An Incredibly Popular Reality Series Was Just Put On Hold For Possibly Forever
One of the most popular reality shows in the world is "on pause," but is that just code for "it was suddenly canceled?"
There are few things more tenacious than a reality television series. Whereas critically beloved series feel lucky to last two seasons on Netflix and popular shows still get canceled willy-nilly, reality television rolls on endlessly. That is the case most of the time, but surprisingly, the very popular Million Dollar Listing New York has seemingly been put on pause. According to Deadline, the popular Bravo series has “paused production,” which seems like pretty clear coding for “this property just got canceled.”
The potential cancelation of Million Dollar Listing New York is a bit unexpected, considering the show is a staple of Bravo programming. The show is a spin-off of the also popular Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles and originally featured Ryan Serhant and Frederik Eklund selling real estate in one of the most expensive markets in the world, New York City. Frederik Eklund amicably left the series in January, which may possibly have foretold the end for Million Dollar Listing New York. However, the series has already lasted a robust nine seasons of very rich people wondering if they can afford to get that three-bedroom apartment in Tribeca, so this may be a case of all good things coming to an end.
More than likely, the presumed cancelation of Million Dollar Listing New York is a simple case of slowly declining ratings. The first season of the show in 2012 opened to solid numbers but struggled until the final episodes to crack over a million viewers. However, until season six, the show regularly shot above that crucial number; after that point, the ratings numbers began declining. The most recent and likely final season of Million Dollar Listing New York struggled to consistently draw half a million viewers per episode, which certainly cannot look great to the Bravo executive brass.
However, even if Million Dollar Listing New York is truly and definitively done, you do not have to look far for real estate reality programming. Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles (currently featuring real estate agents Josh Flagg, Josh Altman, and Tracy Tutor) is going strong with thirteen seasons in the can and a fourteenth already renewed for 2022. There are also spin-offs of the franchise in Miami and San Francisco, so you really do have your pick of Million Dollar Listings a normal person could never afford (except in New York).
Million Dollar Listing New York is likely gone forever (or until Bravo decides it needs some quick content and goes for a reboot), but real estate shows of all kinds are incredibly popular. It is highly debated in the real estate industry whether shows like Million Dollar Listing New York are good for consumer interest, or merely function as a way to jack up unreasonable expectations. But the subgenre of reality television is here to stay, even if Million Dollar Listing New York is not. For now, viewers will have to content themselves with other shows like Selling Sunset, Property Brothers, House Hunters, Flip or Flop, Curb Appeal, and literally dozens of others.
