The show sadly won’t be returning to screens any time in the near future (Picture: Netflix)
Selling Tampa has been cancelled and I can’t help but feel like Netflix has jumped the gun.
As someone completely obsessed with Selling Sunset from its inception (aka a day one fan), I was beyond excited when the new spin-off Selling Tampa was announced.
When I then learned it would follow a luxury real estate agency with majority Black and brown women, I said absolutely sign me up.
Selling Sunset is addictive, fascinating and outright ridiculous from its gossipy storylines to the stars’ outright bonkers fashion choices – yes Christine Quinn girl, I’m talking to you. It was a complete breath of fresh air when it unceremoniously debuted on Netflix in 2019 before catching even more attention with its second season the following year, but the glaring fact that it lacked diversity was hard to ignore.
It wasn’t until Amanza Smith, a mixed race woman, joined the Oppenheim Group in season two and British-Nigerian agent Chelsea Lazkani in season five, that fans saw women of colour represented in the brokerage.
Producer Adam DiVello seemed to address this by introducing Selling Tampa, giving Black women in the industry a space to share their experiences of trying to make it in the business of selling luxury.
The Netflix series focused on a Florida brokerage made up of all Black and brown women (Picture: Netflix)
Drama in Tampa wasn’t explosive but it was still entertaining (Picture: Netflix)
So, to see it cancelled after just one season – when frankly, so many other poor shows on Netflix are given multiple chances – is frustrating.
There’s no denying that Selling Tampa was nowhere near as fiery as its predecessor, which had the benefit of some of its most explosive storylines playing out in real time such as, unfortunately Chrishell Stause’s divorce, or Christine falling out with half the cast.
While entertaining, it began to feel like Selling Sunset had prioritised the drama over the ‘thing’ many of us property porn addicts came for – selling beautiful houses.
For me, this is where Selling Tampa closed the gap and offered balance.
Much of the drama was directly related to the job, whether it was boss Sharelle Rosado cutting the agents’ commission without warning or her firing Alexis Williams over her poor performance. I appreciated that, while it may not be the most chaotic, it still gave us an insight into how the brokerage was run – which I’m more interested in than whether someone was engaged several years ago.
The point is, Selling Tampa wasn’t perfect but it had room to grow.
Selling Sunset and other reality shows often swap, chop and change cast members regularly throughout its run to keep things fresh and spicy and I don’t see why this couldn’t have been done with Tampa season two.
Case in point, season one of Below Deck Sailing Yacht was notoriously bad – like real bad – but a completely new cast in season two made it, in my opinion, the best spin-off of the Below Deck franchise.
I wouldn’t want to have changed the Tampa cast entirely as it has some brilliantly strong characters, but if drama is what’s needed to bring in the ratings, it wouldn’t hurt to add one or two new agents who can stir the pot while still ensuring the main focus was about the business.
Selling Tampa could have benefited from a bigger promotional push (Picture: Netflix)
There’s an abundance of reality shows with inclusive or Black-led casts such as the Real Housewives franchise and Love & Hip Hop, but it’s no secret the main reason these have remained on air is because of the often toxic storylines they come with.
Adding the less scandalous Selling Tampa into the mix was refreshing so to see it gone so soon is a waste. Considering there are other real estate shows with less explosive drama, such as Million Dollar Listing or Flip or Flop, it’s surprising that the plug has been pulled already.
Tampa cast member Juawana Colbert told Page Six: ‘When they show us [Black women] in a different light — when we’re bickering, fighting and name-calling — they get a season two and season three, but that’s not what we were displaying.
‘I feel like we weren’t given a second chance, possibly because of what we represented as minority women.’
Tampa could also have benefited from a bigger promotional push – there were too many people commenting at the time that they either had no idea there was even a Selling Sunset spin-off or when it was coming out, so it’s not surprising it took a while to gather momentum during the busy Christmas period.
The sun may have set on Selling Tampa, but hopefully its mere existence will inspire the commission of other shows showcasing Black women in a positive light in the future.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Netflix for comment.
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Selling Tampa offered balance in a reality space occupied by drama-centric shows.
