Get ready for your close-up, Denver. “The Real World: Denver” premieres at 6 tonight on MTV. Five months in the making, it will offer a mile-high helping of catfighting roommates, hormones run amok, late-night LoDo mayhem and sundry misadventures fueled by high-octane beverages.
One of television’s longest-running reality shows – this is its 18th season – “The Real World” follows seven strangers picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped.
The resulting carnage remains popular with the coveted 12-to-25-year-old demographic and is certain to thrust Denver into the national spotlight during its 26-episode run. Local bars and restaurants that hosted the cast and crew are gearing for the launch.
“When a show’s filmed in your city, you have so much more of a connection to it,” said Beth Shaughnessy, director of marketing for LoDo Restaurant Group.
LoDo’s Bar & Grille frequently hosted the cast and has been featured in several online promotional spots.
“If they’re in a bar or other establishment, you’re trying to figure out if you’ve been there,” she said. “When you see it, you can be, like, ‘Oh, I know that place.”‘
The Denver season focuses on Jenn, Brooke, Colie, Tyrie, Stephen, Davis and Alex as they party their way through downtown, primarily in the bustling LoDo nightlife district. A crew from Los Angeles-based Bunim/Murray Productions descended on 1920 Market St. in late spring, transforming the former B-52 Billiards into a TV-ready pad for the roommates, none of whom hails from Denver. Their average age of 22 ensured the focus would be on nightlife and relationship drama, the show’s staple for the past few seasons.
Before Denver, the show visited such cities as New York, Paris, San Francisco, New Orleans and, most recently, Key West, Fla.
“I was blown away by the nightlife,” said 24-year-old cast member Brooke LaBarbera. “I had been living in L.A. right before Denver, but Denver has some clubs to rival L.A. Every single night, there was something to do.”
Local bars have hired select cast members at $1,500 per night to show up at viewing parties. LaBarbera will appear with Stephen Nichols and Alex Smith at Vinyl on Friday night, a party that doubles as Carmello Anthony’s shoe-release bash.
“It’s one thing when they’re all running around partying, but it’s different now that the actual show’s launching,” said promoter Kevin Larson, who helped organize Vinyl’s event. “We were all a part of this, and now we get to see the final piece coming together.”
LoDo’s and Quixotes will host viewing parties tonight with cast members Tyrie Ballard and Jenn, respectively. (MTV releases only the first names of cast members, though The Denver Post obtained the last names of everyone in the cast except Jenn.)
“Back in beginning of (the show), it seemed like nobody cared,” said Quixotes co-owner Scott Morrill. “But now when it’s over, everybody on ‘The Real World’ is almost a celebrity.”
The Post chronicled the production of the show with a gossip and nightlife blog, GetReal Denver.com, and will continue to analyze each episode as it airs.
Local reaction to the cast and crew has been mixed. Some embraced the production, and others responded by hurling insults and beer bottles, as was the case one night at J.R.’s Bar & Grille.
“Just because it’s Denver makes it 10 times funnier,” said Denver resident Amy Board. “It’s fun to get into these reality shows right at the beginning and watch the drama. And the city is kind of the eighth cast member.”
Ballard worked as a club promoter at the Shelter and Tabu over the summer. His overall experience with the city made him want to return.
“There were a couple people who really got out of line, but for the most part Denver was really cool,” he said. “I definitely see myself coming back on a regular basis.”
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
