The Agency Melissa Platt talks "Buying Beverly Hills"
Good news for reality TV fans! The Netflix real estate show “Buying Beverly Hills” will return for a second season, Deadline reported on Monday, April 10. The series, which premiered in November 2022, follows a group of agents at “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Mauricio Umansky’s luxury real estate brokerage, The Agency.
The eight-episode series joined a growing genre of real estate shows on Netflix. Like its predecessors “Selling Sunset” and “Million Dollar Beach House,” the series focuses on beautiful people selling beautiful properties but unlike the real estate shows that came before, “Buying Beverly Hills” has a strong family dynamic. Umansky’s stepdaughter Farrah Aldjufrie and his daughter Alexia Umansky are both agents at the brokerage, introducing a unique family aspect to the show.
Heavy had the chance to catch up with “Buying Beverly Hills” star Melissa Platt, who has worked at The Agency for a decade. In our interview, Melissa touched on everything from season one drama to her reservations about reality television.
Here’s what you need to know:
Melissa Talks ‘Buying Beverly Hills’
Heavy: How did you get involved with The Agency and then later “Buying Beverly Hills?”
Melissa: I’ve been with The Agency for ten years, which is crazy to think about [because] ten years is a really long time. I joined the company in 2013 and long story short, I’m best friends with the family. I live with Farrah when I’m in L.A. When the show happened, Mauricio called me and was like, ‘I would really like you to audition,’ and here we are.
Heavy: What would you say separates “Buying Beverly Hills” from other real estate shows?
Melissa: What I find that’s different than the other shows out there is it’s a really great family dynamic. I don’t just mean by blood…It’s kind of like we all treat each other as a family in and out of the business aspect of it. [We are] constantly hanging out, going to each other’s family functions, celebrating religious holidays together. I mean, the list goes on. All these other real estate shows have [their] own perks and they [are] all great. I just like ours because it kind of shows that family dynamic.
Melissa on Reality TV & Working for The Agency
Heavy: Did you have any reservations about filming a reality show, especially one about your work? Have you done any reality TV before?
Melissa: I definitely had reservations. I have done reality TV before but I’m talking maybe two-minute scenes on Million Dollar Listing…Never as a full-time cast member on [a show]. So this was very scary to go into. [I had] reservations because you never know when you film something how it’s [going to] turn out and how you’re going to be perceived by the public. So that was definitely scary. But now, looking back, I’d rather film than go on a date…I love it now.
Heavy: In season one, we saw that the agents are super close. It really is like a family. What unique challenges does working with your friends present? What are the benefits of working with such a tight-knit group?
Melissa: It’s definitely hard in a lot of ways. For example, if you’re going after a listing and you also have someone else at The Agency going after the same listing…It can be difficult. Emotions are high in the residential real estate world. The nice thing about The Agency, and especially my close-knit [group] of agents, is if we share a mutual client that either wants to buy or sell, then [we] usually would jump in on it together. But it’s also not that easy either because everyone has different work habits and different styles of dealing with their clients.
Heavy: In season one, one of the big drama moments is when Alexia confronts you about her listing grade at dinner. At the dinner, you ask her if the real estate business is the right business for her. Why was it important to you to be honest with her in that moment? Do you have any regrets about that situation?
Melissa: Of course I wish I hadn’t told other people we work with that I would’ve given her a lower grade…I messed up. I have zero regrets in asking her if it’s the right business for her because…she [is] one of my best friends, but she’s like a little sister to me, and I feel like she feels she can be very honest with me. That was a moment when I forgot cameras were around..and I wanted to just seriously ask her if [real estate] is the right business [for her]…But to see her drive and her love for real estate…it is the right business for her.
Melissa Highly Recommends ‘Buying Beverly Hills’
Heavy: What can viewers expect from “Buying Beverly Hills?”
Melissa: I highly recommend watching [“Buying Beverly Hills”] because you see that family dynamic, blood-related and not. Obviously, the Umansky family is very well known but you see how they interact with each other and it’s a very honest bond that they share. They’re very, very, very close. Mauricio is like a dad to all of us. He just wants what [is] best for all of us. But you also see the really cool [side] of Beverly Hills real estate.
To watch our extended interview with Melissa Platt click HERE.