Nearly 1.9 million people tuned in for Wednesday night’s season premiere of The Real World: DC, The Washington Post has learned.

The MTV docu-drama wrecked havoc on pedestrian traffic and community relations during filming in Washington’s trendy DuPont Circle neighborhood last summer. Although the highly controversial and oversexed Jersey Shore remains Music Television’s most talked about reality smash of the season, audiences haven’t been this interested in The Real World in ages. Last season’s premiere of the longrunning unscripted soap — now in its 23rd season –only drew 1.4 million viewers, despite being set alongside the steamy backdrop of Cancun, Mexico.

It’s still a far cry from the days when The Real World attracted 4 million viewers per episode.