‘Selling the Hamptons’: Real Estate Drama on Long Island
Like the Hamptons itself, where white-sand beaches and white-glove service await those with enough equity each summer, the reality TV show “Selling the Hamptons” is an escape and an indulgence. Now in its second season on Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO, the show follows the cast in the storied vacationland of moneyed New Yorkers.
The show’s stars are a motley crew of ambitious, good-looking real estate agents who all work for the luxury brokerage Nest Seekers International: the bad-boy pro surfer who has anointed himself the “Prince of Montauk,” an aspiring pop princess whose favorite topic of conversation is her wealthy developer father, an agent known as “Deals in Heels,” an entrepreneur with $10 billion in her portfolio and, of course, two former models.
They are all in a cutthroat competition for a razor-thin inventory of houses for sale in the resort towns of Long Island, and they always seem to be popping up, in stilettos or suit jackets, at each other’s listings. It’s not only about the drama; it’s their livelihood, some members of the cast said.
“My goal is to make as much money as I can,” said Mia Calabrese, 32, a model-turned-luxury agent who grew up on the South Side of Chicago. She got her real estate license in 2019 and joined the show for its first season just two years later.