Is Netflix’s most hated show really that bad? I investigated so you don’t have to-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

Daniel Daggers is the head honcho in Buying London (Picture: Netflix/PA Wire)

Buying London had grander designs than some of the multi-million-pound properties featured on Netflix’s latest stab at turning estate agents into stars.

Billed as the UK’s answer to Selling Sunset – the runaway lockdown smash hit that followed identikit Blondes flogging Beverley Hills mansions to sports stars and billionaires – the streamer was clearly hoping for an easy win.

But that aspiration came crashing down, seemingly, with just one terrible review. In a very rare move, The Guardian gave the show 0 out of 5 stars and branded Buying London ‘probably the most hateable TV show ever made.’

Can it really be that bad, though? To spare yourself the seven-odd hours of your precious time, I’ve watched it for you. Here’s my honest verdict.

Buying London has closely followed the Selling Sunset formula. There’s a middle-aged man in this case, Daniel Daggers, who runs estate agents DDRE Global and seems perpetually surprised to be on camera.

His employees are (almost) exclusively impossible attractive women who, in between viewings, pick fights with each other over petty drama that’s barely worth splitting a fingernail over.

Buying London was branded the most ‘hateable’ show on TV (Picture: Netflix/PA Wire)

South African estate agent Lauren is the Queen Bee in Buying London (Picture: Netflix / Buying London)

Buying London has rubbed critics and viewers up the wrong way (Picture: Netflix)

Then there is the property. In this case, Buying London predominately features homes in those posh parts of west London typically frequented by oligarchs and the odd stray tourist and, um, Hertfordshire. I’m sure it’s lovely, but it’s not Venice Beach.

This is where the similarities between Selling Sunset and Buying London end. Buying London has all the ingredients but they’re all a little off – like eating fish and chips anywhere other than the coast.

There was a delicious campness to the cast of Selling Sunset including the best reality TV villain/queen in the shape of Christine Quinn. It was darkly humourous to watch the other women crumble in her presence.

In Buying London, however, the estate agents are just too Made in Chelsea and the ‘drama’ between them too contrived. From what I could gather, the main upset was when Queen Bee Lauren spoke over fellow agent Rasa at a viewing. Yes, that is annoying, but does that really merit a four-episode arc?

Rasa locks horn with Lauren in one of the series’ main storylines (Picture: Netflix / Buying London)

Also – and this is a criticism levelled at Selling Sunset, too – it’s reductive having a show centred around contrived arguments between women. Why not focus on how they’ve smashed the glass ceiling and have impressive jobs in a male-dominated industry? It’s more thrilling watching them secure impressive sales after an intense negotiation than side-eyeing each other from across the office.

So what about the homes? Much has been (rightly) said of Netflix deciding to spotlight a show about mansions with multi-million-pound price tags in a city collapsing due to a housing crisis. It does feel icky watching billionaires cavorting around luxury homes without a care in the world when many can’t afford rent.

Plus – and I’m going to say it – the houses are not even that nice. The best homes look like showrooms for soulless 5-star hotels, while the worst look like they were last given a facelift by a gauche Count in the 70s.

The show follows a cast of estate agents seemingly plucked from Made in Chelsea (Picture: Zoe McConnell)

The drama in Buying London is somewhat contrived (Picture: Netflix)

Perhaps, though, the crumbling interiors of these ‘super prime’ homes serve as another bleak statement about wealth inequality in the UK. Daniel even said himself a £15million pound home featured in Buying London needed ‘modernisation.’ What hope, then, do the rest of us have?

But despite irrepressible feelings of despair, I could not stop watching Buying London. There was something oddly soothing about tuning into the televisual equivalent of a Dulux gloss paint. Easy on the eye, but not quite Farrow & Ball. Or, I could just be so tired of the depressing state of the world that I’m just numb to everything now.

Should you give it a watch? Look, if you’re hungover, tired after work, or want some background noise – sure. But if you have an ounce of rage about modern society – stay well clear.

Buying London is available to stream on Netflix.

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