The Real World: Key West

The Real World: Key West
Cast of The Real World: Key West
Created by	Jonathan Murray Mary-Ellis Bunim
Starring	Svetlana Shusterman Janelle Casanave John Devenanzio Jose Tapia Zach Mann Paula Meronek Tyler Duckworth
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	MTV
Release	February 28, 2006 – Present

The Real World: Key West is the seventeenth season of MTV's popular reality television series The Real World, which focuses on seven diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as camera follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. This season was shot in the Key Haven neighborhood of Key West, Florida in late summer and fall 2005, at a 6,000 square ft. mansion at 32 Driftwood Drive[1] on Raccoon Key, and debuted February 28, 2006. It is the second season of The Real World to be filmed in southern Florida (The Real World: Miami was filmed 10 years prior in 1996); and the fourth season to be filmed in the southern United States (Miami in 1996, The Real World: New Orleans in 2000 and The Real World: Austin in 2005.)

The season was filmed during the busiest Atlantic hurricane season ever; filming was scheduled to start the week Hurricane Katrina made landfall but was delayed as several castmembers were stuck in Miami. Later in the season hurricanes Rita and Wilma made landfall forcing the cast to evacuate to West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, respectively. During Hurricane Wilma, the cast was forced to evacuate again, this time to Orlando after the Ft. Lauderdale-area hotel they sought shelter in was damaged by the storm. Conflicts incurred by the production included an unsuccessful lawsuit by tourism mogul Ed Swift III, a neighbor to the Driftwood Drive house, who sought to stop filming at the location, as well as the most active hurricane season in the region's history. After MTV threatened to cancel The Real World: Key West in light of the lawsuit, a judge threw out the lawsuit and allowed Bunim-Murray Productions to continue filming the season, with some minor production restrictions put in place.

Some of the music for this season was provided by Denis Taaffe.

Assignment

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. The Key West housemates were assigned to assist in starting a Mystic Tan franchise at the Pineapple Gallery. It closed after Hurricane Wilma had devastated the store.

Cast

Janelle Casanave is a 23-year-old biracial girl from San Jose, CA whose friends describe her as "strong-willed" and "independent." She overcame a difficult childhood and recently graduated from San Jose State University. She dreams of attending law school in the near future.

John Devenanzio is a 23-year-old from Fullerton, California, and a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University. His old nickname was "Johnny Bananas."

Jose Tapia is a 20-year-old of Puerto Rican descent who is known to his friends as "The Don." He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, surrounded by drugs, violence and the influence of "the wrong crowd." Now living in Sunrise, Florida, he is in his junior year at Florida State University, the owner of multiple rental properties and the proud holder of a real estate broker license.

Paula Meronek is a 24-year-old from Meriden, Connecticut. Since her graduation from Quinnipiac University, Paula is a corporate employee by day, and parties relentlessly at night. She demands the spotlight from both men and women. Paula is still attached to her abusive ex-boyfriend, and is dealing with problems with her body image. Paula was arraigned on a misdemeanor assault charge on July 10, 2006 after police said she bit her boyfriend during a domestic dispute. Meronek was charged with third-degree assault, which carries a potential penalty of a year in prison. She is due back in court Aug. 11. [2]

Svetlana Shusterman is a 19-year-old pre-med student at Temple University who hails from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A first generation immigrant with a reputation for being the "crazy Russian chick," she is torn between her dependency on her family, and the need to venture out and embrace all of life's adventures.

Tyler Duckworth is 23 years old, openly gay and a gymnastics and figure skating enthusiast from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who at one time was on track to becoming a world-class swimming champion. He was devastated when a freak accident shattered his Olympic dreams. Although doctors told him he might never walk again, he proved them wrong. A recent graduate of Tufts University, he must decide what to do with his life.

Zach Mann is a 22-year-old from Vashon Island, WA. A communications grad from Lewis and Clark College, Zach comes from a close-knit, traditional Jewish family. Zach was at one time overweight, but has since transformed himself and emerged as an energetic, confident young man with a tendency to relentlessly "fix" everyone around him.

Central Storylines

A number of storylines on the show centered around the conflicts between certain castmates, most notably Tyler and Svetlana, who enjoyed a mutual dislike for one another. Tyler somtimes seemed condescending toward Svetlana, because of her age and supposed immaturity. Tyler, Janelle, and Jose penned a "burn book" at one point, a journal of what they perceived as Svetlana's character flaws and idiosyncracies.

Other major plot points centered around Paula, namely her eating disorder and relationship with boyfriend Keith. Members of the house deemed this relationship "unhealthy," as Keith had previously attacked Paula and put her in the hospital. Paula confessed to being very emotional while intoxicated, and fits of drunken rage did little to endear her to some of her housemates. She frequently clashed with John (once "stealing" one of his girls away) and Tyler.

Other stories centered around the groups' job at Mystic Tan, an establishment that closed after two hurricanes.