''The Real World: Austin'' is the sixteenth season of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's reality television series ''

The Real World ''The Real World'' (known as ''Real World'' from 2014 to 2017) is an American reality television series produced through MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions that most recently aired on Facebook Watch after airing on MTV from 1992 to 2017. It wa ...

'', 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. It is the second season to be filmed in the

West South Central States The West South Central states, colloquially known as the South Central states, is a region of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as covering four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The West South Central or Sou ...

region of the United States, specifically in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The season featured seven people who lived in a converted warehouse, which production started from January to May 2005. Consisting of 24 episodes, the season premiered on June 21 later that year and was watched by nearly 4 million viewers. ''The Real World: Austin'' won "Favorite Season" at the 2008 ''The Real World Awards Bash''.Full Winners List for the 2008 ''The Real World Awards Bash'' at mtv.com
/ref>Video of ''The Real World Awards Bash'' at mtv.com
/ref> In 2019, the season was made available for streaming on

Facebook Watch Facebook Watch (currently rebranding to Facebook Video) is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and it was available to all U.S. ...

(alongside the seventeenth and twenty-eighth seasons) ahead of '' The Real World: Atlanta''s premiere.

Assignment

Almost every season of ''The Real World'', beginning with its fifth season, has 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 ''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 th ...

season. The

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

cast had to shoot, edit and direct their own documentary on the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

music festival. Their "boss" was

Paul Stekler Paul J. Stekler (born January 3, 1953) is a political documentary filmmaker, a professor, and former chair and head of the production program in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication. ...

, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who taught at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

The residence

This season the cast was housed in the west half of a warehouse at 301 San Jacinto Boulevard at East 3rd Street in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, of which were used for filming. The interior used for the series was designed by Austin designer Joel Mozersky. Construction took three and a half weeks. 44 cameras were mounted on walls for filming. After filming ended, the warehouse was completely gutted. The west half of it was turned into a Mexican restaurant called The Rio Grande. The east half was leased to a printing services company. The house was converted into the Vince Young Steakhouse, which opened in November 2010.

Cast

: Age at the time of filming.

Episodes

After filming

Six months after the cast left the ''Real World'' house, all seven of them appeared to discuss their experiences both during and since their time on the show, ''Tex, Hugs, & Rock 'n' Roll: The Real World Austin Reunion'', which premiered on November 29, 2005, and was hosted by

Susie Castillo Susie Castillo (born October 27, 1979) is an American actress, TV host, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2003. She competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants. She pursued a career in the media, making various ...

. The four female cast mates posed in lingerie for a cover feature in ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

'' magazine. At the 2008 ''The Real World Awards Bash'', the Austin season won "Favorite Season", Danny and Melinda won "Favorite Love Story" and Johanna won "Best Dance-Off". The cast also received a nomination for "Steamiest Scene", Melinda was nominated for "Hottest Female", Danny for "Hottest Male", Johanna for "Best Brush with the Law", Rachel for "Best Meltdown"."The Real World Awards Bash: Nominees"
. MTV.com. 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2013."The Real World Awards Bash: Winners"
. MTV.com. 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2008. When filming ended Melinda moved to Boston to be with Danny. A film crew followed them in New York City as they took a carriage ride through Central Park and he proposed before the reunion show. On August 2, 2008, they married at Castle Hill outside Boston, with most of their former cast members among those in attendance. Danny owns a construction company while Melinda is planning a career in dentistry. During the premiere of '' The Challenge: Cutthroat'', Melinda revealed in a confessional that she and Danny were going through a divorce.Salvatore, Rosanne
"'The Real World' cast members: Where are they now?"
'' Daily News''. April 1, 2011. Page 33 of 44 In 2016, Melinda married Matt Collins. Their first child, Camden, was born in 2019. After suffering a miscarriage, their second child, Hayden Thomas, was born in 2022. Wes and Johanna announced during the reunion show that they began dating several months after the conclusion of filming the show. They appeared together on '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat'', and Wes promised to use his prize money to pay for the engagement ring as he won the '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel''. At the '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III'' reunion show Johanna announced that she and Wes were no longer together. During the reunion special for '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island'', it was revealed that KellyAnne Judd from '' The Real World: Sydney'' was dating Wes at the time. Wes and Johanna both appeared on the '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins'' (as did KellyAnne Judd), during the season they experienced interpersonal conflicts stemming from the game and relationship issues. In a clip from '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins'' reunion, which aired on December 16, 2009, Wes and KellyAnne revealed that they were no longer a couple. Johanna married Willem Marx. Together they have a child, Diego. Wes proposed to Amanda Hornick in September 2016 at a Royals baseball game and got married in June 2018. Former roommates Lacey, Melinda, Rachel, Nehemiah and '' The Challenge'' costar Devin Walker-Molaghan were in attendance. The couple's first daughter was born on September 28, 2023. Outside of ''The Challenge'', Wes competed on the second season of ''

House of Villains ''House of Villains'' is an American reality competition series that premiered on E! on October 12, 2023. The series, hosted by Joel McHale, features a cast of reality television's most memorable and notorious villains. Contestants live in a ho ...

'', the twenty-eighth season of ''

Worst Cooks in America ''Worst Cooks in America'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January3, 2010, on Food Network. The show takes 12 to 16 contestants (referred to as "recruits") with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, t ...

'', and the third season of ''

The Traitors ''The Traitors'' is a reality game show franchise created by the All3Media All3Media Limited is a British worldwide independent television, film, and digital production and distribution company based in London. The All3Media group cons ...

''.

''The Challenge''

This is the third season of ''The Real World'' whose entire cast has competed on '' The Real World/Road Rules Challenge''. The first two are '' The Real World: Boston'' and '' The Real World: New Orleans''.

References

Mass media in Austin, Texas Television shows set in Austin, Texas 2005 American television seasons 2005 in Texas Television shows filmed in Texas 2000s in Austin, Texas