Review: Binge or Cringe? ‘Bling Empire: new york’ NETFLIX SPINOFF Takes On The Big Apple
Netflix’s Bling Empire expands to the East Coast with the series Bling Empire: New York premiering early last month. The all-new eight-episode spin-off follows Dorothy Wang from the OG cast as she relocates across the country for a fresh start. Instead of the glitzy, sunny streets of Beverly Hills, this time, the fans follow some of New York’s most affluent and elite in the city that never sleeps as they navigate relationships, culture, and the lifestyle of the luxe and lavish. And I mean lavish.
Meet The New York Crew
The series primarily follows Dorothy Wang, featured as a regular in season two of the original Bling Empire series, as she begins the next chapter of her life in the big apple. Her father is the self-made billionaire businessman Roger Wang and her family is worth $4 billion. Dorothy’s larger-than-life outspoken valley-girl personality suits her as the series’s protagonist as she looks to start a fresh new life in New York City. Seeing her navigate the big city after growing up in Beverly Hills is endearing. She’s not afraid to look a bit silly as she tries for the first time to hail a taxi but doesn’t know how or her realization that her California wardrobe may not work for a New York winter or the lack of cauliflower crust in New York pizza shops. By the end of the season, Dorothy finds a romantic interest, but the show leaves it up to the eventual season two to see if it lasts. Spoiler alert: If you follow Dorothy online, you know it doesn’t.
Single-handedly the fan favorite of this season— and maybe the original series as well— is Tina Leung. Her bold and authentic style, moments of vulnerability, and hustle in the world of high-profile fashion definitely earn her the title. Tina is introduced as the one who integrates Dorothy into her circle of friends. Throughout the season, we also see Tina as her own independent character who struggles with work-life balance anxieties and is probably the humblest of the bunch— but not by a lot.
Stephen and Deborah Hung are the antagonists of Dorothy’s protagonist this season. Their drama with Dorothy is very East Coast versus West Coast personalities clashing, to say the least. Stephen is a millionaire businessman who founded a private investment firm for luxury industries, and his wife, Deborah, is a Mexican-born model with a law degree. He’s also significantly older than her, but that is neither here nor there. The couple met over a decade ago while on business and just recently celebrated their 11th anniversary. One of the first drama-filled moments of the first half of the season is when Dorothy arrives late to their event at an art gallery, and the couple doesn’t take too fondly to her tardiness and for calling out the party for not having hors d’oeuvres. Regardless of the quote-unquote drama, there is no denying that they are a New York City power couple with a fierce sense of work ethic and style— honestly, everyone on this show dresses like Effie Trinket from the Hunger Games.
Another key player in Dororthy’s new group of friends this season is the fashion editor to a high-profile fashion magazine and actor Blake Abbie. He is the son of a successful businessman born into a family net worth of $20 million. He’s considerate of his friends and is open about his grief toward the passing of his father and his queer identity and the struggles of how it fits in large with his family’s cultural ideals throughout the season. In one of the later episodes, one of the more authentic moments of the show is when he discusses with his supportive mother the pressure he feels about starting a family someday. Specifically, a family that is not the traditional family image his culture sees for him. I applaud him for representing queer people in a marginalized community.
This season, Richard Chang also plays a role in the background, but his storyline is a bit awkward. For example, when Richard hosts a charitable auction and asks Dorothy repeatedly if she can use her higher connections to get celebrities involved. Throughout the season, the others feel he’s only using them to better his own social status and networking circles, so they all separate themselves from him. At the end of the season, he proposes to his girlfriend.
Was It A Binge Or A Cringe?
There are first-world problems, and then there are the problems of the so-very-elite, like Dorothy Wang and company, that I could only describe as zero-world problems.
There is no shortage of cringe-worthy moments with the New York crew. But it’s cringe in the way meant for the viewer’s escapism entertainment. This season, Dorothy’s persona at the start is reminiscent of Paris Hilton’s The Simple Life persona. In which the entertainment lies in seeing the profoundly rich do things average people do daily. The hors d’oeuvres fiasco in episode one was laughable, and the show stretches it for three episodes— Poor Dorothy, she arrived, and not a morsel of caviar or chive flatbread was in sight. Can you imagine? Honestly, I wish these were my problems in life, which is why I watch these shows. However, the few and far-between authentic moments are very genuine. Blake’s struggles with his queer identity fitting within his Chinese culture and Tina’s work anxieties getting the better of her are genuine moments in that viewers will see a real person and not just a reality tv star. This season’s underlying theme is embracing new chapters as every cast member deals with change in their personal or professional lives.
Who Will Like It:
Fans of the original series will defiantly enjoy this rendition. Like the original, this series is produced by Jeff Jenkins Productions. The same production company behind reality hits like Keeping Up With The Kardashians and its spin-offs. All eight episodes are now streaming on Netflix, and the series currently holds a 5.1 out of 10 stars on IMDb.
