''The Real World: Cancun'' is the twenty-second season of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series ''

The Real World Real World or The Real World may also refer to: * Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds Television * ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017 * "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...

'', 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 only season of ''The Real World'' to be filmed in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The season featured eight people who lived in a hotel converted into a suite. It is the fourth season of ''The Real World'' to be set outside the United States, after '' The Real World: London'' in 1995, '' The Real World: Paris'' in 2003, and '' The Real World: Sydney'' in 2007. Series co-creator Jonathan Murray explained the choice of Cancun, saying, "Cancun is a good one to do after

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, which was a more gritty environment." Primary production started from January 26 to April 2009 and was not affected by the

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As o ...

outbreak in Mexico. Executive Producer Jim Johnston said, "We had stopped production before this thing reared its ugly head." Consisting of 12 episodes, the season premiered June 24 of that year and was viewed by 1.4 million viewers, the smallest debut ever for a season of ''The Real World'' at the time. The American

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

band

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Le ...

has a guest appearance in Episode 7, which ties into the cast's work assignment. The show's theme, heard during the opening titles, is called "Sex on the Beach" and performed by

3OH!3 3OH!3 (pronounced "three oh three") is an American electronic music duo from Boulder, Colorado, made up of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They are best known for their single "DONTTRUSTME" from their album ''Want'', which reached number sev ...

. Bunim-Murray Productions also shot an unscripted 2003 movie called ''

The Real Cancun ''The Real Cancun'' is a 2003 American reality film directed by Rick de Oliveira and written by Brian Caldirola. Inspired by the reality television genre, this film followed the lives of sixteen Americans from March 13–23, 2003 as they celebrate ...

'', although it was unrelated to the series. This season's suite was used by the cast of ''The Real World: Las Vegas'' (2011) for their season vacation.

Assignment

Most seasons of ''The Real World'', beginning with its fifth season, have 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 thei ...

'' season. The Cancun cast was assigned to work with StudentCity, an organization that helps visiting college students and, as Jonathan Murray put it, "give people a safe and fun vacation."

The residence

The cast stayed at the ME Cancun resort (now called Melody Maker Cancún) at Boulevard Kukulkan, km. 12 in Cancun, Mexico. The resort is located in the hotel zone between the Beach Palace and Park Royal Piramides resorts. Fifteen hotel rooms were converted into the cast's suite: eleven on the second floor, and four rooms on the third floor. Production Designer Chuck Aubrey used the hotel's signature furnishings to decorate the suite, along with the vivid colors that are typically used by the ''Real World'' production to adorn the residences. The suite, like all of the resort's other 418 rooms, features an ocean and sunset lagoon view. The suite is currently available to the public under the name SuiteMe. The suite was later used as the vacation residence for the cast of the 2011 Las Vegas season, as seen in Episode 11 of that season.

Cast

The cast is made up of eight individuals, in line with the prior season. Two of the cast members, Jonna Mannion and Derek Chavez, previously worked together at a bar in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, and are the first set of cast members in a season to be acquainted with one another prior to casting, since David Burns and Nathan Blackburn from '' The Real World: Seattle''.Biography page for Derek Chavez
mtv.com : Age at time of filming.

Episodes

After filming

''The Real World: Cancun Reunion'' aired on September 16, 2009, and was hosted by

Maria Menounos Maria Menounos (, gr, Μαρία Μενούνος ; born June 8, 1978) is an American journalist, television presenter and actress. She has hosted ''Extra'' and ''E! News''; she was a TV correspondent for ''Today'', ''Access Hollywood'', and co- ...

. Since filming ended, CJ planned to pursue his football dreams as well as a possible TV show in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Derek and Jonna returned to working together in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, though Jonna stated that they planned to move to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and she planned to pursue fashion. Ayiiia, who stated that she entered a serious relationship with another woman, enjoyed time living with her mother in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, though she planned to move into a house of her own. Emilee planned to move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with Jasmine, and stated that she no longer works for

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with ...

, while Joey returned to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and continued to play shows with his band. Jasmine returned to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and continued to pursue professional cheerleading and teaching.''The Real World: Cancun Reunion'' at MTV.com
/ref> The cast discussed how their lives changed following the conclusion of their experience, Joey's sexual dalliance with Ayiiia in the season finale, and some of the arguments that took place among the cast. An upset Emilee briefly left the set, and then returned and argued with Joey over her singling out the men for their behavior. Jonna's flirtatious behavior, and her relationship with Pat were also discussed, as was Jasmine's feelings for him. Derek and Bronne's close friendship was discussed. Joey left the reunion early due to a prior commitment with his band. Ayiiia's romantic and sexual encounters with her female roommates were discussed. Ayiiia and Jonna explained that they are not close, due to differences that developed between them during filming.

make a special appearance on the reunion set, and concluded the reunion with a performance of their newest single " La La La". On December 23, 2015, Jasmine welcomed her first daughter, Madelyn Eva, followed by her first son in January 2018. On August 3, 2016, Jonna gave birth to a daughter, Naleigh J. She got married in 2019 and welcomed her first son in the following year. In 2011, Joey Rozmus appeared on the movie ''

Living Will ''Living Will'' is an American comedy film starring Ryan Dunn, Gerard Haitz and April Scott. Cast *Ryan Dunn - Belcher *Gerard Haitz - Will *April Scott - Krista Production In 2011, the domestic distribution rights to the film were purchased ...

''. CJ Koegel is a model and a personal trainer. On September 13, 2019, he married fellow trainer Bree Branker. In 2020, their first son was born. Emilee Fitzpatrick made her acting debut in the 2020 movie ''Habitual'', which also featured Chris Tamburello from '' The Real World: Paris'' and Sabrina Kennedy from '' Real World: Go Big or Go Home''.

''The Challenge''

:Challenges in bold indicate the cast member was a finalist on the Challenge. :Note: Jonna Mannion was originally cast for ''Fresh Meat II'', but did not compete due to a lost passport.NOTE: Jonna mentions this about 23 minutes into Derrick Kosinski's Ultimate Challenge Radio Podcast.

References

External links

''The Real World: Cancun'' at mtv.comCast bio page at mtv.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real World: Cancun, The Cancun 2009 American television seasons Television shows set in Cancún 2009 in Mexican television 2000s Mexican television series Television shows filmed in Mexico