Airing in the summer and fall of 2000, the ninth season of The Real World took place in New Orleans, where the roommates lived in The Belfort, a remodeled Civil War-era mansion located in the Garden District. (Years later, the mansion managed to survive Hurricane Katrina.)

The cast reflected the cultural climate of the new millennium, featuring a mix of progressive lifestyles that highlighted the country's conservative standards. Danny—a 22-year-old gay man from Georgia—was, at the time, dating a U.S. Army captain named Paul. Because of military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, Paul's face had to be blurred for each appearance he made on camera, when visiting his boyfriend. Julie, a 21-year-old virgin, was the first Mormon to be featured on the series. At the time, she was a student at Brigham Young University, and after the show began airing, she was suspended for breaking the school's conduct code by living with men—during her stay in The Belfort—to whom she wasn't related/married. Other cast members included: Jamie, who was 22 at the time, an internet entrepreneur; Matt, a 21-year-old devout Catholic (and the house's other virgin), was a web designer and blogger; Melissa, a 22-year-old biracial woman, was the house comedian; Kelley, a 21-year-old blond sorority girl, met and dated a doctor on the series, but then later married Party of Five star Scott Wolf. And then there's David…