Ryan Serhant is a master at blending reality TV with real estate.
The 40-year-old real estate mogul has appeared on various shows, from Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing: New York to his latest project on Netflix, Owning Manhattan, and spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about the significant differences between filming for these two major networks.
“I love Bravo. I wouldn’t be here without them,” Serhant shared on Thursday, July 18. However, he noted that the structured format of cable television came with its own set of limitations.
“Given the nature of cable TV, even though it’s streaming now, you have advertisers and commercial breaks,” Serhant explained. “You have to create episodes that make people want to tune in next week, which is a different vibe than ‘watch it now.’”
Serhant emphasized that this traditional format often restricted creative freedom, saying, “There were certain things we couldn’t really play with.” In contrast, Netflix provided a more liberating experience, allowing him and his team to “play.”
“As a producer on it as well,” he added, “if you want to create something no one’s seen before in reality TV, the voiceover, the orchestra, the story, and the way all eight episodes almost play out like one documentary—you can’t do that on cable.”
This freedom and flexibility made everything “bigger.”
“The crew was insane. Everything was just wild. It was bigger,” he said.
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Serhant captivated audiences for nine seasons on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing: New York. He expanded his TV presence with the 2017 spin-off Sell It Like Serhant, where he coached struggling salespeople. In 2021, he took on a new challenge with the limited series Ryan’s Renovation, offering viewers an intimate look at him and his family as they transformed their Brooklyn home.
Owning Manhattan premiered on Netflix on June 28 and follows Serhant and the agents at his real estate firm SERHANT. as they tackle some of New York City’s most expensive listings in their pursuit of becoming the number one firm in the city. The first season also stars Chloe Tucker Cane, Nile Lundgren, Tricia Lee, Jade Shenker, Jessica Markowski, Jessica Taylor, Jordan Hurt, Jonathan Nørmølle, Jordan March, Savannah Gowarty, and Jeffrey St. Arromand.
Owning Manhattan is streaming now on Netflix.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
