Critic Reviews

“Million Dollar Beach House,” an airy addition to the summer schedule, doesn’t really have the drama of “Million Dollar Listings” or “Selling Sunset,” but there is enough here to savor. ... Had the producers shown us more of the Hamptons in the process, “MDBH” might have set itself apart from other, similar shows.

What’s often referred to as “unscripted” TV seems very often, and very highly, scripted—although if one were actually to create drama in which to immerse the “Beach House” characters, you’d expect it to be a little more fraught. ... “Million Dollar Beach House”] seems intended for those who will never come close to affording one of the featured properties, but will be comforted by the petulance of the inhabitants. Which is not to say that buyers and sellers of Hamptons houses won’t find something genuinely interesting in the proceedings.

“Million Dollar Beach House” doesn’t have a sharp enough eye for division. That all the Hamptons may indeed just be a neighborhood of shoreline-devouring megamansions may indeed be true, but it makes for a show that, even over a scant six half-hour episodes, tends to run together. ... There’s really no excuse for this show to be as flat as it is.

The life force of all these shows are the characters—and unfortunately for Million Dollar Beach House, all of its archetypes are a dime a dozen and also pretty dull. ... Despite all the massive houses and purported luxury the Hamptons have to offer, Million Dollar Beach House just cannot capture the glimmer and distinct L.A. polish Selling Sunset brings to the table. It’s not that the houses are unimpressive, but that they’re drably shot.

None of the cast is interesting enough to want to follow, even after watching the first two episodes. It also doesn’t help to see rich people buying massive houses during a summer where none of us can go anywhere and many of us don’t have jobs anymore.