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Fans are giving their opinions on Bling Empire: New York after its first season airing. On the back of the success of Bling Empire — which followed the dramatic lives of affluent Asian-Americans in Los Angeles — Netflix announced an all-new spin-off series, Bling Empire: New York, back in October 2022. At the time, the original show was already in its third season and had gained a strong following.
The trailer of the new spin-off teased a lot of drama as it beamed a light on some of the cast members’ relationships. Interestingly, fans recognized a familiar face in the cast, Bling Empire season 2 star Dorothy Wang, who was set for the Big Apple to take on the dating scene. On January 20, Netflix released all 8 episodes for the New York spin-off, and viewers got an inside look at the lives of the super-rich cast members — Dorothy Wang, Tina Leung, Richard Chang, Deborah Hung, Stephen Hung, Blake Abbie, and Lynn Ban.
Bling Empire Fans Point Out Cast Similarities
Unlike other networks, Netflix usually releases all episodes of a season at once, which makes it easier for fans to binge-watch rather than wait every week for the next episode. For Netflix, it is more on continuity and less on suspense. So it was not surprising that barely 48 hours after the 8 episodes dropped on Friday, viewers were already on social media passing their verdicts on the Bling Empire: New York cast members like they have known them all their lives.
The series was not very different from the parent Bling Empire series or other similar reality shows focusing on materialistic and wealthy privileges with a side dish of petty dramas. Due to these traits, viewers identified similarities between the cast of the original series and those of the spin-off. While reacting to a thread on Reddit, a particular user meticulously drew a parallel between the cast members of the two versions of the show. The user likened Dorothy to Kane from the Los Angeles crew and Richard to Kevin because of the latter’s similarities in trying to work their way up the ladder of success.
The most controversial comparison was between Tina and Jamie, as many users had contrasting opinions. Jamie is a billionaire’s daughter, and some viewers felt her character was more similar to Nam Lake from the New York crew, who fully depends on her wealthy father. For the most part, fans were just trying to have fun while reflecting on some of the major talking points from the first season of Bling Empire New York.
Fans Think The New York Cast Are Richer
Another topic that dominated fans’ discussion on the Reddit thread was the luxury displayed throughout the season. Again, viewers could not resist the urge to compare the two versions of the show. Some fans think the New York cast members are richer than the LA crew. The users seemed uncertain if that was the case, and one of them suggested that the New York cast may not just be prone to showing off like their Los Angeles counterparts.
There is no doubt that the Los Angeles crew has deep pockets, but quite a number of them stand out. Jamie Xie may be the youngest but has her bank in the form of her billionaire father, Ken Xie. Then there is the Chiu couple, who are quite wealthy too. However, the pick of the bunch is Anna Shay, the daughter of billionaire Edward Shay.
It is hard to tell if the New York casts are more affluent, but one thing for sure is they have a staggering combined net worth. Apart from Dorothy, who has a reported net worth of roughly $10 million, there is fashionista Tina Leung and jewelry designer Lynn Ban. However, businessman Stephen Hung is the wealthiest in the group, with a reported net of $400 million.
Fans Think the New York Spin-Off Has More Depth
Away from the talks about what group has more money and engaged themselves on the level of content that the two shows produced. Although this seems like an unfair comparison — given that the original Bling Empire is in its third season while the spin-off is only in its first session — some fans still think the New York version has more depth than the original.
Fans pointed at the rich blend of cast members and how they merge their personal stories in a way that made for great entertainment for viewers. It is still early days, and there will surely be many other narratives that the New York spin-off will generate. Nonetheless, producers would be happy that they have at least piqued fans’ interest.