The Real World is the first season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. It was created by producers Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. The first cast consisted of seven people who were paid $2,600 to appear on the series. The cast was filmed living in a SoHo loft from February 16 to May 18, 1992, The series premiered May 21 that year. This was the first of three seasons to be filmed in New York City. In 2001 the show made a repeat visit with The Real World: Back to New York, and in 2008, set its twenty-first season, The Real World: Brooklyn, in the borough of Brooklyn.