Season 6 left the impression the completely misunderstood how Christine Quinn helped make Selling Sunset prime real estate on reality TV, writes Liv Facey.
By: Liv Facey
For five seasons, Christine Quinn was Selling Sunset. She was the drama, the one-liner queen and the fashion. So, when her departure was confirmed, we all questioned how Selling Sunset would – and if it even could – survive without her, especially as season 5 was already showing signs that the show needed to inject some new life into it.
Despite the arrival of new cast members Bre Tiesi and Nicole Young, Selling Sunset season 6 is mainly a world of petty digs and potential defamation lawsuits with the added dash of real estate. It left the impression the show completely misunderstood how Christine Quinn helped make Selling Sunset prime real estate on reality TV. We all love drama, but we also love seeing million-dollar houses outside our budget and iconic reality TV feuds where we can actually root for someone. The absence of the latter in Selling Sunset’s latest season as the mean girl politics of the office reached new heights leaves Bre Tiesi and original cast member Mary Bonnet (née Fitzgerald) being this season’s glimmering light in the wake of Christine’s exit.
!["Christine]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/05/Christine-Quinn-a2914f0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Christine-Quinn\"")
Unlike many of the previous new agents on the show, you may have heard of Bre Tiesi. Not because of her real estate prowess, which sees her clients include rapper Saweetie, but because she shares her 10-month-old son Legendary with Nick Cannon, who has fathered 12 children with six different women. Nick Cannon’s number of children has been a largely discussed topic and has meant that, like many of the other mothers of Cannon’s children, Bre’s personal life has very much been a free-for-all on the internet. It’s caused many to judge her without knowing her.
!["Bre]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/05/Bre-Tiesi-and-Saweetie-b25ac0f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Bre-Tiesi-and-Saweetie\"")
From the get-go, Bre knows she’s going to be judged and doesn’t set out to make you accept her or her relationship because only three things matter to her: protecting her family, her peace and making money (which she repeatedly tells us throughout the season). If you’ve been let down before or have trust issues, you can understand every decision Bre makes. Bre’s inability to care what anyone else thinks and her killer ability to stay calm while shutting down those who criticise her family until their point looks like that of a kid’s tantrum makes her one of Selling Sunset’s best cast additions. Just take how she confronts Chelsea at the team meeting in episode 2.
!["Bre]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/05/Bre-stands-up-to-Chelsea-50b2e0c.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Bre-stands-up-to-Chelsea\"")
Christine may have the one-liners, but Bre comes with the quotes as she tells Heather that if Chelsea wants “to power-play me for the top sales, girl your lane’s there, mine’s over here.” Bre’s energy is reminiscent of what was so loved about Christine and the stories she spun. But instead of stories, Bre grounds the show.
By the end of the season, I couldn’t care less about who Bre was dating because she left her mark on the show with her ability to sell houses and be a boss amongst the cut-throat atmosphere of the office. She proved that she was a successful career-driven woman who fought her way to the top despite judgement all while reminding us that women don’t need the internet to decide if what they do is OK, as long as we’re happy. The only thing it left me imagining was what an iconic duo Bre and Christine could have made on the show, given the chance.
!["Romain,]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/05/Mary-steps-up-fce182b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Mary-steps-up\"")
Likewise, manager Mary and this season’s boss in charge (as Jason Oppenheim goes on trips with his new girlfriend Marie-Lou Nurk) is the calm amongst the crazy catfights. Like Bre, she is a great watch for the actual real estate side of the show and for bringing a new level of vulnerability. Her journey this season, which involves her being criticised for being non-confrontational (which is in fact a good thing in the season 6 office environment) sees her step up as a team player for the Oppenheim Group despite struggling with the demands of her personal life and work life.
Mary’s behaviour speaks to people like myself who never want to disappoint anyone, regardless of the stress doing that brings. The final two episodes help us understand Mary and the toll of workplace drama as she breaks down despite trying to mend all the arguments in the office, particularly the feud between Nicole and Chrishell Stause. Her vulnerability throughout the season and support for characters like Amanza Smith, who’s suffering from a health scare, creates a connection between the viewers and cast members of the show that hadn’t been achieved yet.
You can start out loving or hating Bre and Mary, but by the end of the season, their quest to protect their peace and succeed professionally will have you realising that the catfights of the show are the weakest parts, and that the heart of Selling Sunset, is the actual real estate and its brokers that don’t engage in the drama.
Selling Sunset seasons 1-6 are available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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