Which reality franchise began with the 1992 Dutch program Nummer 28?

The Real World is the reality franchise that began with the 1992 Dutch program Nummer 28.

Nummer 28 was a Dutch television programme created by Erik Latour and produced by Jeroen Akkersmans. It brought seven strangers together in a furnished apartment in Amsterdam and filmed their interactions. The show is widely recognized as an important precursor to later reality formats based on observing unrelated young adults living together.

The Real World premiered on MTV in the United States in 1992. Its creators, Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray, adapted the shared-house idea while adding stronger emphasis on personal background, conflict and social issues. The first US season took place in a New York loft.

Big Brother also features strangers living under surveillance, but it began later, with the original Dutch series premiering in 1999. That distinction matters because the programmes are sometimes treated as interchangeable examples of the same format.

Nummer 28 had only one season, while The Real World became a long-running MTV franchise with editions set in many American cities and several international locations.