Selling Sunset‘s overproduced look, from the flattering soft-lighting to the music video-style editing, instantly gives off the same vibe as The Hills, and there’s a good reason for that. The creator of both shows is Adam DiVello. The former MTV executive helped develop the seminal Laguna Beach docuseries before leaving the cable network to create its even more successful spin-off, The Hills. Although MTV is rebooting DiVello’s former hit show, the television producer isn’t involved in The Hills: New Beginnings, although he finds it “super flattering that there’s still interest.”
Instead, DiVello is venturing into new territory with Netflix’s first docusoap series. “I’ve always been obsessed with real estate personally,” DiVello told Variety. “I watch all the real estate shows and spend many a weekend going to open houses myself. I came across these two brothers, Jason and Brett Oppenheim, and then about five or six female employees. And I thought, that’s the cast of a show right there. They’re super attractive and they’re the No. 1 realtors selling in the West Hollywood and Sunset Strip area. It was a no-brainer.”
DiVello notes that the show has a lot of similarities with his past projects. “We’re just trying to showcase more of the real estate and glamour of it all. Kind of take what I did with ‘The Hills,’ and show the females’ lives, their work lives, take their relationships and personal lives and use the real estate as a backdrop.”
