What TV shows can survive in a post-’Jersey Shore’ world?
The Washington Post is trumpeting the sad news that the latest season of MTV’s iconic “The Real World,” filmed in D.C. after Obama made the town suddenly hip, was perhaps the least successful run of the series in its long history. We asked around when the numbers came out, to figure out what went so tragically awry with the Washington edition. Virtually every non-MTV person with whom we spoke agreed: what MTV’s viewers want to see is not “idealistic” 20-somethings in Washington — it’s tanning-bed obsessed 20-somethings in Jersey Shore. Sigh. Though it had its share of sex and hot tubs, this season of “The Real World” also tackled heavier fare like gay rights, abuse, eating disorders and depression. Most of the members got internships or jobs with places like Human Rights Watch and the (RIP) Washington Blade. All this, apparently, made them unpalatable. For a show that got its start by making a star out of an AIDS activist, this is pretty sad. MTV has been successful in the last year wi
