Gen Z’s newest reality stars are bringing big drama to the Big Apple — and their show hasn’t even aired yet.
Days before Bravo’s new nepo baby reality show “Next Gen NYC” debuts on June 3, crypto bro cast member Charlie Zakkour was seen outside of a crime scene at the Soho house where an Italian crypto millionaire was allegedly kidnapped and tortured.
Zakkour – described by the network as a “crypto trader and private investor who’s been ruling NYC’s club scene since he was 14” – has not been implicated, but the cast has already distanced themselves from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed twenty-something. A source told The Post that he’s known as the “Chuck Bass” of the cast, referring to Ed Westwick’s brooding womanizer character on “Gossip Girl.”
“There’s definitely some drama. It’s a friend group of a lot of different people — not all of us mesh well together. Everybody gets into it at least once. I’m in the hot seat quite often,” Ariana Biermann, a “Next Gen NYC” cast member and the 23-year-old daughter of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, told Page Six Tuesday.
The cast also includes Gia Giudice, whose mom, Teresa Giudice, has anchored mega franchise “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” for more than a decade; Ava Dash, the daughter of Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash and fashion designer Rachel Roy; Riley Burruss, whose mom, Kandi Burruss, is a former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star; Dubai-born beauty influencer and model Emira D’Spain, 29; Georgia McCann, a brand and events creative strategist and fourth generation New Yorker; and Brooks Marks, the son of Meredith Marks, from “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
The series, according to Bravo’s website, “follows a tangled web of friends raised in the spotlight — or at least close enough for good lighting — as they stumble into adulthood one brunch, breakup and spontaneous decision at a time.”
Biermann moved to the city with her boyfriend — high school sweetheart Hudson McLeroy, who also appears on the show — in 2024 in hopes of starting a new chapter and to launch a streetwear brand.
The Atlanta-born beauty has maintained she’s still trying to have a relationship with her father — Kim’s second husband, former NFL player Kroy Biermann, who legally adopted her and older sister Brielle Biermann in 2013, amid his tumultuous divorce with Kim.
Last week, she faced her own off-screen drama when she was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving and possession and use of drug related objects following her 2022 DUI arrest.
Biermann admitted to vaping weed, and prosecutors dropped the DUI charge, according to court documents, first reported by In Touch.
At a Page Six fashion shoot on Tuesday, an effervescent Biermann didn’t let her brushes with the law dim her spotlight — or her style. She sported a red bodycon dress and diamond cross necklace while confessing that growing up in front of the cameras gave her a thick skin and ease sharing her truth in front of the camera.
“One thing I always say is, you’re not going to catch me in a lie,” Biermann told Page Six from the posh, blue velvet banquets on the rooftop of the Arlo hotel in Soho.
She got the guts to be fully herself, she says, from her mama.
“I’ve learned to really be authentically who I am and not be afraid of what people think because either way you’re going to win and you’re going to lose — people love you and people hate you,” Biermann said, adding, “I’ve done this since I was five so I feel like it’s instilled in me. My mom used to always say she feels better with the camera around.”
Her closest pal on the show, she said, is 24-year-old Gia Giudice, the host of iHeartpodcasts’ “Casual Chaos.” After growing up on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” Giudice plays the Garden State gal on the show, playfully complaining about commuting through the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan.
But, the Giudice clan’s eldest daughter is seriously thinking about relocating to Manhattan in the fall, she exclusively told Page Six.
“Since filming ‘Next Gen NYC,” my career has picked up so much. Now I actually kind of like the city, and I’m really considering moving,” said Giudice, who brings a number of guests — mom Teresa, longtime boyfriend Christian Carmichael, and fellow RHONJ’s Bravo star Lexi Ioannou, daughter of Dina Manzo — on to the new show.
Meanwhile, 25-year-old Dash told Page Six that her upbringing was a mix of high wattage and humble.
“Fashion has always been integral in my life … I was 4-years-old modeling and walking down the Rocawear runway with my older brother,” she said, going on to note that she also had a less glam job in her teens, working retail at Brandy Melville.
While she concedes that having famous parents has been a boon, she said she hasn’t rested on her family connections.
“I’m not going to say that I haven’t had opportunities just because of my last name,” she said. “But that being said, when opportunities are brought to you, you still have to walk through the door and show that you deserve to be there and be kind and hardworking.”
While many of the new show’s cast members have Bravo stars as parents, some first-timers are making a name for themselves in their own right.
D’Spain shot to fame in 2022 as the first black transgender woman to model for Victoria’s Secret, and she’s making history as the first trans person to join Bravo as a full-time cast member.
“I would describe my style as sexy, Barbie, glam,” the 28-year-old told Page Six, wearing a bubble gum pink, mini dress bedecked with beads and sequins.
“Viewers will be most excited to see how real these friendships are. There’s this perception that they’re not. We’ve all been friends for a while. It’s a very fun dynamic to see unfold,” she said.
Others, like McMann — described as the show’s “Gen Z ‘it’ girl” — are helping curate the vibe and getting the cast into cool underground parties in New York.
“We have no sense of money or responsibility or our future, but that’s the fun of being Gen Z. We don’t think too far ahead. That plays out in our day to day lifestyle,” said McMann, who went to film school at NYU’s Tisch School of Arts during the pandemic and then got into event planning.
“There was not much work in film so I started throwing parties,” McMann, who runs the events company Channel 1.
Giudice, meanwhile, told Page Six she’s most excited for her fans to see a fresh side of her life.
“It’s a different view of my personality. ‘Real Housewives’ is very family based. This is more fun, playful, hanging out with friends in New York City, showing how each one of us is establishing ourselves in our 20’s. It’s relatable,” Giudice said.
While growing up, she dreamed of being a lawyer — an aspiration she shared with fans — she’s now leaning into her influencer era.
“My biggest accomplishment is doing what makes me happy.”
Her mom’s candidness, weathering everything from a prison sentence to deaths in the family, has inspired her.
“She really is authentically herself. She doesn’t try to be someone she’s not and that’s why people love her,” Giudice said. “She shows every aspect of her life to the public.”
Her philosophy is similar.
“I’m pretty much an open book,” said the rising young reality star. “There’s not much to hide. I’d rather put it all on the table and let my audience know me for me.”
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