What I thought about: Selling Sunset (Seasons 1-3)

This is probably the fastest I have binge-watched a show, tearing through three seasons essentially in a single weekend. Allow me to explain why this mashup of Real Housewives reality trash with envy-inducing LA real estate had me hooked from the first episode.

Is Chrishell reacting to real estate success, or bitchy drama?

What’s it about?
Like most things in Los Angeles, real estate is really quite extra. It’s no wonder, then, that realtors come stuffed to the brim with their own personality, extravagant lifestyles, and salacious relationship drama. We know this because Selling Sunset literally sticks a camera crew into the offices of The Oppenheim Group, one of the most famous real estate brokers in LA. All the realtors there – besides the founders, twin brothers Jason and Brett – are objectively attractive women.

The show is part real estate television, as we see the group’s many listings in celebrity hotspots Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and part reality drama, as we discover that the girls don’t all get along with each other. Indeed, Season 1 opens with a new girl joining the group, former actress Chrishell Stause, who receives an ice cold welcome from diva-like Christine Quinn.

What do I like about it?
Um, this is going to be really hard to explain. I guess I just have to admit that I find trashy reality TV entertaining? But, in my defence, the show is more than just bitching and backstabbing (although there is plenty of that).

We get to see fantastic shots of some of the most expensive houses in the area, each with their own swimming pool and outstanding views across the valley and hills. Sometimes, we’re treated to run-ins with owners or potential buyers, most of whom look nowhere near rich enough to be able to afford any of these properties until you learn their occupations (a plastic surgeon, gallery owner, and app co-founder, to name a few).

And, yes, the drama. Like any reality TV show, you develop favourites. Mary and Chrishell are really sweet. Christine and Davina are not. There’s also Maya, an Israeli who has two children with a partner that lives across the country in Miami, who is the sort of ‘true neutral’ of the show.

What do I not like about it?
Not a lot, really. At times, the drama is a bit too petty, and the arguments can genuinely blend together to the point where you’re not sure who is talking, all you hear is noise.

I also genuinely cannot tell Jason and Brett apart. I have no idea which one is talking. I know they’re twins but… come on. The employees can tell!

Worth a watch?
Do you want to subject yourself to trashy reality TV about rich-ish realtors who sell houses to richer people? Then yes, Selling Sunset executes the idea really well.

By the way…

  • There’s a big interplay with the cast’s real lives, but I won’t spoil it…
  • Netflix hasn’t announced a fourth season, but I’m sure it will happen

506w