Forget reality TV: Scripted shows with real estate agents at center stage

Cop shows and dramas about lawyers and doctors are a dime a dozen on television, but scripted shows about real estate agents, not so much.

For years, real estate characters have been relegated to bit roles in scripted shows, while reality TV has proliferated with series about brokers, house flippers and developers.

But in recent seasons, Netflix has streamed critically acclaimed, high-profile shows where real estate characters get to play the hero, and yes, create a lot of drama. The omnibus of scripted shows on real estate is still small, but it’s a start for those who want to see real estate portrayed outside of reality TV.

Here’s a list of scripted shows from Netflix and other outlets where residential real estate agents take center stage, sometimes heroically, other times comically.

“Dead to Me”

(Netflix)

This Netflix show starred Christina Applegate as a Laguna Beach real estate agent looking for her husband’s killer in between house showings. She’s befriended by Judy, an optimistic, flighty artist, who carries a grim secret. Hijinks and mordant humor ensue along the backdrop of gorgeous Laguna Beach homes. The third and final season ended in November.

“Uncoupled”

(Netflix)

Neil Patrick Harris leads a life typically only seen in high-flying reality real estate shows in this Netflix series, which was developed by “Sex & The City” creator Darren Star and “Modern Family” producer Jeffrey Richman. Harris traipses through choice Manhattan listings, dines at sumptuous restaurants and parties at fabulous nightclubs. But his dolce vita sours when he is dumped by his long-time partner. He tries dating again. It’s a high-wire act looking for love while wooing high-maintenance clients and outmaneuvering backstabbing rivals. The first season dropped summer 2022.

“The Watcher”

(Netflix)

A spooky side of real estate is explored in this 2022 Netflix show where a Manhattan family moves into a mysterious New Jersey mansion. A local real estate agent played by Jennifer Coolidge is a suspect when the family starts getting menacing notes from someone who obsessively knows all the details of the family’s historic home, down to its early 20th century dumbwaiter. The show was based on a factual story reported in New York magazine. The family who received the threatening notes purchased “The Watcher” Colonial home for $1.3 million in 2014. After they fled, they rented the home out, according to a New York Times story. It seems the home’s disclosure notes scared no one.

“The White Lotus”

Jake Lacy and Murray Bartlett (Photograph by Mario Perez/HBO)

The 2021 season of this mordant HBO ensemble comedy featured Jack Lacy playing an overbearing and greedy real estate agent. One of his choice moments: Throwing a tantrum after being given the keys to the fictional White Lotus hotel’s second-best suite.

“Santa Clarita Diet”

(Netflix)

This 2017 Netflix series focused on married real estate agents played by Drew Barrymore and Tim Olyphant. A sedate life of selling tract homes in the L.A County suburban town of Santa Clarita is turned upside down when Barrymore becomes a zombie. The series’ three-season run ended in 2019.

“Modern Family”

Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in Modern Family (ABC)

If there were barriers that needed to be broken for real estate characters, ABC’s “Modern Family” sitcom smashed through plenty during its 11-season run from 2009 to 2020. Perhaps one of the first series with a leading real estate character actor, the show’s Ty Burrell showed houses, tried to convince his family that he had what it takes to be the “cool” dad, and indulged in some geek hobbies such as perfecting magic tricks.

Honorable mentions

“American Horror Story: Murder House” featured a reoccuring real estate character played by Christine Estabrook who sold a haunted house, and later turned up as a ghost. Real estate characters also turned up on animated series such as American Dad!” Francine Smith, wife of lead character Stan Smith, tries the world of high-end real estate in the episode Langley Dollar Listings. Her new gig comically doesn’t pan out. It aired in January 2022.

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