In the third episode of “Selling the City,” Netflix’s new Manhattan-based spinoff of “Selling Sunset,” the series’s star, Eleonora Srugo, attends an awards dinner for her brokerage.
In a scene that has become boilerplate in the crowded genre of real estate reality television, Ms. Srugo — wearing an $842 crystal-encrusted David Koma top that scoops down to her navel — is surrounded by both allies and adversaries as she makes a toast.
“This is not the City of Angels, it’s the city of empires,” she says, raising a glass of champagne. “So here’s to us. To breaking records and to building empires.”
One empire that “Selling the City” is building is the franchise itself. It’s the third spinoff for “Selling Sunset,” which is now in its eighth season and continues to pull in millions of viewers for each episode. “Selling the OC,” set in Orange County, Calif., began its third season in May; “Selling Tampa,” which featured an all-Black cast on the Gulf Coast of Florida, was canceled after one season.
The New York spinoff follows a team of agents led by Ms. Srugo, a broker for Douglas Elliman who was born in Israel and raised in New York City. She navigates backstabbing co-workers, cutthroat competition and the challenges, she says to the camera, of being single in the city. Her fellow agents include Jade Chan, who focuses on new development, and Steve Gold, a veteran of “Million Dollar Listing” who is often the only man in the room. All three are among the top-earning agents in New York City.
Like everyone in Manhattan, the show has neighbors: “Selling the City” premiered on Netflix on Jan. 3, six months after Ryan Serhant, another “Million Dollar Listing” veteran, unveiled “Owning Manhattan,” his own real estate program, on the same service.
It’s not the first time Adam DiVello, executive producer of the “Selling Sunset” franchise, has made a New York-based spinoff of a hit L.A. reality show. In 2008, he created “The City,” MTV’s spinoff of “The Hills,” which was something of a rich-kid “Reality Bites” and itself a spinoff of the teen docu-soap “Laguna Beach,” the O.C.-based O.G. of unscripted television.
“I always wanted to make another show in New York,” Mr. DiVello said. “I love the city. New York has energy all its own. You can’t duplicate it.”
The New York Times sat down with three stars of “Selling the City” to get their thoughts on the new show. Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Eleonora Srugo, 38
You’re very honest and vulnerable on camera, speaking about everything from “losing your virginity for the second time” to undergoing cosmetic treatments. What was it like to put yourself out there so fully on camera?
I was not going to do it any other way. I’ve viewed unscripted TV. I know that the one thing that really works is authenticity, which, by the way, is the same thing that works in sales. So there was nothing that was really off the table when we were filming the show. I was going to tell my story truthfully.
You talked a lot about being a single woman on the show, and even joked about doing the program to find a husband.
It’s an occupational drama, so there’s a lot of components about my life that are relevant and don’t just have to do with real estate. My clients appreciate that I can also be vulnerable about my life and who I am.
The show follows an all-female team hustling in New York, with agents from other brokerages, including Steve Gold, playing support roles. As opposed to “Selling Sunset,” where the brokers who run the team are men, you’re in charge here.
There are incredible women real estate agents in New York. There are so many other interesting things we talk about on the show, whether it’s fertility issues or money issues or even how much we’re spending on beauty. These are real conversations that women have to have every day.
You grew up in New York. What is it like to now be on a show about selling some of its most expensive real estate?
Opportunities for reality TV had presented themselves in the past. But this was one that actually did feel very special. I am a true city kid. These are my streets.
Jade Chan, 38
This is your first foray into reality television. What has it been like?
It’s been a complete roller coaster of emotion. The ups and downs, the highs, the lows. And honestly, the hardest thing has been trying to just stay focused on my real life.
Has being on the show been good for your business?
I’m in demand now, for lack of a better word. My social media following has tripled in five days. I’ve gotten emails from people all over the world saying they’re interested in buying in New York City.
You’re the sales director at the Mandarin Oriental Residences on Fifth Avenue. You speak a lot about how much you love new development. Why do you love it so much?
It’s not just opening the door and selling the dream. There are so many more levels in new development. I like being able to deal with the floor plans, work on buildings from the ground up. I’m working with a building from conception to reality.
A lot of the drama in the show is between you and Eleonora, with you positioned as her adversary. And in the final scene of the season, that drama reaches a peak and you curse out the network. How do you feel about how you were portrayed?
I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am. I started from the bottom and worked my way up. I do wonder, oh my gosh, is this going to reflect on all the hard work that I’ve done, because people are now going to see me screaming obscenities at Netflix on TV? But people who know me see through what was going on.
Steve Gold, 39
You’re a veteran of reality television. What was it about this show that made you want to continue your reality TV career after the end of “Million Dollar Listing”?
I’ve done a lot of television before and that was its own roller coaster. It was great. I’m a Pisces, and while it’s great for business, it’s also a great creative outlet. Bravo was one thing, it’s a great audience, but Netflix is a whole new level.
What was it like being one of the very few men in a very female-centric show?
I don’t mind being the odd man out. My whole career and my whole life, I’ve worked well by going against the grain. I’m no longer an underdog. I’m kind of like top dog now. And I’m pretty used to being around women. I grew up with two older sisters, and aside from my dad, I was the only boy in the house. Now, in my house, I have two daughters and my beautiful wife. And Corcoran, my brokerage, is run by a very smart and powerful and incredible female. So I can’t say I’m a fish out of water in that environment.
On the show you also show off some of your design work.
It’s really a passion project. My loft in SoHo and my house in the Hamptons were both featured in Architectural Digest, and I did the design of both myself. That’s my creative side, and I love it.
So should we expect a design show from you in the future?
Well, I think you shouldn’t not expect it.
The post All the Usual Backstabbing and Big Commissions. This Time in Manhattan. appeared first on New York Times.
