The First Reality Show: An American Family

How An American Family Inspired The Real World

An American Family inspired one of the most famous reality shows of all time, MTV’s The Real World. The Real World started back in 1992, and the most recent season was in 2016. At this point, everyone is pretty familiar with how The Real World works and the initial seasons sought to recreate the drama captured in An American Family.

Instead of capturing family dynamics, MTV sought to capture how seven young adults from many different backgrounds would function while living in a house with one another. Originally the series gained popularity for facing tough issues like prejudice, AIDS, and substance abuse. However, it no longer has the same reputation and is considered to be representative of the vapidness of today’s youth.