I love reality shows. I know, I know, they’re the death of art and all that, but as cultural phenomenon, but I get a huge kick out them. Well, that, and sometimes they show my neighborhood and people I have met. It took me awhile to remember where I met Josh Flagg on MDL, but finally it came to me: He hosted a breakfast for my candidate and friend (sometimes client), the fabulous Nancy Krasne for Beverly Hills City Council last year. The breakfast was at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I think he’s about twenty two – mighty fancy when most guys that age are just trying to pony up rent.

The other principal interests of the show are Chad Rogers and Madison Hildebrand, both who claim to be experts with “ins” to Malibu. This is the stuff you get watching Million Dollar Listing. First, let me point out to the viewer that even if these places are over a million dollars, I didn’t see a house on the whole show (with the exception of two shown to the ever eccentric Suzan Hughes) that wasn’t a dump compared to the fabulous homes found in the Deep South, especially in New Orleans! The show follows three guys around Los Angeles as they sell real estate in the tony neighborhoods that make LA famous. It’s all about A View Of The Beach, as exemplified by Ms Hughes’ desperate search of a “Bu” house to rent for the summer that has “The View” at eye level, right on the beach, so that she can watch her teenagers learn to surf. Cost for rent for such a view? Seventy five grand, per month, payable up front.

It’s truly surreal to note that all of these guys are under thirty and have already achieved a level of success that many spend decades attaining. I am very interested to see what will happen as the show progresses, as Josh Flagg has recently been arrested for grand larceny, accused of stealing art from client’s homes. The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, but talk about a nail in the coffin of a lucrative career! And if you watch the show, you’ll see that whatever cash he has made is in great danger if he keeps up with the spending habits he has – almost $9000 in one hour long shopping trip.

I have a feeling I’ll post about this one again, because I’m dying to go off about how blank and wierd the guys are, how sexually ambivalent they seem, and how unnaturally they interact with other people. Stay tuned…