Of all the seasons of MTV’s “The Real World,” which launched the reality-TV genre with the template of “seven strangers live in a house and have their lives taped” for all the world to see, few are as memorable as the ninth, set in New Orleans and broadcast in 2000.
Much of that has been rightly attributed to cast members like Danny Roberts, an openly gay man who dated a service member at the height of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But for many of us — especially the Black folks watching — there was also the fan favorite Melissa Beck, who both visually and tonally represented a much-needed change for the franchise.
Born to a Filipino mother and a Black father, Beck was funny, thoughtful and, for lack of better phrase, with the shits when it came to challenging her castmates on their archaic and sometimes asinine thoughts on race.
For the fans who continued to follow Beck in the blog and Tumblr era, we learned that her experience on the show was not one she took for granted. However, she wrestled with the show’s long-criticized depictions of Black women. So, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Beck would be back for the third installation of the franchise’s latest revival, “Real World Homecoming,” which airs on Paramount+.
As an elder millennial who used to obsess over the original “Real World: New Orleans,” I’ve been devouring the new episodes and grateful for the entertainment value the cast can still provide 22 years after the initial airing. This is particularly true of Beck, who is very much wiser on the new show, but thankfully, still ready to check someone when need be. Of course, she is also still providing constant comic relief.
Beck spoke with HuffPost to discuss the lengthy process that got her to sign on for a reunion, what relationships she hoped could change, the economics of reality TV then and now, hiding in plain sight on the internet in the aftermath of the show, and what fans of her post-“Real World” writing…