'Real World: D.C.': Change we can believe in? Or more of the same?

MTV is planting The Real World flag in our nation’s capital for its upcoming 23rd season (kicking off Dec. 30), and from the trailer the cable channel has released, the latest incarnation looks like it could be rather good. In my mind, simply moving the show from the cesspool setting of last season—hello, body shots in Cancun!—to somewhere more refined and buttoned-up raises the series’ IQ by about 100 points. The fact that the White House is in the background in some scenes? Insta-prestige! See the trailer here:

Doesn’t it all look slightly—gasp, gasp, gasp!—classy? Shocking for The Real World, I know! But then, today, I stumbled across a clip from the housemates’ first day and also this fight about religion:

The fact that the housemates are fighting about religion—and not, say, which kind of self-tanner is best—bodes well. Like, maybe these people have some brains, some substance, and won’t just be trashing around 24/7. But, also: Haven’t we seen this fight a zillion times before? Religious zealot versus atheist? I suppose after 23 seasons, everything gets recycled. So with that, I’m gonna give D.C. the old college try, but I’m still skeptical, like my colleague Margaret Lyons was when D.C. was announced, about whether The Real World can have it both ways with its trash (Cancun) followed by class (D.C.). Is it possible?

But what about you, PopWatchers? Will you tune in? Are you stoked for The Real World’s foray into D.C.—or did you break up with the reality granddaddy seasons ago? Also: Can you believe that this isn’t Return to D.C.? (I could have sworn the show’d been there before!)

More from EW.com’s PopWatch:

Can ‘Real World: Washington, D.C.’ really follow ‘Real World: Cancun’?