By Terri Schwartz

It’s been 16 years and 20 seasons since the first episode of MTV’s hit reality television show “The Real World” first aired. On Saturday, a crew of the show’s casting directors came to Boston in search of the next seven strangers picked to have their lives taped.

Although the 21st season of “The Real World” takes place in Brooklyn, N.Y. and is set to air next year, according to casting directors Megan Sleeper and Jessica Thompson, they said they are now searching for a new batch of characters for the season following “Brooklyn.”

“We’ve seen about 100 [people] so far,” Sleeper said at about noon Saturday, “but it’s still the morning, so we’ll probably see [another] hundred by the end of the day.”

A handful of hopefuls were scattered around the cleared-out upstairs dining room of Faneuil Hall restaurant Ned Devine’s, as DJs from local radio station WBOS 92.9 FM set the mood with pop music.

“I feel like everyone they have on the show is crazy and fun,” said 21-year-old Johnson ‘ Whales fashion merchandising and retail marketing major Jess Rosenberg. “Of course [the casting directors] want that party animal. I feel like yes, I am that, but I’m also driven and have goals and morals and stuff like that.”

Everett High School alumnus Nick Sordillo, 19, applied last year for “The Real World,” and although he wasn’t chosen for that cast, he said he was told to come back for this casting call.

“My personality kind of gives me an edge. It’s a good personality mixed with some attitude,” Sordillo said. “I’ve noticed that there aren’t a lot of young guys on there and, even though I’m 19 [years old] I can’t legally buy a drink, but I still know how to have a good time.”

Supervising casting director Damon Furberg of Bunim/Murray, the company behind “The Real World,” said the casting procedure is very different from the one actors go through. The casting directors are looking more so for interesting personalities rather than certain types of people, he said.

“I think people have this mistaken impression that we go out with a list,” Furberg said. “We’re looking for people who are charismatic and interesting and