A study investigated how a contemporary, popular media program such as "The Real World" (on MTV) can be used most effectively in the classroom to illustrate the basic concepts of interpersonal, group, and family communication. The 21 individual 22-minute episodes of the second season of "The Real World" (a combination of video-verite techniques and staged interviews with seven real young people--not actors--who were selected to share a house in Venice, California while their lives were captured on videotape) were subjected to a content analysis. Results indicated in a group or family setting), and the role of communication climate were particularly well represented; (2) the mix of the house members provided numerous illustrations of cultural influences on communication; (3) the roles of uncertainty reduction and self-disclosure were well illustrated, but the series tended to emphasize group situations over dyadic contexts; and (4) family communication was illustrated less directly than communication concepts that apply across contexts. Future research is planned to determine the most effective ways of using "The Real World" and similar programs in the communication classroom. Findings take the form of a curriculum guide. (Contains 73 references. Appendixes present the curriculum guide--which provides detailed descriptions, communication concepts illustrated, and discussion questions for each of the 21 episodes--a list of general communication concepts presented in "The Real World," a chart to guide in the selection of appropriate episodes to illustrate specific communication concepts, and 12 endnotes.) (RS)