Series 30. Bling Empire (Season 1, 2020, 8 episodes)
Good god, this series is trashy. This was billed to me as Crazy Rich Asians, but a reality TV series. It's true that the Asian cast spends lavishly, but they're mostly in California. The series leans heavily into "reality TV personalities," featuring the flamboyant guy who mentions he's going to try dating guys to close out the series, the dumb-but-nice dude who takes his shirt off a lot, the ex-pop idol adjusting to housewife life but who's extremely convinced that her mother is reincarnating in her infant son, the "I didn't come here to make friends" 40-something socialite who married rich, and the girl who can't
Some of the manufactured drama feels kind of entertaining, even if it's fake. Like, there's a scene in the first episode or something where one woman, hosting a major party, slights another by wearing a necklace that the first woman owns, or something. So then she wears it as revenge at dinner, except then the other woman seats the first woman at the un-fun table or something.
But then there's other drama which legit feels like shit, real or not. A younger woman goes into an older woman's house during a pool party and then laughingly goes through her stuff and finds a penis pump. She then brings it in front of everyone and makes fun of her hostess and
never
apologizes for her actions. It's the type of drama that actually gets me feeling kind of upset inside, and almost everyone takes her side, and the one character who stands up for the party's host winds up forgiving her later, despite no contrition shown. Was the entire drama just manufactured, or was it real? If it were real, then how can I enjoy watching these characters? And if it were manufactured, then why not give it a real ending?
Another gross subplot involves another of the younger women's romantic life. Apparently she has a tumultuous on/off relationship with her boyfriend, a loser actor. The leading guy of the series (you can tell he's the leading character because he's the best-looking, was raised by white parents, is portrayed as being kind of stupid, and doesn't come from that much money) has a crush on her and openly tells her to break up with that guy. It's super-cringe-y. Anyway, the show follows this girl breaking up with her boyfriend "for real," except then we see her hanging out with him again and then eventually getting back with him to close out the series. Could that be real? I mean, maybe - everyone watching can certainly see how much of a creep that guy is - but god, it lowers your faith in humanity.
Anyway, yeah, lots of hate-watching here, but it mostly kept us entertained for a few weeknight dinners. so I guess that's that.
yet all azuarc of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness