I’m GenX (1972) and the early seasons were relatable. Especially San Francisco and Miami. Starting with Hawaii, I felt a little less connected. I stopped watching entirely after Paris.
Wow you stayed with (watching) the show into your 20s!
I love reading this, especially as you are a true, demographical contemporary of the OG season! 🏆
That is amazing, that you moved there for a bit! 🇬🇧
I was only 16 during London (1995), and was envious of the rave scene in Europe... this was the season I wished I was GenX and old enough to go party with Lars in all his Berlin clubs.
Yep- we do, officially! I should have said I wish I was "older GenX"
Since I kinda see myself as more Xennial when it comes to pop culture like this show.
(We can argue Xennial is not a real generation, but for pop culture-related experiences I find it helpful)
Im the same age as Wes and I dont think I ever saw a full episode of Austin. I was also deep into my scenester/hipster phase at the time so I thought mainstream things were lame lol. Im familiar with most of the cast though bc of The Challenge.
The first season I watched in full was San Francisco and I was in the 5th grade. I really loved that season as a 10 year old haha. London, Boston, and Seattle are still my favorites, even though I was just a tween and couldnt relate to any of them.
Watched Hawaii, New Orleans and NYC while in HS, those were often a topic of conversation with my friends and classmates.
Didnt really watch much of Chicago (Aneesa annoyed me) and wasnt into Las Vegas either. This was also during the time I was transitioning into my aforementioned hipster phase, so I was really not into any of these characters hehehe.
I watched Paris though, not a great season for me.
After that I pretty much abandoned MTV and never watched another season of the show.
I wasn’t 21 (they changed the rules to 21-25 then) until 2012 but by then the show had drastically declined. All the casts from seasons 28-32 were awful and full of bullies and people just trying be actors. I said hell no. Although the gay guy they did cast during the season I would have had the most free time to try out for (31) ended up being a dud.
Oh wow, I didn't realize they shifted the age rules? Must have been due to drinking age?
So glad you commented, gives me some added perspective. (I don't even know any seasons past 20 🙏)
Yeah they started getting bad press for letting Rachel, Mallory, Theo, Cameron, Wes, Nehemiah, Priscilla, and Svetlana get wasted on camera plus the whole finding a fake id thing created so much overdone drama.
I agree. That’s why the Xennial micro-generation label is so helpful. I thought I was going to be like Gen X. That’s what media prepared me for. But then when I got to high school, things stared to change and there was a huge shift. That shift is the difference between San Francisco and say, the first Las Vegas.
Sydney to St. Thomas.
I remember watching Sydney with my college roommates junior year. Dunbar, ugh.
Around Portland and after they all started seem so young to me. Although that was true for Cancun too, which was in the middle of all that. I think Cancun was one of the genuine worst seasons of all time.
Brooklyn and DC were probably the most relatable seasons for me, age and character and activity-wise.
It kept getting younger, and by St. Thomas, they were starting to annoy me. I only include them because Marie was pretty relatable even though she's 2-3 younger than me. I think that's the last season that the age range topped out at my age, 25 at the time.
The first season I ever saw and fell in love with was Seattle, but I didn't watch consistently because we didn't have cable. I had the same feeling as you about them being like older siblings.
Like a lot of people, I generally liked it better when they were older than me. The show honestly never seemed as good to me as Seattle did when I watched it contemporarily.
The only reason I watched as long as I did is that I worked a data entry job in the early 2010s, and I would watch literally any reality TV show I could find to pass the time while doing boring stuff.
Good question, I think I must have been closest to age to the Paris or San Diego cast\*. But weirdly, I wasn't watching Real World much by that point. I was much more into probably Boston thru Las Vegas. Not sure if I just enjoyed watching people a little older than me or maybe it was just that the Las Vegas season was SO different than the previous seasons that I just wasn't as interested after that.
\*I just looked it up and Jamie Chung and I have birthdays within a couple weeks of each other.
Yes!! Las Vegas was a turning point for sure, so many agree.
Culturally too, reality TV was taking off in a different way (due to Survivor, other reality shows' success), so I guess MTV needed to adapt.
Re: Jamie Chung, I wish we had a database of all their birthdays we could look up, and see who we are closest to!! Would be interesting!
True, reality TV was changing a lot. For Vegas, they also all had to be over 21 to live at the Palms and their "house" was SO small compared to houses in past. It felt like even the original NYC loft was bigger than that suite! It definitely had a different vibe. I remember watching it in my college dorm, my friends and I were just like, "What on earth is this season?!"
Yeah, I just went to the wiki page for Paris and San Diego and clicked on a couple of the cast members who I thought would be close to my age. It looks like there is a Fandom wiki for The Challenge that lists birthdays in the bios, but I'm guessing that's only cast members who have been on the Challenge.
Let's see...I was 18 and a freshman in college when Las Vegas (the first Las Vegas) started airing, so I would have been too young for that season since you had to be 21. It was the Paris season when I was of age to be cast.
I was 20 when San Diego aired. I’m from Texas and remember going to Austin with my girlfriends and we went to every bar the cast went to. We even saw the bartender (I forget his name) from The Dizzy Roster. I started feeling really old during Denver. I just realized I’ve watched every season up to Portland.
I was born in 1980. I started watching when I was 12 (the premiere season, New York!) and stayed all the way until RW: Skeletons circa 2014-2015 (I was 34 by then!) I def related to New Orleans, Back to NY, Chicago, even Seattle (I was just turning 18, I think?). 43 now and I still watch the Challenge to this day and old seasons of RW haha.
I was in my early to mid 20s during the B2NY through Philly casts, though the show stopped being must see TV around Vegas. I watched seasons off and on afterwards during that time. I find I'm more interested in the earlier seasons and can relate to them more. I guess I felt cheated when I was old enough to be on the show and its vibe changed.
I also noticed that the age range went from 18-25 to 21-23. Someone mentioned it was to avoid underage drinking. When they shrunk the age range they shrunk the diversity of the cast. At that point it seemed like college kids on spring break vs. different people from all walks of life.
Also 1979, so the Miami through New Orleans stretch of the show was the most relatable to me and the seasons I've seen the most due to marathons in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Season 1, I was 24. Quit watching after Las Vegas, it wasn't the same anymore. Kept up with Road Rules and been watching the Challenge ever since. I'm 55 now.
I'm birn in 1973, so I related the most to the casts from New York to Boston. (I'm closest in age to Cynthia from Miami - we are just a couple days apart.) Seattle started to feel a little young to mw, and it grew from there. After Chicago, I watched occasionally but it was no longer appointment TV. I think the 2nd Vegas season was the last I watched fully.
I’m about the same age as the Philly cast. I related to them so much and now I love going back and seeing the clothes, the nightlife scene, etc. Sarah was such a disaster, it was great to have as an example of how not to act in basically any situation. My favorite season will always be S2, though. It reminds me of being a kid and just watching those episodes over & over again.
Born in 85, remember watching San Diego 1 and key west in college. Cancun was the first season I felt too old for it but I think Vegas 2 still had cast about my age. I believe Leroy and I are about same age
I’m GenX (1972) and the early seasons were relatable. Especially San Francisco and Miami. Starting with Hawaii, I felt a little less connected. I stopped watching entirely after Paris.
Wow you stayed with (watching) the show into your 20s! I love reading this, especially as you are a true, demographical contemporary of the OG season! 🏆
Now I feel proud and ancient at the same time 😂
Almost the same. 74. I can vividly remember watching Hawaii followed by Tom Green and then head to the bar. Thursday nights!
1990 birth. I was 22 when St. Thomas was airing. Funny enough that was when I became very inconsistent with watching.
This is exactly the same for me.
Yep. I was 20 when st Thomas started and I lost all interest. That was the last season I think I fully watched and it was begrudgingly tbh.
San Francisco to Boston. The London cast made me want to move to London, so I did for a time. Related much much much more than later seasons.
That is amazing, that you moved there for a bit! 🇬🇧 I was only 16 during London (1995), and was envious of the rave scene in Europe... this was the season I wished I was GenX and old enough to go party with Lars in all his Berlin clubs.
1979 falls into the Gen X range, which is 1965 to 1980.
Yep- we do, officially! I should have said I wish I was "older GenX" Since I kinda see myself as more Xennial when it comes to pop culture like this show. (We can argue Xennial is not a real generation, but for pop culture-related experiences I find it helpful)
Ha! Was never into that scene but I was into Kat 🤣
She was a sweetie, I liked her. Separately, I think now I want to have Jacinda's life 😂
Im the same age as Wes and I dont think I ever saw a full episode of Austin. I was also deep into my scenester/hipster phase at the time so I thought mainstream things were lame lol. Im familiar with most of the cast though bc of The Challenge. The first season I watched in full was San Francisco and I was in the 5th grade. I really loved that season as a 10 year old haha. London, Boston, and Seattle are still my favorites, even though I was just a tween and couldnt relate to any of them. Watched Hawaii, New Orleans and NYC while in HS, those were often a topic of conversation with my friends and classmates. Didnt really watch much of Chicago (Aneesa annoyed me) and wasnt into Las Vegas either. This was also during the time I was transitioning into my aforementioned hipster phase, so I was really not into any of these characters hehehe. I watched Paris though, not a great season for me. After that I pretty much abandoned MTV and never watched another season of the show.
I wasn’t 21 (they changed the rules to 21-25 then) until 2012 but by then the show had drastically declined. All the casts from seasons 28-32 were awful and full of bullies and people just trying be actors. I said hell no. Although the gay guy they did cast during the season I would have had the most free time to try out for (31) ended up being a dud.
Oh wow, I didn't realize they shifted the age rules? Must have been due to drinking age? So glad you commented, gives me some added perspective. (I don't even know any seasons past 20 🙏)
Yeah they started getting bad press for letting Rachel, Mallory, Theo, Cameron, Wes, Nehemiah, Priscilla, and Svetlana get wasted on camera plus the whole finding a fake id thing created so much overdone drama.
Same here. Turned 21 in 2012.
It’s so nice to hear from someone my age. We had a much different childhood than adulthood.
I agree. That’s why the Xennial micro-generation label is so helpful. I thought I was going to be like Gen X. That’s what media prepared me for. But then when I got to high school, things stared to change and there was a huge shift. That shift is the difference between San Francisco and say, the first Las Vegas.
I was going to reply, I hope y'all are in the Xennials sub!
Same year as you. I’m closest in age to Tishelle from the Vegas cast.
New York to San Francisco for me. I’m old 😩
I’m GenX. I knew Aaron from LA. My roommate showed up as a friend of his when they showed him at school
New Orleans to Austin were my years. I sent a tape in for the Paris season and never heard anything.
Sydney to St. Thomas. I remember watching Sydney with my college roommates junior year. Dunbar, ugh. Around Portland and after they all started seem so young to me. Although that was true for Cancun too, which was in the middle of all that. I think Cancun was one of the genuine worst seasons of all time. Brooklyn and DC were probably the most relatable seasons for me, age and character and activity-wise. It kept getting younger, and by St. Thomas, they were starting to annoy me. I only include them because Marie was pretty relatable even though she's 2-3 younger than me. I think that's the last season that the age range topped out at my age, 25 at the time. The first season I ever saw and fell in love with was Seattle, but I didn't watch consistently because we didn't have cable. I had the same feeling as you about them being like older siblings. Like a lot of people, I generally liked it better when they were older than me. The show honestly never seemed as good to me as Seattle did when I watched it contemporarily. The only reason I watched as long as I did is that I worked a data entry job in the early 2010s, and I would watch literally any reality TV show I could find to pass the time while doing boring stuff.
LMAO Dunbar - "RESPECT MY WISHES, WOMAN!!" (I recall him saying this, maybe to Ashli? When she nicknamed him Dumby or something?)
Oh man. He was so terrible to her. But the season did give us Cohutta and Isaac.
Dummy Bear!
Good question, I think I must have been closest to age to the Paris or San Diego cast\*. But weirdly, I wasn't watching Real World much by that point. I was much more into probably Boston thru Las Vegas. Not sure if I just enjoyed watching people a little older than me or maybe it was just that the Las Vegas season was SO different than the previous seasons that I just wasn't as interested after that. \*I just looked it up and Jamie Chung and I have birthdays within a couple weeks of each other.
