the second season of the program to be located in the San Diego area, after the fourteenth

The Real World: San Diego

The Real World: San Diego is the fourteenth 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. The San Diego season...

, which aired in 2004; it is the fifth season to be located in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, after the second

The Real World: Los Angeles

The Real World: California is the second season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of several diverse strangers living together for several months, as the cameras follow their lives and interpersonal...

, third

The Real World: San Francisco

The Real World: San Francisco is the third 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...

, fourteenth

The Real World: San Diego

The Real World: San Diego is the fourteenth 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. The San Diego season...

, and twentieth

The Real World: Hollywood

The Real World: Hollywood is the twentieth 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 document their lives and interpersonal relationships. It premiered on...

 seasons. This season also marks the fifth city to be re-used as a season's location, following New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in the tenth

The Real World: Back to New York

The Real World: Back to New York is the tenth 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...

 and twenty-first

The Real World: Brooklyn

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 document their lives and interpersonal relationships...

 seasons, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 in the twentieth, New Orleans in the twenty-fourth and Las Vegas in the twenty-fifth

The Real World: Las Vegas

The Real World: Las Vegas is the twelfth 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...

 (though in the cases of the 20th and 21st seasons, the settings' specific focuses were Hollywood and Brooklyn, respectively). Production began in June 2011, and the season premiered on September 28, 2011.

Assignment

Most seasons of The Real World, beginning with its fifth season

The Real World: Miami

The Real World: Miami is the fifth 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 and document their lives and interpersonal relationships...

, have 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. This season, the cast works at the House of Blues

House of Blues

House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...

.

The residence

The cast resided in a beach house at 5212 Chelsea Street in La Jolla, California, a neighborhood of San Diego, which belongs to an unnamed celebrity who vacated it for the production's use, and removed his belongings from the residence because he "didn’t want any of his valuables destroyed by the Real World’s notoriously wreckless [sic] cast members." The two story, eight-bedroom house features a large set living room, small pool, a patio overlooking the ocean, and a tennis court on the top deck.

