Real World: Ex-Plosion is the twenty-ninth season of MTV's reality television series Real World, 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 eighth season of Real World to be filmed in the Pacific States region of the United States, specifically in California after The Real World: San Diego in 2011.
The season featured a total of twelve cast members over the course of the season. It is the seventh season to take place in a city that had hosted a previous season, as the show's third season was set in San Francisco in 1994. It is also the sixth season to be located in California. San Francisco, California was first reported as the location for the twenty-ninth season in August 2013. The house in San Francisco that was being used was first reported by the website Vevmo. Production began from late August until October 21, 2013, and the season later premiered on January 8, 2014, consisting of 12 episodes. The production participated in the San Francisco "Scene in San Francisco Incentive Program" administered by the San Francisco Film Commission.
After 21 years, this season marks the first significant change in the show's format. The cast narration "This is the true story...of seven strangers..." that was used during the previous 28 seasons was eliminated from the opening title sequence and replaced with a new introduction. The roommates move into their San Francisco home, develop relationships with one another and with the San Francisco locals. A month into the show, the cast goes on an off-the-grid vacation. When they return, they come to discover that many of their exes have moved in as additional roommates. The Exes were each misled by producers to believing that they would be a replacement roommate, unaware the other Exes would be moving in as well until move-in day.
Season changes In order to boost ratings, the producers made major change in the show's format. Besides bringing the cast members' exes into the house, the season included new graphics and a new filming style that added a new layer of realism by featuring the inclusion of the cameramen, conversations between the producers and the cast in and out of interviews and discussions about the fact that the cast are filming a show. The production crew also provided the cast a smart phone so they could take their own pictures, and also had a social website available that they could post their pictures on. As the season unfolds, some of that will have repercussions at home when people back home see photos. The house's phone room has a ooVoo setup for video calls.
Employment Most seasons of The Real World since the fifth season have included the assignment of a season-long group job or task to the housemates. Beginning in the 28th season, certain jobs in the area were approved by production that the cast had the liberty to apply for independently if desired. However, unlike last season, no cast member this season chose to take part in this particular work. Ashley Ceaser has a full-time job at a San Francisco start-up that she continues during production, Arielle works on his ongoing projects as a filmmaker, and Jenny auditions for and gets hired to be a gogo dancer.
Residence During shooting, the cast lived at 1244 Sutter Street between Polk Street and Van Ness Avenue, the former location of the Avalon Ballroom."Former Avalon Ballroom Loft". Real World Houses. December 5, 2014
Cast This was the first season of Real World to feature twelve cast members consisting of seven original roommates and five additional roommates. The season started off with seven roommates, until one roommate left early. Later, the cast was joined by five additional roommates. The additional roommates were known as The Exes, people who the originals had previously dated.
+ Initial cast members of Real World: Ex-Plosion Cast member Age Hometown 22 Oakland, California Arielle is originally from Vallejo, California. She is the co-founder of a defunct Social Media website called "GenJuice," and attended the University of California, Berkeley. She has recently switched her career path is pursuing a career as a horror filmmaker and a model. In episode 5, Arielle is one of the only ones happy about her ex being in the house, but has a brief argument with her ex-girlfriend Ashley when she expresses a dislike of Arielle falsely thinking she needs to conform to Ashley's preferences of clothing in a partner. She later has to confront her own personal issues about people thinking that she is a male to female transgender in episode 7. She acts as the voice of reason in the house, but bands with the other originals in thinking the exes should move out. 26MTV. (2016, July 6). Digging Your Own Grave. The Challenge: Rivals III. episode. San Francisco, California Ashley is originally from Hurricane, West Virginia, but was living in San Francisco at the start of filming. She is an aspiring model and previously attended West Virginia University. and is dating a man named Francis who lives locally. In episode 3, after abandoning the house, she asks her roommates to vote whether they wanted her to stay. Based on her drunken, unstable behavior, many in the house voiced opposition and Ashley did not want to stay since all were not okay with it. Had she stayed, production had an ex of hers that would have moved in as well. She returns in episode 4 while her roommates are on vacation to retrieve her things. She also returns in episode 10, where she spends the night hanging out with Jenny. In the reunion, it is revealed her ex-fiancé Kyle would have likely moved in as part of the twist had she stayed in the house. 22 Santa Monica, California Cory is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, but now works as a personal trainer in Santa Monica, California. He had been on and off with his ex-girlfriend, Lauren, since the seventh grade, before they went their separate ways. Previously a football star, he lost his athletic scholarship due to a pregnancy scare with a girl he was dating. He later discovered that the story was a complete hoax, which led him to leave school just a year before graduation. He immediately slept with Jenny two days into being in the house. Their romance ended when their exes arrived. In episode 7, his past experiences with pregnancy initially prevented him from supporting Lauren during her own pregnancy, but he later comforted her when she made the decision to leave. He later takes on the role of the mediator in the house when it comes to his other roommates and their problems with others. However, the rivalry between him and Brian finally came to a head when they fought in the van ride back home. 22 Houston, Texas Originally from Pflugerville, Texas, Jamie is a columnist who writes an advice column website called ForeverShameless. She has also worked as a model. She is the only cast member whose ex did not participate on the show. Her ex, Asking Alexandria guitarist Cameron Liddell, did not move in due to his commitments with Asking Alexandria and belief that it would be unhealthy for both of them. She claims to be happy about him not coming. She developed a reputation of butting into people's personal business, which sparked a feud between her and the original Ashley. She also got in between Jay and Jenna's relationship because she did not like the way he treated her. She claims to have trust issues, which became an obstacle in her relationship with Thomas, especially when his ex, Hailey showed up. 26 The Bronx, New York Jay is a party promoter and DJ from the Bronx. In episode 3, his mother has cancer and unexpectedly dies due to complications from surgery shortly after production begins. He was looked at as a nice guy, but later kissed a girl when he was already in a long-term relationship. He was not happy when his girlfriend, Jenna showed up in the house but continued to be with her. It comes out that Jay has been cheating on Jenna since the day they met and continues to get girls' phone numbers while in the house. He later has to work hard in order to win Jenna back, but they soon reconcile. 23 Los Angeles, California Jenny is originally from Kansas City, Missouri, but now works as a bartender, actress, singer and dancer in Los Angeles. She has also been a model and used to work as a real estate agent. After dating for five years, Jenny and Brian broke up due to their long-distance relationship, her sex drive, and his commitment issues in regards to moving to L.A. with her. Shortly after arriving in the house, she finds out that Brian is seeing someone else and begins a sexual relationship with Cory, which goes through its own problems. She is later shocked to find out that Brian has moved in and she and Cory mutually end things. She and Brian begin dating, but break up once again when he tells her that he kissed another girl at a club. Jenny makes it her duty to make Brian miserable, which leads to a serious fight in episode 8. She attempts to distance herself from Brian, who wants desperately to get back together with her. She also gets a job as a go-go dancer which upsets Brian. She later realizes that Brian has changed since coming on the show and that she wants nothing to do with him. 21 Fort Worth, Texas Thomas is a student at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he is slated to graduate in 2014. He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and goes to the same school as his twin brother. He begins dating Jamie, which shocks them both since they are not each other's types. He has trouble accepting the number of people she has slept with since he has a very low number and claims that he doesn't have sex, but makes love. When his ex Hailey moves in, Thomas is angry due to his past with her. It turns out that his trust issues stem from Hailey lying to him about being a virgin and her cheating on him with multiple men. He is also very vocal about not wanting her on the show which leads to a physical altercation with her in episode 9.