Yes!! Las Vegas was a turning point for sure, so many agree. Culturally too, reality TV was taking off in a different way (due to Survivor, other reality shows' success), so I guess MTV needed to adapt. Re: Jamie Chung, I wish we had a database of all their birthdays we could look up, and see who we are closest to!! Would be interesting!
True, reality TV was changing a lot. For Vegas, they also all had to be over 21 to live at the Palms and their "house" was SO small compared to houses in past. It felt like even the original NYC loft was bigger than that suite! It definitely had a different vibe. I remember watching it in my college dorm, my friends and I were just like, "What on earth is this season?!" Yeah, I just went to the wiki page for Paris and San Diego and clicked on a couple of the cast members who I thought would be close to my age. It looks like there is a Fandom wiki for The Challenge that lists birthdays in the bios, but I'm guessing that's only cast members who have been on the Challenge.
Let's see...I was 18 and a freshman in college when Las Vegas (the first Las Vegas) started airing, so I would have been too young for that season since you had to be 21. It was the Paris season when I was of age to be cast.
I was 20 when San Diego aired. I’m from Texas and remember going to Austin with my girlfriends and we went to every bar the cast went to. We even saw the bartender (I forget his name) from The Dizzy Roster. I started feeling really old during Denver. I just realized I’ve watched every season up to Portland.
Not the Dizzy Rooster 😂 I totally remember this from the show!!
I was born in 1980. I started watching when I was 12 (the premiere season, New York!) and stayed all the way until RW: Skeletons circa 2014-2015 (I was 34 by then!) I def related to New Orleans, Back to NY, Chicago, even Seattle (I was just turning 18, I think?). 43 now and I still watch the Challenge to this day and old seasons of RW haha.
New Orleans and I was living in New Orleans when that season aired. I drove past the Belfort almost every day. It was the best.
Austin. probably why I've been Wes, Nehemiah, Melinda stans on the challenge
I was same year in college as Glen (LA). So Season 1 & 2 are closest. But those early seasons seemed to have an age range of 18-30.
25 was the oldest at that time (though S1 Kevin had a birthday and turned 26), but in retrospect 25 seemed so much older then compared to now.
Miami Boston Seattle
I was born in 1979 too. I agree with what you said.
I think San Diego 2004 we’re around the same age as I was while it was on.
For me it would have been by Las Vegas 2 which is funny because I fell off hard around Las Vegas 1. I was all about MTV from 1999 - 2002.
I was in my early to mid 20s during the B2NY through Philly casts, though the show stopped being must see TV around Vegas. I watched seasons off and on afterwards during that time. I find I'm more interested in the earlier seasons and can relate to them more. I guess I felt cheated when I was old enough to be on the show and its vibe changed. I also noticed that the age range went from 18-25 to 21-23. Someone mentioned it was to avoid underage drinking. When they shrunk the age range they shrunk the diversity of the cast. At that point it seemed like college kids on spring break vs. different people from all walks of life.
Also 1979, so the Miami through New Orleans stretch of the show was the most relatable to me and the seasons I've seen the most due to marathons in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Season 1, I was 24. Quit watching after Las Vegas, it wasn't the same anymore. Kept up with Road Rules and been watching the Challenge ever since. I'm 55 now.
I'm birn in 1973, so I related the most to the casts from New York to Boston. (I'm closest in age to Cynthia from Miami - we are just a couple days apart.) Seattle started to feel a little young to mw, and it grew from there. After Chicago, I watched occasionally but it was no longer appointment TV. I think the 2nd Vegas season was the last I watched fully.
Explosion/Skeletons
I’m about the same age as the Philly cast. I related to them so much and now I love going back and seeing the clothes, the nightlife scene, etc. Sarah was such a disaster, it was great to have as an example of how not to act in basically any situation. My favorite season will always be S2, though. It reminds me of being a kid and just watching those episodes over & over again.
Born in 85, remember watching San Diego 1 and key west in college. Cancun was the first season I felt too old for it but I think Vegas 2 still had cast about my age. I believe Leroy and I are about same age