Selling Sunset lured many of us in at some point during lockdown with its glitzy houses, glamourous realtors, and a little bit of help from a very pushy Netflix algorithm. Giving an insight into the lives of the super-rich and their gorgeous houses, with a generous side order of catty drama, Selling Sunset is 2020’s answer to Keeping Up with the Kardashians – if the Kardashians weren’t related and had actual jobs.
The realtors are like the houses they sell: beautiful, sophisticated, with expensive accessories, and curves in all the right places. But they’re more than pretty faces; their expertise is revealed as they list off the incredible details and finishings of their houses to their clients, and answer questions on the origins of the wood flooring without batting an eye.
While Mary and Christine are very central to the first two seasons of Selling Sunset, season three focuses on Amanza as she grapples for her first sale, and Davina as she tries desperately to sell a $75 million compound. More sentimental than previous seasons, this third instalment focuses on Amanza’s struggles with single parenthood, while Davina questions whether she is as respected at the Oppenheim group as she should be. This comes alongside all of the women trying to sell their multi-million dollar listings (cue sleek shots of gorgeous houses) and short in-office chats about their beach vacations, their boyfriends, and each other.
However, as we step away from the office and the houses into cocktail bars and swanky restaurants – someone is always celebrating a multi-million dollar sale – these women are anything but sophisticated. Catty comments and side-eyes dominate social interactions, and season three shows the Oppenheim group more divided than ever before. The drama, once an entertaining add-on, now dominates the show – and it isn’t even very juicy.
“Davina’s final clash with Crishell is a fitting conclusion to this season: unnecessary, blatantly orchestrated, and just boring.”
The end of season two saw Mary’s awkwardly staged wedding day, and left us in the lurch of a fall-out between her and polar-opposite bestie, Christine. Season three picks up right where we left off, and somehow manages to drag their non-drama on for a few more episodes. And, with three episodes dedicated to Crishell’s divorce from actor Justin Hartley, but with very little actually revealed about why their marriage ended so suddenly, Selling Sunset season three misses the mark when predicting what its audience really wants.
Since Crishell’s divorce happened at the end of 2019, Selling Sunset is almost eight months behind, which is to be expected with any reality show. However, with the delay we’d expect juicy, exclusive gossip. Instead, we watch staged drama and a weepy Crishell talk about how she’s been ‘blindsided’ – and the dirt is never really dished. In fact, a quick internet search reveals everything there is to know about Crishell’s divorce – season three of Selling Sunset adds nothing, only bringing stale stories back into the news cycle.
Davina’s final clash with Crishell is a fitting conclusion to this season: unnecessary, blatantly orchestrated, and just boring. As Crishell and Davina bickered – with a few vapid interjections from Mary and Heather – I cast my eyes to the background goings-on, desperate for any glimpse of Christine’s theatrical wedding reception.
With living swans scattered about the venue, a dress-code of white as the bride donned black, and real snow falling from the rafters, it promised to be as spectacular as the $40 million house that dominated the second series (which, in season three, only gets a brief mention in Brett’s Thanksgiving speech). The whole affair was spliced across shots of a morose-looking Crishell, bringing a downer on what was undoubtedly an incredible wedding.
“Who upset Crishell?” asks Jason (or is it his identical twin, Brett?) after watching her leave Christine’s wedding early, upset by the faux-drama she just experienced. I winced at the thought of having to watch her cry again about being ‘blindsided’. Give me a million-dollar house to gawp at, Christine’s colour co-ordinated outfits, or even Heather trying to walk down stairs in stilettos. But please, no more stale, re-hashed drama.
Words by Olivia Emily