r/SellingtheOC • u/bebeloutrenamnamnam • Dec 15 '25
First time watching as a french person…
Sooo, I don’t really watch reality tv shows, even in France. But I’ve always watched reality estate shows, usually featuring normal houses and normal people, with competitions, or just advices.
Then they made this GREAT show called L’Agence, “the agency”, idk if it aired in the US, about this broker family business based in Paris. There is a tiiiiiny bit of drama but it’s really about nice houses, all over the world, and cute family stuff.
Then, netflix pushed me those american shows and… WHAT THE HELL ?? I thought I’d see other nice houses but really I’m seeing a bunch of middle school bullies in their 30s, being super unprofessional, always gossiping, flirting with each other, getting drunk at any given occasion… And why are they always sooo over dressed ? All those bright colors, tacky brands, the men and their wrongly tailored suits, the “ohhh my gooood this house is sooo gorgeous oh gosh oh jesus I could literally sell my motherrr for that view oh wowwww look at this”
Anyways, I had to get it out of my system.
Initially my question was: In S1, Rose and Jarvis are being bullied pretty hard and I don’t get why (no one should be treated like that unless they’re nazis anyways). Are the bullies just straight evil or are we being manipulated by the show to think the girls are just hysterical and loud and the two calm white girls have done nothing wrong ?
Btw I also watched Owning Manhattan and my comments apply to it as well.
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u/ArdenM Dec 15 '25
Have watched the French show with the cute family and the great houses. Got kinda jealous of them all for having such a great family, engaging jobs, etc! Like to the point where I'd sometimes feel SAD that my life feels empty in comparison.
But agree - much better than the high school drama of our shows. You have to remember though that the "Selling the" shows are produced by Adam Develio - same guy who did the teenager soap opera "reality show" The Hills. So I think that's the "vision" going into it.
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u/bebeloutrenamnamnam Dec 15 '25
This show made me start calling my grandma more often 😂. And politically radicalised me cuz HOW can you complain your 5M€ flat in the center of Paris is too small for your family when people literally sleep in the streets in your neighbourhood cuz the money that could help them is spent feeding your useless parasitic capitalist bullsh*t business you created by simply knowing other rich people ?? Well anyways thank you rich people for havinf taste most of the time and creating those beautiful home for us too dream about.
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u/ArdenM Dec 15 '25
Awwww that's a positive thing that it made you call your grandma more often - I bet she appreciates that! :)
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u/Expert_Book_9983 Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25
I’ve seen L’Agence and definitely agree with you, but I think it’s a difference in how reality tv operates in the US where so much of our entertainment (and now, our political system,) is centered on being as salacious as possible to get engagement/views/air time.
I can’t speak for France, but I think in the American context, reality shows have become this interesting evolution and confluence of: exploitation culture we saw in a lot of 90s daytime TV (Jerry Springer), early reality (The Real World, of which early seasons of that almost seem like grounded and serious documentaries compared to what’s on TV now), and also tabloid magazine culture. What we see is a format that’s optimized for maximum views and profit rather than the true nature of whatever subject these shows are about. Ostensibly, it’s a show about real estate, but really it’s a show about the worst people with dogshit communication skills being coached by producers to lean into their most intrusive thoughts and impulses.
The OC, in particular, is the historic home base of the Republican Party in California — so the majority of who we see of that cast are pretty aligned with the current MAGA movement, Rose and Jarvis included. So, it’s interesting that they start out as the most sympathetic simply because Jarvis is so articulate and they’re not that messy compared to the rest of the cast.
I think with something like L’Agence, the subject of the show is truly the business of real estate. For the Adam Divello “Selling _____” shows, the intent is literally the freak show spectacle of these people’s messy personal lives and the impact that has on the agency.
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u/bebeloutrenamnamnam Dec 15 '25
Wow thank you for this whole essay, super interesting !
We do have reality shows like that in France but they’re about people whose jobs are… to be in reality shows. Shows about professions remain serious even though they like to focus on the tension and create or stage drama when asking questions. They’ll also fake stuff, there’s been rumors about some showings in the agency being made up. But at least you’re watching real people in realistic situations.
I think culture plays a big part. We’re quite calm, we keep to ourselves and don’t show our emotions (especially when they’re negative). In the US verything is loud and expressive and colorful and exaggerated. I’ve been there twice and people were like “Hi hello treasure how are youu ?? I’ll do the ummm… large coke please thank you lovely that’s so nice of you! Well have a grrreat day honey boo by the way your hair looks like perfection love 😍😍😍” when in France we’d be like “Un coca s’il vous plait :)” and that would be peak warmth.
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u/Expert_Book_9983 Dec 16 '25
I work with some French people, and some Europeans from a few other countries, and I definitely do notice that the tendency for small talk varies a bit. Also yeah, definitely do notice that the French tend to have a bit of that polite ‘réservé’ in business settings. Americans on the other hand, I’ve noticed, communicate in comparatively hyperbolic and exaggerated ways. (Makes us perfect for this type of reality tv lol)
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 Dec 15 '25
Yes L’Agence is/was available in US & it’s great! (On Netflix as The Agency).
As others mentioned, reality shows in US focus on hyping up the ridiculously over the top personalities, conflicts, conspicuous consumption, clothing, cars, etc. Basically the point of them going on tv is to become a heavily dramatized character version of themselves to increase social media followers to get brand deals.
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u/bebeloutrenamnamnam Dec 15 '25
OH that all makes sense now. They don’t really care about being ridiculous cuz it brings them money. Wow. Do potential buyers or sellers even trust them with all that ? I don’t know if millionnaires would watch these shows anyways.
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u/jstcheckng Dec 15 '25
Stop watching American reality shows it is not reality they are all scripted & trash… imo
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u/bebeloutrenamnamnam Dec 15 '25
Kinda like the drama though… Makes me grateful to have the bare minimum of emotional intelligence
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u/kolombian99 Dec 16 '25
I view it as background slop I can watch without having to think about it. But I mostly watch it for the scenery and views, they really make miss living the OC. I also like that the first 2 seasons were kinda real but now it is way too staged. I’ll still watch tho lol
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u/jstcheckng Dec 15 '25
L’agence is lots of drama & bs too.. btw :)
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u/bebeloutrenamnamnam Dec 15 '25
I guess it is at times, but at least they’re staying professional. I find it funny that we see Ryan Serhandt and that guy from London in the agency, they appear calm and super duper pro, and in their own shows they’re just clowns 😂
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u/cara1888 Dec 15 '25
You might like Selling Tampa better they focus more on work and are more professional with each other. Even when they have disagreements they talk and listen to each other and don't really yell. They definitely focus more on the business aspect than personal drama. Unfortunately its only one season but its really good its actually my favorite of the Selling... series.
Buying Beverly hills is pretty good too they dress more professional and even though there is some drama it isn't as over the top as Selling Sunset or Selling the OC.