Executive producer Adam DiVello has taken viewers to Laguna Beach, the Hills of Hollywood, and, most recently, inside the world of luxury real estate. Around 2018, the former MTV executive and Done and Done Productions founder approached Netflix with the idea for Selling Sunset, a docusoap-style reality program that follows high-end real estate agents at Los Angeles’s Oppenheim Group as they navigate working with überwealthy clientele—and each other. 

Inspiration struck after DiVello saw a full-page ad firm founder Jason Oppenheim had taken out in The Hollywood Reporter. “I ripped it out and gave it to my development executive…and I said, ‘Call these people. Get me an interview with them,’” says Divello. “It was pretty remarkable that it’s like an all-female ensemble cast, and these two twin brothers were running it. To me, it seemed like a no-brainer.” 

Still, getting the now beloved program off the ground took some convincing. According to DiVello, Jason and Brett Oppenheim—who had previously appeared on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing—had concerns about bringing their brokerage into the fray of reality television. “[Jason] said, how are you gonna make this show different than a Bravo show?,” recalls DiVello. “And I said, ‘because I wanna make it for Netflix.’” When Oppenheim pointed out that the streaming platform didn’t have any similar programming at the time, DiVello replied, “Well, let’s be one of the first ones.” 

Flash forward to 2021. The Emmy-nominated Netflix original series is about to debut its highly anticipated fourth season, with two spin-offs, Selling Tampa and Selling the OC, already in the works. And despite some casting changes, the new season is still set to feature plenty of over-the-top outfits, slow-motion shots of opulent foyers, and the occasional $75 million home, as well as its key export: drama. 

While agent Davina Potratz exited Selling Sunset last season, stalwarts including Chrishell Stause, Christine Quinn, Heather Rae El Moussa, Mary Fitzgerald, and Amanza Smith are on board for season four. Fans will also be introduced to newcomers Emma Hernan and Vanessa Villela, who will be thrown into the ever-changing dynamic between Stause, Fitzgerald, and Quinn. 

Casting has been key to Sunset’s success. “It’s really important that the viewers see themselves in the characters,” says DiVello. “Especially when you have an ensemble, it’s great because not every viewer is gonna see themselves in Chrishell, necessarily. But they might see themselves in Christine or Mary or Maya.” 

Stause entered the franchise in 2019 as its charming, relatable central character. Two years later, the show has become a time capsule, chronicling her unexpected trials and well-earned triumphs as both a real estate agent and public figure.

“I was a little naive at the time,” Stause says, reflecting on her season one self. The jump to reality television took the former Days of Our Lives star some getting used to. “When you get to play the bad guy, you can lean into it and it’s fun,” she says. “So it’s different to have to be yourself and put yourself out there. If people don’t like your quote unquote character—well, that’s you.” Stause’s story line last season was defined, in part, by her highly publicized divorce from This Is Us star Justin Hartley. The upcoming fourth season, though, will celebrate her independence as she searches for a home of her own.

“I still get emotional thinking about it, just because, you know, growing up, I didn’t always have a home,” Stause says. “There’s just something about feeling, even later in life—whether you’re leasing or you’re living in someone else’s home—whatever it is, you know, there’s not that security. That is what I’ve always wanted, that security of knowing that, you know, no matter what happens, this is mine and I can take care of myself.” 

Offscreen, the Kentucky native has found happiness with her costar turned boyfriend Jason Oppenheim, whom she calls her “best friend.” Stause can’t pinpoint the exact moment she began having feelings for Oppenheim, but admits he made the first move. “When he kissed me, truly, even in the moment I thought like, Oh, my God. I thought it’d be something we’d laugh about the next day and not ever talk about again. And, obviously, that did not happen.” The pair confirmed their relationship to the show’s cast and crew before taking the news to Instagram over the summer. “We kind of felt the walls closing in and knew that there was only a certain amount of time that we could keep the secret,” she says.

Stause is balanced out by the show’s apparent token antagonist, Christine Quinn—whose stream of one-liners have historically been complimented by her many feuds and signature yellow Lamborghini. “I feel like in season four…I put my sword down,” says Quinn. “I’m really proud of that.” Looking back at the show’s trajectory, she points out the “six inches of roots” in her hair during the pilot episode—and admits she never pictured herself being a luxury real estate agent. “When I think of real estate agents, I think of bus ads on the side of the streets in Chicago…. So if you would’ve told me that I was gonna be a real estate agent, I probably would’ve slapped you in the face,” she jokes.

Quinn welcomed her first child, known as “Baby C,” with husband Christian Richard via an emergency C-section in May. Like her 2019 wedding, her pregnancy will be documented on the show. Quinn confirms she was nervous to discuss the experience on camera: “It was a little traumatic, it was raw, it was fresh.” But she hopes it will bring awareness to potential complications of pregnancy.

Stause and Quinn aren’t the only ones to have personal milestones play out on the show. The romance—and recent marriage—between Heather Rae Young (now Heather Rae El Moussa) and HGTV’s Tarek El Moussa has been tracked by fans across seasons. “I just love filming with him,” El Moussa says of her now husband, who makes cameos on the show. “He’s my best friend in the world. We’re so fun on camera together.” 

Viewers should also expect to see new shifts in the group as the season unfolds. “This season I’m biting my nails, because we film so much content and we don’t know what’s gonna make the show,” says El Moussa. “The trauma [this season], I think is probably the most intense…. You see a lot of separation.”

While viewers often disagree about which Oppenheim agent truly reigns supreme, the fan base is unified by one question: Will Davina, or anyone, ever sell Adnan Sen’s infamous $75 million house? “Adnan is such a great character,” says DiVello. “Is it worth 75 million or not? I’ll be honest with you: When you see that house in person, you would think it’s worth that much.” In other words, we’ll have to wait and see.

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