Owning Manhattan

If you need any evidence that Ryan Serhant is likeable only in small doses, look no further than this Netflix series. Serhant sets the tone early on. His opening anecdote is that his grandfather once told him that cemeteries are full of wasted potential. This very odd introduction made me wonder what exactly Serhant was trying to tell us with this opening line. That he himself comes from a toxic family? That despite his massive financial success, he's only comfortable taking a shot at the dead, not the living who can still compete with him? Or that his perspective as a child was so warped by his family environment that it only stands to reason that he ended up choosing NYC real estate as a profession.

As grandiose and blustery as Serhant is, the employees of his brokerage, even the elite brokers, are for the most part, vastly more sympathetic and relatable than he is. Most of the people who work for him seem like hard-working, ambitious people who just want success in a big way. I just wonder how in the good God they could stomach working for him. As a New Yorker who's watched this city transform radically and become less and less affordable each year, this series is only educational and does not whet my appetite one bit to learn more about the high-flying super wealthy. I look at this series and am happy to still be common and ordinary. I'll take that life over this frothing, preening circus. Recommended only if you need a good laugh.