After nine years at Bravo, Million Dollar Listing in New York star Ryan Serhant moved his business (reality TV) to Netflix.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I think the people I work with know what they’re getting — it’s not a surprise to them,” the real estate agent explains to ET about keeping television a part of his brand. “They’re excited that it’s now on Netflix so they can watch it on their phone anywhere in the world and, yes, we have international customers, that was a big part for me, in kind of deciding which network to work with, you know? We have customers who are in Mumbai, Johannesburg, Korea and Norway, so I asked them, ‘Where are you? Where do you consume your content?’ And, of course, Netflix is the be all and end all.”
The result is Owning Manhattana series not far from MDL-NY-USAbut entirely focused on Ryan’s brokerage firm, the aptly named Serhant. The first season premiered Friday on Netflix, quickly securing its spot in the streaming service’s coveted “Top 10.” The series is more Buying Beverly Hills what Selling the sunsetwith more focus on the brand’s business relationships than office drama, although that comes up too.
“One of the things that is very, very important to me is… Owning Manhattan It’s deals, it’s deals and closings,” Ryan makes clear. “It’s layoffs, it’s departures, it’s hiring. It’s, like, the ups and downs, the craziness, everything in the midst of buying and selling property in New York City. Do not stop. It’s too much.”
Different MDLNY, Own Manhattan features very little of Ryan’s home life with wife Emilia Bechrakis and your daughter, Zena. Ryan has already told this story, he says.
“I think anyone who has watched me since Million Dollar Listing started in 2012, so… I mean, it’s been almost 12 years, I think – the ability to see from being a real estate agent in my mid-20s, dating, trying to figure out how to make money and pay my rent, to now being a CEO, managing a team of 150 people, managing 600 agents – juggling everything at the same time – I think that’s a really unique vantage point to follow,” he explains.
Ryan compares his employee reduction to the dozen or so featured in the Own Manhattan for Hunger Gameswith Chloe Tucker Caine, Jade Shenker, Tricia Lee Riley, Nile Lundgren and Jonathan Nørmølle standing out.
“Jade is really, seeing how she operates in life was really eye-opening for me, seeing Chloe– took me by surprise, Jonathan, you know, Jonathan is a complicated guy for me, he,” Ryan chimes in reviewing the group. Jonathan (spoiler alert!) ended up losing his job at the brokerage before the end of Season 1, due to what Ryan felt was unprofessional behavior with clients. Netflix cameras captured his dismissal.
“I haven’t spoken to Jonathan,” Ryan reveals. “When I let him go, we filmed everything in real time. Like, in real time, he ripped off the microphone, you know, stormed out and I haven’t spoken to him since. … But I don’t burn bridges. If he has a buyer for one of our listings, or we have a buyer for one of your listings, I would love to make a deal. You never know what the future might hold.”
Maybe (and that’s a strong maybe) Jonathan will finally find a buyer for the Central Park Tower penthouse, a property that Ryan opened to a select few at the brokerage and was unable to sell by the end of the season.
“I’ll keep you posted,” he jokes about the listing’s current status. Perhaps that means a second season (yet to be announced), during which Ryan hopes to showcase more of the brand he’s built.
“Our company is club-based,” he notes. “The first season was very agent-focused, as it should be. There’s so much drama — I would say even more drama with this team. Like, there’s a reason why people love the show The office. There’s a reason why people love Suits. Like, there’s a reason why when you take all the real estate drama and then you have the employees, there are things that I really wanted to do but didn’t have time for that that I would love to, like, when you meet our president who finally we hire, or our CFO, you know, these people are, there are a lot of them.”
Season 1 of Own Manhattan is now available on Netflix.
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