“I am my own severe weather system. I have to deal with it every day.”
Photo: Art Streiber
Ryan Serhant was in the middle of a successful career selling luxury apartments when he auditioned for Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York. The reality series, which premiered in 2012 and ran for nine seasons, followed the lives of real-estate agents as they competed to sell luxury property throughout New York. The show found the sweet spot between personality and business thanks in large part to Serhant’s rivalry with his castmate Fredrik Eklund, which Serhant believes is the best feud in reality history. “We were two of the top salespeople in New York City history going head-to-head with cameras in our face,” he remembers. “We both took everything very personally.”
The series ended in 2021, and with the pause of the original Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles after 15 seasons, it seems as though Bravo is slowly shifting away from real estate. The genre has found a new home on Netflix, however: Selling Sunset led to a gold rush of real-estate series on the streamer with RHOBH’s Mauricio Umansky defecting to Buying Beverly Hills and Serhant launching Owning Manhattan in 2024. His Netflix series follows the inner workings of Serhant’s own brokerage as it struggles to keep up with its rapid growth. “In a lot of reality-television shows, you’re unaware that these are real people,” he says. “Are producers just putting us up to this? Is this fake? Our shows are uncomfortably authentic and truthful.” Because of this, Serhant was concerned while filming season two that the all-important villain character hadn’t yet naturally emerged. Until he realized: “The villain is me.”
When did you know you made it in reality TV?
I’m on my fifth reality-television show. I did four for Bravo over the course of ten years, and now Owning Manhattan is lucky No. 5 with Netflix. I don’t think I’ve ever “made it.”
I have a core memory of being on Watch What Happens Live after season one of Million Dollar Listing aired in 2012 and not knowing what was going to happen and Andy telling us they were renewing us for our second season. And all three of us were like, “Oh my God!” That started a very long journey.
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What would you say is the onscreen moment that has defined your career so far?
There was an episode of Million Dollar Listing: New York where I went into my competitor’s property that had a beautiful swimming pool and I took off all of my clothes and jumped into the pool. People mention that to me almost every day.
Reality television is interesting. It’s yourself times 100. You want to make good television, right? There are cameras in front of you. If you go into a room and there’s a pool and then you grab a muffin and leave, that’s not great television and that’s boring. But if you happen to strip down and jump in, in front of everybody, that’s much better television. Make a moment and create noise.
What did you buy with your first paycheck?
Season one of Million Dollar Listing: New York was $3,000 an episode. It wasn’t enough to live in New York City, so we had to work. I make a lot more money selling real estate than I’ve ever made selling myself on reality television.
If you were to describe your onscreen persona in five words, what would they be?
Straight Andy Cohen. Ryan Reynolds.
When was the moment you felt most misunderstood by viewers?
I remember Million Dollar Listing came out and my mom called me and said, “You know, sometimes things you think are funny are not funny to other people.” The show came out on a global scale, and I think a lot of people saw me as being a wisecracking jerk. I felt pretty misunderstood. I was 24 years old. When you look at viewers’ reactions, you don’t want to pay attention to anybody. But if the entirety of the internet is saying one thing, you know what, maybe it’s not them; maybe it is you. Maybe you should take a look in the mirror and say, Huh, maybe that is how I come off.
Who is a reality star that’s exactly like who they say they are onscreen, and who’s the least like their television persona?
Andy’s exactly like he is onscreen. Bethenny Frankel is a good friend and is exactly the way she is onscreen. I just shot a show for Netflix [Squid Game: The VIP Challenge] with Kim Zolciak, and she’s exactly the way she is. I kept trying to find the cracks. I was like, Come on, what’s going on? But she was exactly the same. On our show, Steve Gold — for those who remember Million Dollar Listing: New York — was pretty boisterous on-camera but is a calm and quiet and introverted and sweet guy off-camera.
Do you think every good reality-TV show needs a villain?
Yes. I think Steven Spielberg once said “Always know where the villain is.” So even when you’re shooting the heroes, does the viewer know where the villain is at that moment? If it’s Deadliest Catch, the villain is all around you, so you always know where the water is and what the risk is. Ice Road Truckers, there’s the road and it’s covered in ice — the villain is right there. With reality television, the shows that don’t work are the ones that don’t fully understand where the villain is.
The villain on Owning Manhattan is me. I didn’t realize it until halfway through the second season as I was watching the edits because I’m an executive producer. I remember reaching out to the producers saying, “Wait a minute, am I my own villain? Is the villain me?” And they were silent. They didn’t even respond to me. I was like, No! What! It was terrifying. I’m still working my way through it. Deep, deep therapy sessions.
Do you have a nemesis?
I am 100 percent my own nemesis. Absolutely. I am my own tornado. I am my own severe weather system. I have to deal with it every day.
What’s the one thing you miss about life before fame?
I have the perfect level of public awareness. People know me for real estate, which is a benefit for my business. I’m not in a world where people are taking photos and watching me at dinner, which is perfect. I do have to think about my hair, though. I have so much hair. And it’s so gray. It’s just like a Brillo pad. People notice, and they’re very opinionated about me not looking the way they need me to look.
What is your advice for an aspiring reality-TV star?
The best advice I can give to anyone who wants to deal with reality television is to go hard. As long as you’re a good person — don’t be a crazy person — go hard and do the things that maybe that little devil over here is saying. The worst thing that can happen is people won’t care and then it’s a huge, huge waste of your time.
If you were cast on The Traitors, who would you want to be Traitors with?
It’s funny, I just spent two weeks in London with Dylan Efron doing a VIP Squid Game for Netflix. They take eight categories and put us through the games, and I’m still emotionally recovering. It was one of the most ridiculous experiences of my life. Dylan won as a Faithful, so I would bring Dylan back because everyone would think he’s a Faithful. He’s so great at game shows.
What would you say is the best feud in reality-TV history?
Ryan Serhant versus Fredrik Eklund in Million Dollar Listing: New York. It will stand the test of time for generations to come. The genesis of that feud was that the show was so real. With a lot of reality-television shows, you’re unaware that these are real people. Is this a real scenario? Are producers just putting us up to this? Is this fake? Our shows are uncomfortably authentic and truthful. We were two of the top salespeople in New York City history going head-to-head with cameras in our face. We both took everything very personally.
Production Credits
Styling by
Daniel Edley
Grooming by
Peter Gray using Oway USA at Home Agency
Wardrobe by
SuitSupply (shirt), Calvin Klein (underwear)