Episode Guide
Selling Season Rookie Mistakes The Evil Twin If You Want a Friend, Get a Dog Don’t Rock The Boat Moving In Let’s face it, at some point in your life you or someone you know has jumped onto a property site and immediately looked at the most expensive house. There’s something endlessly endearing about looking at these larger-than-life properties and dreaming about living a life of luxury. Of course, if you work hard enough you can achieve it but for many, dreaming is enough. Following hot on the heels of Selling Sunset, Million Dollar Beach House capitalizes on this current real estate-craving trend to deliver another reality-TV slice of the pie. Unfortunately the ensuing taste is something that feels far more bland and formulaic than it should. The show itself revolves around the Nest Seekers International who act as the Real Estate agency we follow across the 6 episodes. Their job is simple, serve prospective buyers looking to spend a vast amount of cash across all hamlets of the Hampton’s. With upwards of 10, 50 and 100 million dollar homes on the line and lots of competition from other realtors, the pressure is really on. That pressure comes in the form of our eclectic but sadly formulaic characters that take centre stage. You’ve got all your usual flavours here – including top dog Jimmy Giugliano who’s the best salesperson. Michael Fulfree is expecting a baby and desperate to make money, while his 15-year friend Joseph “J.B.” feels like he should have a promotion. Peggy’s there too, representing the girls as one of the few females in the team, with a bit of a grudge against professional and polished Noel. The characters are what make reality TV memorable – for better or worse – and this one lacks that same star power. As much as it tries not to, Million Dollar Beach House can’t help shaking the feel that this is Selling Sunset-lite. The unfathomable success of Netflix’s other real estate show is partly thanks to how much it plays up the soapy drama and trashy feel. Here though, the drama is still here but it’s not quite as trashy and juicy. I can’t help but feel the show should have taken a less reality TV slant to this and leaned into a more fly-on-the-wall real estate agent vibe instead. Stylistically, the show is a bit of a double-edged sword. The EDM rich soundtrack does well to tie in with the editing and some of the house shots are great – especially the aerial views. However, it doesn’t always make the most of wide shots and some of the brief views inside the house fail to show off how grandiose these properties are. If there’s seven bedrooms, I want to see all seven. If there’s a study, game room and all kinds of goodies, you bet I want the camera to swoop in and explore every room. Predictably though Million Dollar Beach House falls back on its soapy drama toward the middle and end of the show. It’s here all the usual reality TV tropes come out but fail to inspire much enthusiasm. Noel is arguably the best character of the bunch but it’s not enough to prop this up higher than mediocre viewing. Whether this is renewed for a second season remains to be seen but it’s hard not to view this as anything other than a forgettable Selling Sunset spin-off
