So, we’ve all finished bingeing season three of Netflix’s property-porn-slash-constructed-reality hybrid Selling Sunset, and it's ok: you can admit you're a fan. I loved it; watching the demi-dramas play out against the backdrop of serenely staged £25million houses was like Xanax for the soul. You can be a fan of the show, however, but also acknowledge the elephant in the room. No, that wasn’t one of the surprise features of Christine Quinn’s Cirque du Soleil meets Moulin Rouge wedding, though there were ice sofas, black swans and a snow machine.
The unspoken criteria for working at the show’s Oppenheim Group real estate agency appears to be that, as well as having your licence, you are: gorgeous, extremely thin, well-dressed and white. There is one Black woman in the office who appears in the show, Amanza Smith, who arrived in season two.
She told Bustle in an interview that viewers had asked after watching season one, ‘Why is it so vanilla?’. Amanza added, ‘It wasn't on purpose. It was not like they had an audition for Selling Sunset. It was a brokerage that already existed. It just happened to be the nature of the environment. I had recently got my real estate license and it worked out the way it worked out. It wasn't like they went out and found the new ethnically ambiguous or Black girl to make sure they didn't get any disrespect. But I did think about it. And I think that — we haven't really talked about it — but I feel like maybe I helped them out as much as they helped me out on that subject. But people message me and say, "Is it just beautiful blonde women?" There are actually a handful of men that work at the Oppenheim Group too! They're just not on the show.’
Grazia caught up with Christine - the show's undisputed breakout star - about the issue of appearance recently. If you don’t look like the other women, is there any point in applying for a job at the Oppenheim Group? ‘That’s a very interesting question, but, you know, I would say there is a very specific look to the group and you're not wrong about that,’ she admitted. ‘But I mean, obviously, everyone is welcome.’
Of course an all-white cast is nothing new in reality television. The Hills, also the brainchild of Selling Sunset exec producer Adam DiVello, paved the way for the next decade of constructed reality shows almost entirely cast with white stars, such as US series Below Deck and Vanderpump Rules, and over here Geordie Shore, The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea. Excusing that by saying that these casts are based on pre-existing friend or employee groups is not getting to the root of the problem; the shows are made because they fit the reality prototype for success in the first place.
There are Black casts in the world of constructed reality. One of the most popular is that of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, featuring Nene Leakes and Cynthia Bailey (who are now both so famous they transcend the show), one of Bravo’s most successful franchises. The Real Housewives of Potomac, starring Gizelle Bryant and Karen Huger, now in its fifth series, is one of its most exciting. It has been pointed out, however, that while the Real Housewives franchises, exec produced by Andy Cohen, do feature black casts, there is a firm definition between its Black and its white populated shows - such as Real Housewives of Orange County, New York and Beverly Hills. In the ten year run of the latter, there has been just one Black housewife: Garcelle Beauvais who joined the most recent season.
New York housewife Leah McSweeney said last week that the diversity issue had to be addressed, adding that the fact her franchise - which she joined in the most recent season - has never featured a Black housewife has to change. ‘I hope that there’s just more diversity all across the board because New Yorkers are not a monolith, obviously,’ the clothing designer said. ‘I think that it is gonna head in that direction.’
Our most popular constructed reality show, Love Island, has come under a lot of criticism since it began in 2015 for failing to offer a diverse selection of contestants, and has sparked debate about internalised racism, as well as conversations about perpetuating Western beauty standards. In every single 'coupling' ceremony over the past five seasons, a Black contestant has been picked last. In series two it was Malin, in series three it was Marcel. Series four - Samira, series five - Yewande. During the winter season earlier this year Leanne got picked last.
When it comes to diversity of body types, you won’t find much of that anywhere either. Selling Sunset is a significant example of a thin dominated cast, though. Like Los Angeles itself, this show makes a virtue of being thin. Chrishell’s significant weight loss after she’s blindsided with a divorce by her husband Justin Hartley, for example, is discussed in awed tones in the Oppenheim office.
These constructed reality shows dominate the ratings the way they are and there is little incentive for producers to mix things up, despite the fact they are often alienating a huge part of their audience. If 2020 has taught us anything, we don't need to hear from the same voices time and time again and see versions of the same faces. Reality television is no exception, it has to start diversifying - even if it's considered a ratings gamble.
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