Ryan Serhant, real estate agent and star of Netflix’s “Owning Manhattan,” has a motto that drives him to success: “Expansion, always by any means necessary.”
But this expansion comes at a price.
The company is now four years old, and season 2 of the series follows the CEO and his team of high-profile agents as they sell some of the city’s most desirable properties, including a breathtaking penthouse at 200 Amsterdam Avenue, with an asking price of $31 million.
Audiences watched Serhant go from Bravo’s “Million Dollar List” to CEO of his company. The pressures of running a business and being a parent take their toll.
Throughout the season, audiences see Serhant struggle and the stress becomes too much to the point that he suffers an emotional breakdown on screen. It’s his most revealing moment yet.
“No one cries for the person at the top,” Serhant responds when asked to show this vulnerable side.
World of Wonder co-founders and series executive producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, who also produced Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing,” cast the rising real estate agent in the New York edition of the franchise. Bailey said: “Ryan always comes off as a sales machine, but there’s this other side to him that I think he guards closely because he’s such a sales force. Bailey continued, “Seeing it was really awesome, because I think maybe some people don’t believe he has that.” He added: “He’s a big softie.
Barbato agrees: “It’s just the first time he’s really revealed the depth of his vulnerability, and that’s what makes this season so compelling, and it’s also why Ryan has been so successful for so long, because he’s not just a sales machine, there’s a real depth to connect with.”
This vulnerability adds to the emotional stakes of the new season. In addition to exposing this emotional side, familiar faces return. Chloe Tucker Caine is back at work after maternity leave and she has a lot of work to do.
Former Corcoran broker Peter Zaitzeff joins the company and competes against agents to get his name on the sales board.
Here, Serhant talks about showing him that side, the company’s growth, and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s impact on Manhattan real estate.
I’m going to start with the last episode because all season we see your struggle to be that great father to your daughter, but you also have to focus on work and you show yourself at your most vulnerable when you sacrifice your family. What was it like allowing this to be filmed on camera?
I haven’t talked about it yet, because I’ve only seen it once. Season 1 was a startup story. I was defensive all the time. As a startup, I was like, “We’re not going to make it. This is insane. Why am I doing this? People are leaving. I’m firing people on camera live. I’m going to broadcast this to the world.” It was incredibly stressful. The people I was laying off were not good for my business. So they were the bad guys.
Every show has a hero and every show has a villain, whether you like it or not. You have Romeo and you have Mercutio. And personally, I struggled while filming the show, because we’re filming in real time. We film from September to May, no matter what, which I think is the magic of making a great show like this. Nothing is forced. Everything is authentic whether you like it or not, and you have to show up and be vulnerable every day. Otherwise, no one cares anymore. I was struggling all the time because I was like, “I don’t think there’s a bad guy. Who’s my bad guy?” And then I watched the show and I sent a text message to Randy, Fenton and one of our other executive producers, Kelly, saying, “Oh my God, is my bad guy me?” I am the villain of my own story. What just happened? I sat there at the end of the finale. I felt incredibly terrified, scared and nervous. I remember the deal I made with myself, my family, the people around me, that if I’m going to make a TV show, there’s no point in doing something average, it has to be something no one has ever seen before, and you have to think big, or you have to go home, and that means putting it all out there, whether we like it or not. It’s uncomfortable for me. If this story can help anyone else, then I guess it was worth telling.
But it’s this theme that runs through the series, and it’s so relevant. Everyone struggles to find that balance. I guess I should ask you, how are you?
I’ll get text messages asking if I’m okay. But I’m so excited. We’ve been working on this for so long. I think you have good days and bad days. I built a real estate business through Bravo, and I’m building a real estate company in real time, through Netflix. I’ve never seen anyone do this before, and it’s something I find very exciting. I built a real estate team and an entire business season by season, and took it to the next level. And I’m better now. At the time, it was a lot. No one cries for the one on top, but heavy is the head that wears the crown. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, and what you end up dealing with all day are things no one else can handle. That’s what I do.
Let’s talk about growth, and Chloe talks about it in Episode 3. How much has Serhant grown since the end of Season 1? I remember the last time we spoke, after the show aired, you said that Serhant’s website was down.
We are so ready now. This is what happened. It was crazy.
“Owning Manhattan” was released in June 2024. We gained a million followers and subscribers across all accounts just from global awareness alone. We were in several markets, but we were primarily in Manhattan. This is what we do and it represents the majority of our income today. So, 18 months later, I just opened in my 14th state. We went from a few hundred people to 1,500 people. Today, I have a workforce of 200 people to manage. I collected money. You also see it in the episode. You also see risky fundraising. I’ve never seen a risky fundraiser, and I give Netflix a lot of credit as well, for looking at everything we shot and not just saying, “No, that’s not the format, or no, that’s not what people want to see.” This show is a window that no one has opened before, and what is inside that window.
We hosted the largest accessory technology launch cycle in history. I’m about to open in 12 more states and double the size of the company. I was hoping in season 1 that we were going to make $3 billion that year. We’re making a billion dollars a month and we’re moving fast.
You talked about the power of social media. You use it to promote the season. How has this changed the business?
Several ways. Most real estate brokerages and technology companies buy income. You incentivize clients to come to you instead of going elsewhere, especially when you build and grow, you buy agents and teams. This is what banks, all companies do, until we reach a point of balance, where everyone also wants income. Thanks to Netflix and social media, I have never bought a single dollar of income from this business.
We are going to large markets because the demand for what we do, compared to our competitors, is very strong. As you can imagine, a lot of people watching the show work in the real estate industry, and we have people ready to open Serhant offices all over the world thanks to Netflix and then social media.
The season finale was interesting with the possible partnership with Harley and Jeffrey. I thought, “That’s a real cliffhanger to end.” »
The music plays, my eyes look up, and I break the fourth wall.
The show opens with me turning to the camera, which I think makes the audience think, “I don’t understand what I’m looking at now. This isn’t normal.” I won’t do it again until the final scene of the season. I love this book ending, and I fought for more, because the audience watches the growth and fall through my eyes, so let’s talk more on camera. We shot a lot more of me, but thanks to our production team and to Randy and Fenton, who said, “Ryan, you don’t know everything. The end of the book is what works best.” And I agree now.
I have to ask: After Zohran Mamdani was elected, people were like, “I’m going to leave New York. I’m moving to Florida.” Are New Yorkers really interested in Florida real estate?
Some people have been interested in real estate in Florida for a long time. It goes from hot to hot to hot, and it’s a tax-efficient state not only to live in, but to build in. This encourages businesses as much as individuals to be present.
Maybe 36 hours off Mamdani, we sold a townhouse in Gramercy the next day for half price because the seller thought the world had ended. They made a deal. It was $14 million. Our client got it for $7.5 million and signed a contract almost immediately. Politicians come and go. New York City is forever. Manhattan has suffered terrorist attacks, hurricanes, financial collapse and global pandemics. This can happen through a single politician. We achieved this thanks to David Dinkins. We can do anything.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
