Owning Manhattan

If you need any evidence that Ryan Serhant is likeable only in small doses, look no further than this Netflix series. Serhant sets the tone early on. His opening anecdote is that his grandfather once told him that cemeteries are full of wasted potential. This very odd introduction made me wonder what exactly Serhant was trying to tell us with this opening line. That he himself comes from a toxic family? That despite his massive financial success, he's only comfortable taking a shot at the dead, not the living who can still compete with him? Or that his perspective as a child was so warped by his family environment that it only stands to reason that he ended up choosing NYC real estate as a profession.

As grandiose and blustery as Serhant is, the employees of his brokerage, even the elite brokers, are for the most part, vastly more sympathetic and relatable than he is. Most of the people who work for him seem like hard-working, ambitious people who just want success in a big way. I just wonder how in the good God they could stomach working for him. As a New Yorker who's watched this city transform radically and become less and less affordable each year, this series is only educational and does not whet my appetite one bit to learn more about the high-flying super wealthy. I look at this series and am happy to still be common and ordinary. I'll take that life over this frothing, preening circus. Recommended only if you need a good laugh.

Yes, the views and places they sell are amazing! I'd totally want to have one of those apartments as "an extra flat", who wouldn't (...:)..). They're super pretty.

However, I feel like everything else just focuses on drama. The she-said, he-said, she-did, he-did, and then they talk about it with other people. They are very rude to each other, which is sad to see. What if they could lift each other instead of the opposite. They could gain so much more from their work, and basically, from life in general. It's sad how people these days feel the need to take people down and make sure to hurt someone just for the sake of it.

I don't know. I hoped for more. Probably expected some level of drama but this was just too much. My jaw physically dropped in a few episodes because of the mean things people said or did. And, it's reality. It's not possible to say "it's just TV, no one got hurt in real life".

I also want to point out that this doesn't apply to all the cast on the show.

Also, I often felt that the owner of the company, Ryan, was acting more than being his true self. He did mention he did try acting before getting into real-estate, maybe that's why?

Having followed Ryan Serhant for the past 10 years by watching Million Dollar Listing, reading his books and following him on social media, it's safe to say I'm a big fan! When I saw he was going to have his own Netflix show however, I was slightly worried it would turn out to be another Selling Sunset. I was more than happily surprised that the show was much more real than all the other shows, with the emphasise on real estate. The agents are a lot more authentic, despite the occasional drama. Ryan is as lovely, hard working and inspiring as always. A big thumbs up, and we're rooting for you!

Assuming Ryan was paid handsomely for this show and one can't blame him for that. Netflix is a great platform to showcase his charm. So understand why he did it but the show is just yet another Netflix piece of vapid banality.

MDL felt authentic and real- this one is focused again on a heap of young pretty people desperate for fame. Same Netflix formula. At least it's a little better than the other ones on the streamer. Whenever the camera is off Ryan the show is pointless. None of the rest have any real charm. Like plastic assembly Line dolls.

Want Ryan back on Bravo who do reality better than Netflix.

This was less about real estate and more about drama.

After watching the full series, I wondered if any of the personal situations in this so-called "reality" were actually real, as they seemed very fake and scripted. I went into the Serhant website and found that, with the exception of Chloe, who is a former actress, NONE of the supposed realtors in the series are actually working for Ryan, so they are likely actors playing a role, an unconvincing one at that. Maybe I could have overlooked a few, but for the most part, I saw two familiar faces: Ryan and Chloe.

I wonder what was the point of the series. Don't recommend it.