Bling Empire: New York Season 1 Review – spin-off is a big bore

By Romey Norton
Published: January 13, 2023 (Last updated: January 10, 2024)
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Summary

New York, New York, so good they named it twice, but how much more can we watch rich people party and shop before it becomes tedious, repetitive and boring? Another show-off series about rich people living in a big city.

We review the Netflix series Bling Empire: New York Season 1, which will be released on January 20th, 2023.

Watching reality series is a way for audiences to switch off from their everyday lives and live vicariously through the rich, extravagant people on our screens. No matter how ludicrous their lives may seem, we can take pleasure in watching a world that’s different from our own, but surely watching rich people shop and throw parties will run cold soon? If not already. Here we have a spin-off series of Bling Empire, which first aired in 2021, Bling Empire New York. 

Bling Empire: New York Season 1 Review and plot summary

The original series followed the lives of extremely wealthy East and South East Asians and South East Asian-Americans living in Los Angeles, and after a successful season, the show has been packed up to follow lives in the other cosmopolitan city in the U.S., New York City. Here in this series, we see wealthy Asian Americans lead sophisticated, rich, sexy lives in New York City. The big beautiful apple we all dream of living in. There are endless numbers of party nights, fashion shows, and shopping as they all show off their luxurious and rich everyday lives. 

This spin-off series follows season two cast member Dorothy Wang as she moves to New York. Dorothy is no stranger to reality TV, having starred in Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, Famously Single, Fetch Me A Date, and of course, the original Bling Empire. Dorothy is joined by cast members Tina Leung, Lynn Ban, Blake Abbie, Stephen and Deborah Hung, and Richard Chang. Dorothy says she wants New York Dorothy to be a risk taker and that she’s trying to have a new life. 

In this “I’m rich you’re poor, let me show off how much money I have” reality series there are eight episodes all roughly 40 minutes long. Being set in New York, the city that never sleeps, you’d think this series would have been more exciting. I don’t feel like anything really happens, by the third episode I was wanting more drama, more excitement, and more New York! It’s as if they didn’t know New York enough to show it off. They really just talk about business, making money, glamour, dating, and their idea of fun. Again, unfortunately, everything feels like it’s done for the Instagram likes, done for the camera, and really doesn’t serve any purpose other than to talk about themselves and feed their egos. What always makes me laugh is their attempts to influence and give advice throughout the episodes, their self-indulgence and entitlement stand out for me.

READ: Best Reality Shows on Netflix 2023

Is Bling Empire: New York Season 1 good?

It’s not good, and it’s not terrible. Whilst the series is a bit boring, I will say their clothes and the views and locations in New York are what make it worth watching. If you’re a fan of the fabulous you’ll enjoy this series. As reality series go, this is repetitive and slow, but easy to watch. For some audiences it will be mindless entertainment with no real value, to others, it’ll be a delightful, addictive drama. Whilst it offers nothing new in terms of content, as it’s all similar things we’ve seen before, it could be just enough to distract you and something you have on in the background when you’re making tea, for example.

What did you think of Bling Empire New York Season 1? Comment below.

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