MTV coming to ... Key Haven?
BY TRACI RORK
Citizen Staff
MTV announced Thursday that the newest locale for its long-running reality show "Real World" will be Key West.
But the actual house where the young adults will live, with their every move caught on camera, is in Key Haven, outside of city limits.
Few details are up for discussion as MTV and Bunim-Murray Productions want to keep the show's cast members and location as much of a secret as possible. While the Pineapple Gallery on Duval Street was in the running to be the production site, Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley said Thursday that the roommates will share a house in the upscale enclave a couple miles north of Key West.
But the cast will work and play in Key West, a location that has a lot more name recognition than the suburban Key Haven or its geographical home, unincorporated Monroe County.
Filming on the show's 17th season is scheduled to begin in upcoming months and premiere on air in early 2006, with 24 episodes.
MTV's longest running and highest-rated series has documented the collection of seven roommates in various cities such as Boston, Seattle, New Orleans, Chicago, Las Vegas, Hawaii, London and Paris. Each location provided a unique backdrop to showcase the "seven strangers picked to live in a house, have their lives taped and find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real," according to the MTV press release.
The show's producers praised the Keys.
"When we told potential cast members that we had chosen Key West as the location for season 17, we were met with universal cheers," said Jon Murray, the show's creator and executive producer.
The show's producers said they hope the island will live up to its reputation for excitement and eccentricity.
"Between the exciting nightlife and diverse culture of Key West, we're excited to see what storylines emerge in the new season," said Lois Curren, MTV's executive vice president for series entertainment.
Local city officials said they are also excited for the public to have four months of continual Keys viewing.
"We know the show deals with kids going through their own personal process," said Rita Brown, Florida Keys and Key West Film Commissioner, "but we know Key West will be beautiful no matter what."
Brown also feels that this is a great opportunity for the television audience to observe Key West during the slowest time of the year. The production will take place during the final months of hurricane season when the islands are much less frequented by tourists, and will paint a vivid picture of tranquil times sandwiched between spring break and Fantasy Fest.
Hurricane season was an issue for concern during the selection process. Ultimately producers decided that the cast and crew will be a part of the community, therefore they will just have to do what the public does. If hurricane evacuations are issued for residents in the Lower Keys, they will uproot their world and leave real fast, with camera crews capturing the chaos every step of the way.
Todd Beck, representative for Bunim-Murray Productions, said producers want to provide the young adults with a setting that has as little outside influence as possible, which means without passers-by yelling "hi mom" when they see a TV camera.
"Unlike live TV, producers have countless hours to sift through their video and use only 1/2 of one percent of the film they shoot — that's a 200 to 1 shoot to air ratio," Beck said.
It's not the network's first foray to the Florida Keys. Its roadtrip show "Road Rules" frequently started in Key West and in 2001 the network spent weeks shooting "Summer in the Keys."
`How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.
