Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Making It In Marbella’ on Netflix, A Luxury Real Estate Show About Competitive Brokers Selling Mansions On The Costa del Sol

What if Selling Sunset were set on the Spanish Costa del Sol and instead of the Oppenheim twins, the real estate firm at the center of it all was run by a Swede who looks exactly like Tom Brady? That’s the premise of Netflix’s Making It In Marbella , a new luxury real estate soap opera about the lives and sales of a brokerage based in Marbella, Spain.

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Opening Shot: Overhead shots of luxury estates that overlook the ocean in the south of Spain. Eric Ebbing, who looks like he could be Tom Brady’s Nordic cousin, is the founder of Homerun Brokers and he explains that his real estate firm caters to “rich Swedes,” sports stars, and influencers who desire a tropical place to get away. As he explains who he is, he rubs his thumb and forefinger together to make the universal gesture for money and lifts up his sunglasses like he’s playing an extra at one of Steff and Blaine’s parties in Pretty In Pink . (That’s my point of reference for all rich people wearing linen blazers.)

The Gist: Ebbing and his Spanish wife Jennifer Rocamora are in charge of Homerun Brokers, and at one point he explains to her that he has a “wet dream” to be the biggest brokerage on the Costa del Sol. Not loving the metaphor but it certainly gets his point across. Eric’s top salespeople are Miah, who says she’s an honest, hardworker, and Matias, a former footballer turner broker, and his head rental broker is Robert, an abrasive, polarizing type who says that his goal is to succeed by any means necessary.

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Miah and Robert don’t like one another, and that’s the main drama so far, as Eric brings in Robert in on a listing for a $10 million house called Villa Olivia. Eric explains that if Robert can sell the house, he’ll be brought on as a partner – to Miah and Matias’s dismay – so this gives Miah the drive to sell the house herself so Robert will not join the board.

What comes next essentially follows the proper script to a T: Miah shows the house to her client, Robert shows the house to his client, Robert throws a lavish broker open house, and in the final moments, Robert tells Eric he found a buyer… but then he tells Eric not to tell Matias and Miah that he closed a deal, because he wants to string them along, letting them think they still have a chance to sell it. This adds a layer of professional duplicity we haven’t quite gotten on other shows, and what’s even more interesting is how Eric, the boss, completely embraces Robert’s scheme, telling him, “This is why I love you.” Then we cut away to Robert’s confessional as he explains that he’s coming for Eric’s job next.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? If you combined the sunny vibes of Selling Sunset with the European sensibilities of Buying London , you’d get Making It In Marbella .

Our Take: Even though the people who can afford this type of luxury real estate are like, the top .001%, it seems like there is no shortage of luxury homes listed on shows like Making It In Marbella and it just feels like the novelty of watching scheming brokers try to sell huge mansions is wearing off. Once Swimply started letting us normies rent infinity pools, they lost their luster, you know?

While there are some reality personalities on shows like this who manage to become bigger than their shows, it doesn’t feel like there’s anyone in Marbella that’s going to become a star. Yes, they’re all attractive and ambitious, but attractive and ambitious describes 99% of everyone on TV lately. Robert has the bad boy vibe and in scenes from future episodes he clearly butts heads with many of his co-workers and has no problem yelling at them, but I’m not sure that qualifies him as a breakout star. The show is not a drag to watch by any means, but there’s nothing to really suck us in, it’s just more of the same formula we’re used to, in front of a different backdrop.

Sex and Skin: Like many of their counterparts on similar shows, many of these brokers wear revealing clothes, but there’s nothing really sexy to speak of.

Parting Shot: Robert tells Eric that he secretly sold Villa Olivia, which thrills Eric. But then, after he hugs Eric and the two pals celebrate, Robert explains in his confessional that his end goal is to take over the company. “I’m the new kid on the block and I have no brakes,” Robert says. “I’m here to bulldoze.” How many metaphors are we using in once sentence, Robert?

Memorable Dialogue: “He sucks up and punches down. He is a terrible leader,” one of the partners at Homerun, Miah, says of her colleague Robert after she learns Eric wants Robert to join Miah’s team. I think we’ve all worked with a Robert before and I love her concise description of him.

Performance Worth Watching: I like Miah’s no-nonsense vibe. She claims to have gotten where she is with no drama or back-stabbing, and so far she’s living up to that reputation. Every show needs their Chrishell or Alex Hall, the character who might find themselves in the middle of mess but acts like they want to avoid it, and she’s it.

Our Call: For fans of shows like Selling Sunset , Making It In Marbella is the same show, different location. They look so similar, from the gorgeous brokers with a competitive streak to the $10 million-dollar houses with infinity pools, you’d hardly know the difference if it weren’t for the subtitles. While there’s a definite appeal to see new, beautiful locations in a different part of the world, this is just another formulaic, glossy real estate show that’s interchangeable with the rest. SKIP IT.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction .

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