Many Selling Sunset fans have just watched season 2, and now they are wondering if what they saw was genuine or a director was asking these dazzling beauties to act in a certain way? Did all those catfights, backbitings, and lavish parties really happen, or did the production crew instigate them? Well, there can't be a black and white answer for it, but it's true that no one directed the cast members. So, let's dig a little deeper and find out how much of it is real.
First off, the Oppenheim Group is a legit business, and it deals with luxury properties in Los Angeles. Viewers can check out their website and see all their current listings. Previously, the group had notable clients like Kris Humphries, Chloë Grace Moretz, Orlando Bloom, Taye Diggs, Nicole Scherzinger, Jessica Alba, and Dakota Johnson. It is headed by Founder, Jason Oppenheim, and his twin brother Brett Oppenheim. Viewers can even find descriptions about Zelda and Niko (Jason and Mary's dogs) on the website. Also, all the cast members cum realtors work at the group, do own a real estate license, and they do sell homes for real!
While talking to Variety, the creator of the show who has previously produced The Hills, The City, and Laguna Beach, Adam DiVello confirmed that the series is 110 percent original. He said, "The idea about it from day one was how do you do reality TV when you take out the confessional and make it look as pretty as possible. We wanted to deliberately make it look like a series even though it's fully reality." He doesn't believe in directing the cast members. Instead, he asks them to react the way they want to grab the audience's attention.
He confirmed, "The more they're just themselves, the more likable they'll be, and the audience will relate to them. I think when you're trying to play a part, it always reads as fake, and people don't sense that person as well." However, to stir the show into an entertaining direction, the cast members are most certainly asked to initiate conversations with each other. For example, they would be asked to discuss a particular event and then capture their genuine reactions. While addressing the post-production, Adam said, "I can't tell you how many hours we would sit in an edit bay just working on one scene. I think most reality shows would have turned it out in a day, and we'll spend a week."
Although Chrishell is an established actress, she does have a real estate license. The 38-year-old was selling houses when she got picked for the role. Now, she's a part of the Oppenheim Group. She confirmed during a media interview that a few things were "amped up for the show," but all the fights, drama and scandals are real. Well, it's pretty clear that the Selling Sunset is very much a reality show. The high-end fashion, confrontations, commissions, and super expensive houses, we saw on-screen, were actually authentic. However, it's also true that editing and dramatic music plays a massive role in making real-lives of these realtors extra dramatic.
Selling Sunset season 3 premieres August 7 on Netflix.
Source: Variety, The Cinemaholic