Meet the Real World Brooklyn

As I mentioned before, the upcoming season of MTV's The Real World is being filmed in Brooklyn. Last weekend, Floating Robot's special reality TV correspondent Sarah attended a sneak peek screening and Q&A with the new cast members. As I had originally pondered, it seems that not all of them are hipsters. In fact, it looks like there's only one. But one of the cast members is a transgender person. Top Model did it first, but props to MTV for keeping up with the tranny trend. Here is Sarah's report and her exclusive pictures of the cast!

This is the true story...
Of eight strangers...
Picked to live in Brooklyn…
And speak to a bunch of New Yorkers about their experience!

…The Real World…BROOKLYN.
As an average American twenty-something, Real World has admittedly been the focus of numerous conversations in my life. Whether I’m comparing the hotness level between Vegas’ Steven and Paris’ Ace or discussing the psycho-level of Denver’s “southern belle” Brooke, The Real World was definitely a weekly obsession.

Friday night had to have been the coolest Real World episode ever. In-person! Yes, went to the Paley Center for Media in New York City for a discussion with the cast of Real World: Brooklyn. As the lights dimmed, the screen flickered on and – BAM! – the show had begun. We watched each cast member on screen awkwardly introducing themselves and seeing their (ballin’) house for the first time.

After watching scenes from the first episode, the lights came back on and the cast filed on stage. We laid our eyes on the eight members. Evaluated. And the night had officially begun. For starters, I’d like to throw out there that it was a surprisingly physically un-diverse group. Yes, each person looks quite different from the next. But most of them were white. Now, let’s get to my point. Despite there being a majority of Caucasians in the mix, each person has something unique and interesting to contribute. Let’s meet the new cast:

Katlynn is the first transsexual member of The Real World. This Floridian joined the cast to tell her story to the world. This girl’s got spirit.

Chet from Utah has a style that might make you assume he’s gay but he simply loves fashion.

Sarah is an energetic, spunky girl with tattoos all over her body and a passion for art therapy. I can’t wait to get to know her through the show!!

J.D. trains dolphins. I’d love to leave it at that, and claim him as my official crush of the season. But…sorry ladies, he’s gay.

Devyn is our one and only African American member of the cast. She grew up competing in beauty pageants, so I feel some cattiness happening sooner than later with other females in the show.

Baya from Salt Lake City grew up with hippie parents and still seems to have that earthy/crunchy vibe- I can see some serious partying coming from her.

Ryan is the Iraq veteran. His stories will certainly be something to watch out for!

And finally, we have Scott, the New Hampshire personal trainer. Despite his temptation to show off his abs several times throughout the evening, Scott has a strong personality and will definitely spice things up in the house this season. (Drunken rampages, perhaps?)

Having added an additional character to the series’ usually seven-member cast and morphing the show into a one-hour season, characters are given a chance to be better fleshed-out.

The crowd was a modest size, but the vibe was strong. Questions posed to the group were varied:

“Having lived in Brooklyn for a few months, what are some of your favorite pizza places?” There were a couple decent answers, none of which being DiFara’s or Grimaldi’s. Will somebody please get these kids some decent pizza?

“How did your families and friends react when you told them you were going on the show?” Most people said they received mixed reactions. Chet’s Mormon family wasn’t so sure he’d be able to handle himself; which made him decide he truly needed to go on the show.

And the final question,

“Do any of you regret anything you said on camera?” The entire cast gave a firm “No,” to which Producers Jonathan Murray and Jim Johnston chuckled and responded, “They haven’t seen the show yet!” All eight suddenly lost their smiles. This should be good!