Owning Manhattan's Jonathan Nørmølle Has a Lot To Say About the Show After He Was Fired

To some reality TV fans, there are few things more interesting than a show about real estate agents. Just ask the millions of fans of Netflix 's own Selling Sunset . But now, the streaming platform has a show to represent the East Coast — Owning Manhattan . It contains a lot of the same drama among real estate agents, but with a totally different cast.

The only thing is, are the Owning Manhattan real estate agents real? It would be easy for producers to pluck a few actors out of existence and give them the role of a lifetime as faux real estate agents for a big Manhattan firm led by Ryan Serhant on a reality show. Whether or not that's what happened, Season 1 cast member Jonathan Nørmølle revealed to the world some claims that all is not what it seems on the show.

Are the 'Owning Manhattan' real estate agents real?

Owning Manhattan follows Ryan Serhant's real estate firm in New York City, and the team that reports to him. With plenty on the line, including million dollar homes and the working relationships of these employees, there's never really a dull moment on the show. But, based on Jonathan's claims, that may be because much of the series was fabricated for the sake of making it interesting.

In June 2024, Jonathan told Daily Mail that Netflix hired cast members based not on their professional prowess as real estate agents, but on something else entirely, likely their internet presence. Jonathan didn't go into further detail, but if his claims are true, then it means the validity of the real estate reality show goes out the window.

But for what it's worth, Chloe Tucker Caine's LinkedIn lists her career details as a real estate agent. Jordan March also bad a background in real estate before Owning Manhattan premiered. Maybe some of the agents fell into their more high-profile roles because of the show, but despite Jonathan's claims, it doesn't look like any of the cast members are paid actors or anything close to it.

By contrast, though, the real estate agents of Selling Sunset worked in their field for years before Netflix came calling. That doesn't necessarily mean that Jonathan is accurate in his claims about Owning Manhattan , but if it's true and the real estate agents aren't, well, real, the show will have to step up its game in Season 2.

Will Jonathan return to 'Owning Manhattan'?

Jonathan also told The Daily Mail that he was allegedly reached out to multiple times by Ryan himself in an effort to persuade him to join the cast. Jonathan explained that he finally gave in because of the opportunity it afforded him. But now that Jonathan is off the show, it's unlikely that he'll find himself under Ryan's thumb again as a direct report.

As a licensed real estate agent (one of the few on Owning Manhattan , according to Jonathan), he currently works as such for Highline Residential , a real estate firm that employs more than 300 agents. It seems unlikely that he would return to the show now, especially given the fact that he burned a bridge or two following his exit.

Watch Owning Manhattan on Netflix.