‘Selling Sunset’s Christine Quinn Dishes on Why “Everyone Loves a Great Villain”

One of the most addicting shows of 2019 doesn’t have to do with fire-breathing dragons, nuclear disasters, long cons, or hipster Natasha Lyonne. It’s about some of the most fabulous realtors you’ve ever seen selling the heck out of LA’s most coveted homes. And Christine Quinn is one of the most enthralling parts of Netflix’s latest can’t-miss reality binge, Selling Sunset.

Set around the Los Angeles based Oppenheim Group, Selling Sunset follows Quinn and company through the reality tropes you know and love, brokering deals, clashing, dating, and drinking. It’s reality show crack, and it’s as addictive as anything on TV.

“We had a really big reputation for being this beautiful brokerage. We party together, we do everything together, we’re best friends,” Quinn told Decider in advance of her appearance at LA’s DragCon.

As of 2019, Quinn has been part of The Oppenheim Group for five years. It was The Hills and Laguna Beach producer Adam DiVello and supervising producer Skyler Wakil who first approached the firm about turning it into a reality show.

“We were kinda hesitant at first because we didn’t really know what it was gonna be like and which networks were going to pick it up. And then we decided to do a pilot.”

According to Quinn, that first episode was shot roughly three years ago.

“You’ll notice because there’s a big difference in continuity purposes. In terms of our looks and our hairstyles and everything, everything was very different and low-quality,” Quinn said. The pilot hung around for a while before Netflix finally picked it up. “The rest of the show we shot last year. We filmed from June until about the end of August and then we did pickup shots in September.”

In theory, Selling Sunset is a reality show about selling the most extravagant houses Los Angeles has to offer. But in practice it’s more of a show about relationship drama than anything happening in the workplace. Most of the series revolves around fights between different agents and their relationships with their significant others.

“I don’t think the show is necessarily so focused on sales. I’m the top-earner in my company. Just this year so far I have nine million dollars,” Quinn said when we spoke this past April. “But no one would know that because I was not in a relationship at the time, so we didn’t really have storylines for me to focus on. They kind of wanted to go with relationship-based drama and that’s kind of what they did … I don’t feel like it’s an accurate depiction of terms of the volume and production that we do in real estate. However the relationship depiction is all accurate.”

That accuracy extends to Quinn’s depiction in the series. Every reality show needs a villain, and Christine Quinn absolutely fits that bill. Almost all of her scenes include either a beautifully barbed insult — all crafted by the real Quinn — or a perfectly judgmental look. As much as Selling Sunset glosses over professional accuracy, Quinn is perfectly happy with her vicious portrayal.

“I knew exactly what I signed up for. Everyone loves a great villain at the end of the day. They may hate my character, but they don’t know me. And if I was a man, no one would have a problem with what I was doing. It’s because I’m a woman and the way that I look,” Quinn said. “I don’t sugarcoat anything, but that’s why I’m successful … I think that’s why, in the beginning, I was portrayed a certain way. But then, through social media, people are like ‘Oh my god, this girl is so versatile, she’s so funny and she wasn’t being mean. Yes, this is amazing, yes bitch!'”

Quinn sees the positive response from her fans as proof that America’s expectations of professional women are changing. “I feel like the tables are really turning, because America wasn’t really ready for strong, independent women until now,” Quinn said. “So this is the first accurate depiction (on reality TV) of women in the workplace. You know, we have television shows like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. These women aren’t — these aren’t working women … I feel like women are really turning a corner and you don’t have to be sweet and you don’t have to be the victim. You don’t have to be ‘Poor me, poor me,’ you know. I don’t want that for any woman. I want everyone to be true to themselves and honest.”

Yet even though Quinn knows she’s the most polarizing character on the show, she wants to make it clear that isn’t really her. “There is a different side to me, you know. I am sweet, I am loving, I am funny, I am goofy, I am caring, but I’m not malicious. And there’s a big difference.”

The divide between reality and TV edits even caused some friction with this very site. Earlier this year I interviewed my real estate agent mom about whether she thought the women of Selling Sunset were good at their jobs. My mother was not very impressed, and that takeaway stuck with the real Quinn.

“I saw the article and I was a little bit disappointed, I’m not gonna lie,” Quinn said. “You can see that I had the most sales. So it was kind of disappointing that you guys didn’t really do your research and threw me under the bus, you know? But it is what it is. It’s reality television, and I didn’t have a love interest at the time. So I didn’t have stories to follow.”

For example, throughout Selling Sunset’s first season Quinn talks at length about her $15 million listing. Though that’s an impressive property, Quinn noted that Selling Sunset downplayed this professional arc to give more time to realtor Mary Fitzgerald and her fiancé Romain Bonnet’s relationship. “If your mom watched the show and listened, she would know that ‘Wait a minute, she just said that she had a 15-million dollar listing. Wait a minute, this is the biggest listing any woman’s had.’ Did they want to show that on the show? No.

“This goes back to that the show is really more relationship-based. And that’s fine. Season 2’s gonna be different because I do have a boyfriend now, and he will be on the show. So I’m excited about that, and I’m excited to show more aspects of me other than silly one-liners. I’m not the jester here to entertain. I’m here to do so much more and I can’t wait for people to see.”

As for whether Selling Sunset has been renewed for a Season 2, Quinn is hopeful. “We can’t officially say anything, obviously. But it’s headed in the right direction. I think we’re just waiting for an official confirmation and the dates. But it’s looking really, really good in terms of people bingeing the show. It’s more of a success than I think Netflix thought it was going to be.”

In the meantime, Quinn delivered on some much-needed Selling Sunset updates and gossip. For example, the $40 million house mentioned in the show still hasn’t sold, but it’s getting close. She even had some Romain insights to share. Though Romain went to school to be a pastry chef, he’s currently working in construction for The Oppenheim Group. “He’s working with Jason doing construction and he’s really good at it,” Quinn said.

And when Quinn lived with Mary and Romain for a brief time, they had their own reality TV obsession: Ladies of London. “I related to Caroline. She was the villain, as well! She’s the likable, fabulous villain. Everyone loved Caroline,” Quinn said.

As we wait for Netflix to bless us with more real estate drama, fans will be able to meet Christine Quinn at RuPaul’s DragCon in LA, from May 24 to the 26. “I’m going to be doing a booth there and I’m so excited,” Quinn said. “It’s just going to be photos with fans and just a meet and greet and just a way of getting myself out there with the people I want to be around and I love. Just, like, open-minded, glamorous, awesome, happy, cool, people.”

Watch Selling Sunset on Netflix