‘Selling the OC’ Season 2 Is about Ordering Food First, Drama Second, Real Estate Third

Most reality TV is designed to be a comfort watch. A show like Selling the OC in particular is produced and edited to hit a familiar, soothing rhythm. In the case of Selling the OC, and its predecessor Selling Sunset, that “soothing” rhythm involved rich people throwing parties, openings, and fundraisers; people getting into fights over who is and isn’t invited; leaving the party/opening/fundraiser in a huff because of who was invited; and then gossiping about who was or wasn’t invited and why and who did or did not get into a fight at the event over brunch, drinks, or dinner. In the case of Selling the OC, all of these people are coworkers and should be following some HR protocol (lol). But whatever — the formula of event, fight, brunch continues undisturbed, although Selling the OC Season 2 adds a baffling new note to the reality TV melody: waiters.

Granted, waiters have always been a part of the reality TV equation. Selling the OC Season 2, however, takes things way further by inexplicably weaving the waiters and the rituals of ordering drinks, receiving drinks, ordering food, and receiving food into every single restaurant scene. This is not an exaggeration. If two Oppenheim realtors sit down at a table together, then you’re about to see them meticulously order drinks and food, and watch a waiter interrupt them in order to serve it.

This trend starts out slow, but it does demonstrate the whiplash of a vibe shift that comes along with this storytelling choice. For example, the first restaurant scene of Season 2 takes place at Malibu Farm overlooking the water at Newport Beach. After hearing Brandi talk about her mother passing away and how it has impacted her drive to succeed professionally, it’s time for some lattes!

I have to note that this is usually as far as a waiter’s role goes on these shows, so this is only jarring in retrospect after you know the pattern. And once you know the pattern, it is impossible to focus on what these real estate icons (and Ali) are talking about. And in Episode 2, the pattern becomes clear with the introduction of Cassie.

Cassie is waiting on Kayla and Sean — and honestly she will be just as much a part of this season as Sean. I didn’t know it until she said her name, but I really don’t recall hearing a waiter actually go through the whole introduction on a reality television program before. It’s like the editors did a pass and the story producers were like, “Wait — but how did Kayla and what’s his name get drinks? And what are they drinking?!”

But what happens next? Do they get their drinks? Does Cassie keep her promise to take care of them? Seventeen seconds later, we get our answer:

Come through, Cassie! The MVP of episode two, truly. That guy sitting with Kayla needed a drink!

Now fully aware that scenes of real estate agents ordering drinks is the most important part of the show, Episode 3 wastes no time. The episode opens with a montage of Polly strutting to Hotel Laguna with a bartender wedged into a split screen while some royalty-free butt rock blares.

It’s edited like Polly is absolutely going to ruin this bartender’s day, like she is going to get her revenge for a slight we never saw. Nope! She’s just going to do what these real estate agents do best:

When Alex Hall arrives, we have to see her say “I’ll have what she’s having,” lest the audience think that Polly is double-fisting mimosas. And later on in Episode 3, we watch Kayla and Alex Jarvis dine at Sueños and tell Luis their drink order.

Kayla, by the way, orders an espresso martini with — she emphasizes — just espresso and just tequila. It’s the drink for the woman who wants a vodka Red Bull, but brown. And then, not even 30 seconds later, the show interrupts Kayla telling Jarvis about Polly making out with Tyler — the most important storyline of the season, outside of the drink orders — in order to show Luis handing her tequila/espresso concoction to Kayla.

I guess it’s like Chekhov’s Espresso Martini: if you order an espresso martini in the scene, you have to be drinking it 30 seconds later.

Why is this happening? And why is this happening in every episode? My guess would be that restaurants in the OC only allowed filming if there was more in-episode promotion. Unfortunately it looks like the doors permanently closed at Suenos before the restaurant could experience the Selling the OC Season 2 bump.

Still, even recognizing that brunch gossip sessions over eclectic mixed drinks and/or Diet Coke are an essential part of this genre, the way that all of this food is crammed into Selling the OC makes it feel like Food Network’s first docusoap.

It’s just wild to constantly have conversations about workplace make outs and arguments constantly interrupted by a waiter saying, “Pardon me.” The most hilarious example comes in Episode 4 during Alex Jarvis and Ali’s southern girls bonding sesh. The episode opens with essentially a commercial for the restaurant — Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens in Corona Del Mar — as we see gorgeous shots of the exterior, dining area, chefs, bartenders, drinks, and food. When Ali sits down with Jarvis, she immediately gushes over the restaurant. Jarvis says it’s one of her favorite spots, especially at Christmas. After establishing the vibe of this convo (Ali and Alex are both Southern and will therefore be BFFs), the server returns to ask for drinks.

After 23 seconds and a quick exchange about how some people in the office don’t like it when Alex uses Southern-isms, the drinks arrive.

Of course we have to get the food order now. Drinks are the opening act and food is the Rolling Stones! Then, literally 14 seconds after they order, the food arrives. Ali has time to ask one question. Jarvis doesn’t have time to answer. The food is there!

The Farmhouse does not play around!

All told, it feels like the real estate agents of Selling the OC spend more time talking about their drink orders than their listings. Maybe it’s a catch of filming reality TV in the OC, or maybe it’s an intentional (if distracting) stylistic choice designed to make you feel like you’re at the table with the cast. Whatever the case, Selling the OC has tweaked the reality TV rhythm that we’re all used to, and while I have no desire to live in a totally white, palatial OC estate that’s nothing but sharp corners and steel… I do kinda want to try an espresso tequila with a beach burger.