Washington’s had mixed luck with reality shows in the past (anyone remember Blonde Charity Mafia?) but forget Real Housewives or Real World: MTV’s newest reality show is going academic instead, tracking the lives of four students at Gallaudet University.
mtvU, the college-themed arm of the cable channel, will premiere Quiet Campus on October 24. The show goes behind-the-scenes at Gallaudet, the US’s only higher education facility designed specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. According to this New York Times post, the show was inspired by creator Paul Ricci’s experiences filming deaf college students on spring break six years ago. Ricci told the Times his goal was to emphasize the universality of the college experience and help viewers forget that the students they’re watching are deaf.
Quiet Campus tracks four students: Michel, a star athlete on the football team; Clayton and Taylor, a pair of sophomores whose will-they-won’t-they relationship provides much of the show’s drama; and Cesar, an aspiring photographer who’s gay. The series finale is set during homecoming, which is always a hotbed of potential turmoil and excitement—in other words, it’s perfect for reality TV.
For more information on Quiet Campus, check out this press release, or mtvu.com.
