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The reality TV star found herself in the center of the drama in the Netflix show’s second season.
Brandi Marshall is not going anywhere. TheGrio caught up with the reality TV star and realtor of “Selling the OC,” breaking down her experience as the sole Black castmember on the show, her recent feud with co-star Alex Hall, and the ins and outs of filming the hit Netflix series.
The second season of “Selling the OC” had just about everyone talking online. As we previously reported, the addictive reality TV show centers around the realtors of The Oppenheim Group at their Orange County office, following their transactions and deals, as well as the interpersonal relationships and drama in the group.
Unlike other reality shows, the members of The Oppenheim Group are still very much doing their jobs as real estate agents, on top of filming a reality show. Essentially, they’re doing two jobs at the same time. “We have two jobs, we’re real estate agents and then filming is something else that you do that you forget is going to come out one day,” Marshall explained. “We might get our glam done and make sure we look the part because we are on TV, everything else is real.”
Every transaction and deal made is authentic, Marshall pressed, which makes the viewing experience that much more exciting. “It’s not staged or anything, and that’s why it’s so exciting when we do sell a house on the show,” she said. “Filming is maybe three or four months, and you don’t always close a transaction in that time frame. So if you do get to do it while filming is happening, it’s like extra brownie points because you get to see me do what I do.”
While there is an emphasis on their real estate work, the season still contained plenty of drama, specifically surrounding her and her coworker Alex Hall. As theGrio previously reported, Hall and Marshall had a particularly cringe exchange, one that highlighted Marshall’s place as the only Black person on the series. Hall, who is white, and Marshall have made no progress since their fallout, Marshall revealed to us.
“We don’t speak right now,” Marshall said. “It’s like we are speaking two separate languages … and I don’t know that we’ve been able to have a conversation where we can hear each other out, for real.” In the season, Marshall questioned Hall’s relationship with Tyler Stanaland, who was in the midst of a very public divorce with actress Brittany Snow.
In the much-talked-about fight between the two, Hall resorted to some typical Karen behavior, asking Marshall if she was going “to swing” at her and even resorting to tears after Marshall removed herself from the situation altogether.
“Orange County is very conservative,” Marshall expressed to us when reflecting on her place as the sole Black person in the room on her show. “I am used to being the only Black person in a lot of spaces, which is why you saw me walk away … I won’t let anything take me out of my character because I know there is a lot riding on this.”
“It’s about having conversations that need to be had,” she added. “It’s about education and it was an unfortunate situation with her. You guys have to see that play out, but I just can hope for better in the future.”
“Selling the OC” is streaming now on Netflix.
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