We’ve known for a while now that Facebook is seeking to generate its own original content but the news that MTV’s The Real World is returning to our screens was a surprise, to say the least.
The announcement was made onstage at MIPCOM in Cannes and will see The Real World reimagined in several different locations across the world.
“The Real World made history as the world’s first original reality show and trailblazing social experiment – and we’re thrilled to reboot the show for today’s audiences – representing and amplifying the real life, real people, real places and real social tensions of each country,” said Matthew Henick, Facebook’s head of content planning and strategy.
While the appeal of reality shows has been something of a guilty pleasure in recent years, realising differences between cultures across the world at once in the way Facebook plans to do could offer a magnifying glass on social tensions and could make people take a harder look at society as whole – that’s assuming it’s done correctly.
This will be part of Facebook’s wider content strategy which has been reported to have up to $1bn pushed into it over the past year. With Disney creating their own platform with a live-action Star Wars TV show and the growing dominance of Netflix and Amazon – the premium content market is certainly picking up.