Last June, Netflix released a banger via Owning Manhattan. As the title implies, this series focused on my greatest passions: real estate and New York City. I binged Season 1 like a professional couch-rotting sloth, and as it turns out, I was not alone on my little island of isolation. Many viewers tuned in, so a similar series, Sold on SLC, is now making its way to Bravo. I’m sure that their concepts of a plan are solid, but just in case, here are a few lessons this series could incorporate from its predecessor, Owning Manhattan, to help secure a Season 2 on Bravo.
Sold on SLC should maintain a balance of leadership and agent-driven narratives, like Owning Manhattan
Making Owning Manhattan even greater was its lead agent, Ryan Serhant, aka my all-time favorite Bravo alum ever. Move over, Bend It Like Beckham. Resale with Ryan (it’s a working tagline, let me live) is the new badass in town.
On Owning Manhattan, Ryan brought us back into his world. We saw his daughter, his stunning Puffer (wife), and their gorgeous renovated brownstone in Brooklyn. Immediately after, we saw his agents working hard on a listing, hoping to score a bonus from Ryan. It was a constant back-and-forth showing of a leader and their agents.
In the trailer for Sold on SLC, a new leader arises. Welcome to our world, Jennifer Yeo. Just kidding. Jennifer is no stranger to Bravo, as we have already met her, eating everything except cooked fish while lounging as the primary charter guest on Below Deck Season 9.
Jennifer is the CEO of Presidio Real Estate. When this brokerage opened, a printer was too expensive for Jennifer’s wallet. Thankfully, the tides have changed, as her firm recently cleared 1.2 billion dollars in real estate transactions. It’s safe to say that Jennifer has likely purchased every item that her agents could ever need, as this new boss hopes to see this figure rising all the more in the years that still lie ahead.
Owning Manhattan and Sold on SLC have solid leaders. But, for the latter to reach the same heights as the former, Jennifer’s team must also bring it. And by it, I mean engaging storylines.
To be clear, engaging means that the antics within never threaten to capsize this entire series (more on this in a second). Instead, the agents and their leader should receive equal air time, connecting us deeply to every star in this series, as modeled first on Owning Manhattan.
Like Owning Manhattan, real estate and reactionary antics should equally air during Sold on SLC
I am a lurker with very shallow pockets, and Manhattan real estate is my creeping drug of choice. But seriously, I have a gigantic folder of penthouses and brownstones saved on my phone that I will need to tour should I ever win the lottery.
Owning Manhattan, therefore, had me by the balls straight away. When Ryan took my hand and led me (it was a personal invite, don’t @ me stating otherwise) inside a $250 million penthouse listing, I wept (in poor). I then saved his 3-story Michelin Chef-included mansion into my folder because I have unrealistic expectations about my future.
I then watched as Ryan returned to his office. After discussing this listing with his team, Ryan offered the future seller of this palace on the park an extra $10 million commission, which, in turn, fed into their chaotic storylines. As a viewer, this blend of lust (mine), envy (also mine), and money-hungry agents, with a side of Googling, specifically the topic of how to be a realtor, was a chef’s kiss situation.
Ryan also used drones and extravagant parties to help sell his listings. Further, he hired an orchestra to compose Owning Manhattan’s Succession-like theme song. Ryan also utilized a first-person narration with voice-overs. Everything that this man did was a win.
For Sold on SLC to thrive, they should also show us this perfect mixture of extreme wealth, out-of-the-box styled considerations, and career-minded agents. I want the glitz and the wow factors, but I also desire the b*tch(es), just on a lesser note. There’s no need to go full Real Housewives with any arguments. Instead, the real drama lies in the sticker shock price tags of the homes and their potential buyers.
The drama in Sold on SLC should be low-stakes but real, like Owning Manhattan
I don’t know about you, but whenever I turn on my television and catch any real estate-centered series, all my brain wants to do is scream “FAKE!”
I will not call out any of these shows. But, if you are chronically online (like me), you have likely seen a few of these accusations. “They are not licensed agents” and “That drama feels manufactured” are two claims I have seen. Others state that the agents within have to refilm their scenes as needed to help give the production teams the biggest bang for their buck during the broadcast.
When reshoots happen, the agents within tend to freeze up or do their most. The latter makes certain scenes toxic AF. Meanwhile, the viewers return to their doomsday scrolling as fake, dark storylines kill their vibes.
Yet, in Owning Manhattan, these moments were minimal. Ryan even told the Los Angeles Times that his production team filmed without ceasing, which set his latest series apart from the pack.
As Ryan stated, Netflix gave him their hours for filming. In these windows, the cameras filmed everything, even the bad stuff. In contrast, his former series, Million Dollar Listing, was formatted.
As a result, Owning Manhattan delivered authentic, real-time antics where cliffhangers appeared often. We saw an agent quitting halfway through the season, as Ryan fired another before the cameras went down on Season 1. This poor man started with salt-and-pepper hair, but at the end, all traces of pepper had vanished.
Ryan and his team gave us their all in genuine ways, and if Jennifer and her agents can do the same, Sold on SLC will likely get greenlit for a Season 2, just like Owning Manhattan.
TELL US – WILL YOU BE WATCHING BRAVO’S SOLD ON SLC? CAN IT COMPARE TO NETFLIX’S OWNING MANHATTAN?
