'The Real World Homecoming: New York': Meet Kevin Powell, Andre Comeau and the returning cast on Paramount plus' reality show
If you thought 'Big Brother' is the father of all reality shows, think again. Now 29 years ago, 'The Real World' paved the way with the first-ever installment of the show. It saw seven strangers from different walks of life and diverse backgrounds live together in a New York City loft and explored their interpersonal relationships while documenting them.
Andre Comeau, Becky Blasband, Eric Nies, Heather B Gardner, Julie Gentry, Norman Korpi and Kevin Powell were the initial cast who stayed together and within a couple of months, they became instant hits with the TV watching audiences. It's been almost two decades since Season 1 aired and as part of MTV's 40th birthday celebration, the show has been rebranded as 'The Real World Homecoming: New York' and the original seven people, who entered the show as complete strangers, are brought back for its Season 1.
The six-episode docu-series will air on Thursday, March 4. Meet the iconic cast of this show and know about what they are up to now below.
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Andre Comeau
Andre is a singer and guitarist who began his music career with an indie rock band called Reigndance. He played with them for three years before moving into the NYC loft. His Reigndance days are far behind him and he's been a part of a new alt-country band River Rouge. On the personal front, it seems like he's married and is a father to a daughter and two dogs.
Becky Blasband, now known as Rebecca
Becky Blasband was 24 years old during Season 1 and was quite ahead of her time. Unpredictable in her ways, Becky was not afraid to speak her mind and sometimes said the wrong things at the wrong time. There was also a time when she was embroiled in controversy after another cast member accused her of racism. Currently, Becky is in San Francisco and is a singer-songwriter. Not much has changed about her apart from her name which is Rebecca now.
Eric Nies
Eric Nies was one of the most successful on the cast. He used to book a lot of modeling gigs back in the day. Even though his good garnered him attention everywhere, it was people close to him, including his father, girlfriend and sister, with whom he shared the most destructive relationships. He was in Hawaii before coming on the show. He lives with his wife Iona, who he married in Vietnam. According to InTouch Weekly, Eric now describes himself as a "health and wellness facilitator".
Heather B Gardner
Heather B was a part of the Boogie Down Productions group, who were decently famous back in the 90s. However, she wasn't happy with where she was career-wise and wanted a breakthrough as a solo artist. After the show, she continued to focus on her music, released a couple of singles including 'All Glocks Down' and also made an appearance in some movies that included castmate Norman Kopri's film 'The Wedding Video'. Currently, she has put music on the backburner and hosts 'The Happy Hour with Heather B', a chat show she where has interviewed many prominent Black personalities including 50 Cent, Black Thought, Wouri Vice, Erykah Badu amongst many others. Oh, she also makes some delicious cocktails.
Julie Gentry
Julie was the youngest amongst the cast members. At just 18 years old, she found herself in the NYC loft from her hometown Alabama, her very first step to following her dreams as a dancer. Julie and Eric shared a very close bond that many fans thought could advance into a full-blown relationship but the two remained friends. Julie married in 1998, had children and moved back to Alabama. Since then, there hasn't been much information about her that was known to the public but hopefully with her return to the show, audiences will get to know about what she had been up to in her hometown and if she plans to move back to the Big Apple.
Norman Korpi
Norman Korpi was the first LGBTQ cast member of the show. Norman was a conversation starter and his interactions with his roommates would often end with bouts of laughter courtesy of his innate sense of humor. After the show, Ryan continued to work on his painting projects as well as focused on working on some art design/set decorating gigs for film, television, commercials, and live events. His film 'The Wedding Video', a hilarious commentary on gay marriage featured a number of 'Real World' cast members from various seasons.
Kevin Powell
Kevin was a poet, writer and educator and struggling with the issues that affected African American men back then. He was the oldest amongst the cast and sometimes struggled with finding a connection with any of them. After the show, he continued living in New York and has since written a number of books and established himself as a successful writer, a public speaker, and a political activist. He even ran for Congress a couple of times but lost.
'The Real World Homecoming: New York' premieres Friday, March 4, 2021, on Paramount Plus.