Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Buying London’ on Netflix, An English Riff on The Dramatic Lives Of The Employees At A Luxury Real Estate Agency

If you’ve ever thought that the biggest problem with Selling The O.C. and Selling Sunset is that they’re just not posh enough, Netflix is offering the solution to your problems with Buying London. Set within a super-luxury agency run by mogul Daniel Daggers, the show features loads of gorgeous London town homes and sprawling country estates, and even more drama between the men and women who sell them.

BUYING LONDON: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Aerial shots of London zoom in on an exterior shot of a beautiful townhouse, and then shots of the interior of the luxe home. “Welcome,” real estate mogul Daniel Daggers says. “This property is incredible. Very contemporary,” he says and then we see that he himself is viewing this property using VR goggles and he’s clunkily walking into things in his real estate office as his colleagues snicker at him.

The Gist: Daggers, who refers to himself as “Mr. Super Prime,” is a top-tier real estate agent who has sold over £5 billion worth of property to the rich and famous, and after years at an established agency, he branched out to found DDRE, an independent agency specializing in luxury sales. Working alongside Daniel are five very beautiful agents, Reme, Rosi, Lauren, Rasa, and Oliver. Working alongside them are the social media marketer, Olivia, and interior designer Juliana, who are equally stunning.

The real estate market in London is both competitive and wildly expensive – as Daniel explains, it’s the most expensive city in the world, if you’re going by price per square foot. In addition to the wild prices, there’s that whole class system in London; old money vs. new money, and the cultural cache that comes along with moving into the most historic and expensive neighborhoods. (Bridgerton-heads will obviously recognize that Mayfair is still one of the most prestigious places to live.) But the show travels to the outskirts of the city too, because while these small but tony homes in central London are gorgeous, the agency also deals in some of the more palatial estates that look like “mini Hogwarts” as one agent says outside the city as well.

On the gang’s first outing to see a property, after Daniel excuses himself, the agents start squabbling about who would be the best person to sell the place, and if you’ve seen any real estate shows ever, you’ll be used to the conversation. Lauren has more experience with super-luxury properties. Rasa has more wealthy connections. Rosi is somewhere in the middle, but she’s not a part of this fight. But they’re left to challenge and one-up each other to try and decide who should be the listing agent.

Ultimately the biggest professional conflict on the show is between Rasa and Lauren, but there’s also plenty of tension between Oliver, a former alcoholic playboy who is happily married to his wife Vivi, and Juliana, who is not shy about flirting with him. Both of these provide fodder for the show’s most dramatic moments, but there are fortunately enough agents on the show with a more calming influence to balance things out.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Daniel is essentially the British version of the Oppenheims, and the comparisons to Selling Sunset and the rest of their shows ins unmistakable.

Our Take: On the one hand, this show is modeled after most of the other luxury real estate soap operas out there today, from the passive-aggressive conversations in an open-plan office to the glamour shots of homes you and I will never ever live in, nor even step foot in. Even the casting, with a majority-female staff who bicker with each other but declare how important it is to support one another, doesn’t waver from the classic formula. If anything, some of the cast here are even more petty and/or oblivious to the ways that they stir the pot; every time you think one problem is resolved, one of them gets up to the same shit and pokes the bear again.

One of the dynamics of the show that I appreciate is the way that Daggers isn’t afraid to put himself in the middle of things. When he needs to have difficult conversations with his staff, he confronts them and we watch it all happen. When he’s working with competing agents in the industry, he explains. the kind of rivalries and tension that brew in such a competitive industry and we watch him go toe to toe, while still maintaining an air of professionalism. Maybe this observation is a direct response to the way the Oppenheims arrive on the scene purely to set up some competition between agents and to climb bells, but seeing Daniel in action is a deliberate and compelling part of the show.

Sex and Skin: None so far, but some flirting that is definitely going to create a problem down the line.

Performance Worth Watching: Rasa, the agent with the least amount of real estate experience, wear her emotions on her sleeve when listings go to other people in the office. Things are particularly contentious between her and Lauren, the agent with the most experience (and the closest friendship with Daniel) who receives one particularly coveted listing, which makes Rasa confront Lauren for unfairly receiving more than her share of listings. While most of the agents on the show seem even-keeled, Rasa is definitely not afraid to show her fiery side.

Parting Shot: After confronting Lauren about how unfair she thinks it is that Lauren got the latest listing, Rasa stares her down unhappily.

Memorable Dialogue: “In the story of David and Goliath, it’s David that wins. Or is is…Daniel,” Daggers laughs as he introduces himself on the series and explains that his plan is to shake up the English real estate market and compete against the biggest firms out there.

Our Call: STREAM IT! Despite the fact that Buying London feels very familiar, the new personalities and the unique homes serve up everything we want in a show like this.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.