Cast

Cast Member		Hometown	Biography
Alexandra Govere Alexandra Govere Alexandra Govere is a Zimbabwean philanthropist, singer, songwriter, record producer, gymnast and reality television personality. She first attracted media attention by being the first black female gymnast to represent Zimbabwe in artistic gymnastics at the September 1999 All Africa Games, and...	21	Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...	Alexandra, who goes by "Alex," was raised in Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three... , in a village with no electricity or running water. She relocated with her family to California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... . She is of Zimbabwean, French, and American Indian descent. Described by MTV as the most accomplished person to ever appear on the series, She studied calculus at age 10, graduated from high school at 14 and attended Stanford University Stanford University The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...  at 15, studying civil engineering Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings... . She is an accomplished ballerina, competition gymnast, singer-songwriter and activist whose co-founding, with her younger sister, of the Kijana Project to support AIDS orphans resulted in a featured appearance in Elle Elle (magazine) Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in... magazine. She now lives in Los Angeles with her musician boyfriend of eight months, Byron.
	24	Winsted, Connecticut Winsted, Connecticut Winsted is a census-designated place and an incorporated city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the town of Winchester, Connecticut. The population was 7,321 at the 2000 census.-History:...	Ashley, the oldest cast member, attended the University of Connecticut University of Connecticut The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually... , where she majored in business. Ashley is also a model, with a profile on a website called Model Mayhem. She is extremely close to her mother, who is the only person she has ever lived with, underling the new experience of living with six strangers. She hopes to do sideline reporting for the NFL. She prefers tall, athletic men, though she does not date often. She develops a romantic relationship with Zach, in part because, as she explains, they were both raised in an conservative environment.
	22	Canastota, New York Canastota, New York Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,425 at the 2000 census.The Village of Canastota is in the south part of the Town of Lenox.- History :...	Described by MTV as a "whirlwind of emotions" and a "master of manipulation", Frank, who is nicknamed "Hurricane Frank", grew up in Upstate New York Upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York... , and graduated from Middlebury College Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,... , where he majored in Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...  and molecular biology, and participated in track Track and field Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...  and hammer throwing Hammer throw The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown... . On his 21st birthday, he began a homosexual relationship for the first time, which began his bisexual lifestyle. He also enjoys partying to point of blacking out Blackout (alcohol-related amnesia) A blackout is a phenomenon caused by the intake of alcohol or other substance in which long term memory creation is impaired or there is a complete inability to recall the past. Blackouts are frequently described as having effects similar to that of anterograde amnesia, in which the subject cannot... . A failed past relationship that left him vulnerable is recalled through his unrequited attraction to Alexandra. His conflict with his parents over his sexuality lead him to act belligerent and confrontational when drunk. He bonds with Sam in Episode 5, explaining that he never went to gay bars or wore gay pride Gay pride LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...  paraphernalia before meeting her. His sexual identity brings him into conflict with Zach in Episode 5, though they eventually grow closer in Episode 6.
	22	Grain Valley, Missouri Grain Valley, Missouri Grain Valley is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, in the United States . The population was 5,160 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Grain Valley is located at ....	According to MTV, Nate appears to be a typical fratboy, was a class clown growing up, and was captain of the high school football and baseball teams and senior class president. He was spurred to become an advocate for suicide prevention after one of his friends committed suicide, an experience that he recalls painfully in episode 4. Nate is a recent graduate of the Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri, United States, and part of the University of Missouri System... , where he played football and earned a degree in nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics... . According to MTV, he drinks heavily and engages in promiscuous sex, but considers his promiscuity and his inability to be faithful to any girlfriend he has ever had to be his best and worst trait. He intends to become CEO of a global energy conglomerate.
	19	San Diego, California San Diego, California San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...	Priscilla, who is of Mexican descent and the youngest cast member, graduated from West Hills High School West Hills High School West Hills High School is a public, comprehensive high school located in Santee, California, and serves students in grades nine through twelve...  a year early. Currently she is a pre-med student at the University of California, Davis University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment... , where she majors in psychology, with plans to become an anesthesiologist. She is best friends with her mother, who had her when she was 17, and with whom she discusses extremely intimate subjects. Her large family also includes a younger brother named Jodan and sister, and her grandparents, who arrived in the United States as illegal immigrants and eventually became millionaires, and paid for her breast implants. Though described by MTV as "flirtatious", she has only been in one serious relationship, which ended badly and with unresolved issues that may be resolved during the season. In episodes 7 and 8, Dylan, the boyfriend she broke up with a year ago, comes to visit, during which they try to define their relationship.
	21	Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...	Samantha, who goes by "Sam", is a daughter of military parents and self-described "stud lesbian" whose sexuality initially strained her relationship with her mother, though this eventually improved. Characterized by MTV as a "girlfriend stealer", she was involved in a dramatic love triangle in high school that resulted in two girls being outed Outing Outing is the act of disclosing a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person's true sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. Outing gives rise to issues of privacy, choice, hypocrisy, and harm in addition to sparking debate on what constitutes common good in efforts... . She is passionate about gay rights, and performs as a drag king Drag king Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their performance. A typical drag king routine may incorporate dancing and singing, live as in the Momma's Boyz of San Francisco's performances or lip-synching...  alter ego named Shawn Jade. She is in college studying to become a parole officer. Her father's 25-year career in the U.S. Navy United States Navy The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...  provides an important context for her pride in Episode 6 when she sees military servicemen marching in San Diego's Gay Pride event for the first time following the abolition of Don't ask, don't tell Don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while... .
	23	Brighton, Michigan Brighton, Michigan Brighton is a principal satellite city of Metro Detroit located in the southeast portion of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,444. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area...	Standing at 6'3, Zach played wide receiver Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...  at Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest... , where he graduated with a degree in sports science and exercise physiology. He formerly harbored dreams of playing for the NFL, but today supplements his semi-professional football career by working at a physical therapy clinic. He competes to get women, including older women, with his two best friends, who collectively call themselves "The Goon Squad". His pastimes include going church and firing guns at shooting range Shooting range A shooting range or firing range is a specialized facility designed for firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "RSO – Range Safety Officer" in the United States or a range conducting officer or "RCO" in the UK... s, the latter of which he shares with Ashely, as they spend time together during the season He is a self-described conservative who is taken aback at meeting Sam in the premiere, whose lifestyle choices are the "opposite" of his, though he develops a romantic relationship with Ashley, who was also raised in a conservative environment. In Episode 5, his aversion to the LGBT LGBT LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...  community is underscored by his refusal to participate in LGBT-themed activities, and by a rift that forms between him and Sam and Frank after Zach makes a joke alluding to gay bashing Gay bashing Gay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...  to which the latter two offense. He grows closer to Frank, however, in the next episode, however.

Age at time of filming

Episodes

Ep #	Total	Title	US Viewers	Original airdate

External links

Official site at MTV.com

Cast biography page at MTV.com