Road Rules

Road Rules
GenreReality
Created by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
No. of episodes220
Production
Executive producers
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBunim/Murray Productions
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseJuly 19, 1995 (1995-07-19) –
May 9, 2007 (2007-05-09)
Related
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Road Rules is an MTV reality show that was a sister show of the network's flagship reality show, The Real World. The series debuted on July 19, 1995, and ended on May 9, 2007. This allowed Road Rules a total of 14 seasons and 12 years on the air.

The series followed five to six strangers between the ages of 18 and 24, stripped of their money and restricted to a life in an RV, traveling from location to location. The strangers were guided by a set of clues and missions to complete at each location. It was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2001.

The series was a pioneer in travel/adventure/reward reality television (together with Mark Burnett's Eco-Challenge productions). Road Rules was created by Jonathan Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim of Bunim/Murray Productions. After Bunim died of cancer in early 2004, the show went into hiatus for three years.[1]

The idea of Road Rules came to mind when Real World castmates Jon Brennan, Tami Akbar and Dominic Griffin traveled in an RV across the United States to get to their The Real World: Los Angeles house in the first two episodes of the second season. Bunim-Murray began working on the show soon after the third season of Real World, and finally debuted in 1995.[1]

The show generated a spin-off series, also broadcast by MTV, known as The Challenge (originally known as Road Rules: All Stars before being renamed Real World/Road Rules Challenge after both its precursors), which is still in production. The spin-off series is mostly cast-contestant dependent on both Road Rules and The Real World as it combines contestants from various seasons of both precursors. The Challenge has run so far for 39 seasons since 1998, thus surpassing both Road Rules and The Real World.[2][3]

In 2021, it was confirmed that a revamped version of Road Rules would air on Paramount+.[4] However, this never materialized.

  1. ^ a b McKee, Ryan (10 June 2016). "The untold truth of Road Rules". Looper. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  2. ^ Remodeling TV Talent: Participation and Performance in MTV's Real World ... - Hugh Phillips Curnutt - Google Books. ISBN 9780549747185. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  3. ^ Jordana Ossad (March 4, 2020). "'The Game Has Changed': This is The Challenge: Total Madness". MTV News. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "Paramount+ Announces the Challenge: All Stars, Reuniting OGs, and New Road Rules Season".