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'Selling the OC' Cast on Differences from 'Selling Sunset:' We're 'Ourselves from the Very Beginning'

'Selling the OC' Cast on Differences from 'Selling Sunset:' We're 'Ourselves from the Very Beginning'

Netflix is introducing a new helping of stunning real estate, big drama and ambitious agents with their latest reality show, Selling The OC.

The Selling Sunset spin-off follows brokers Jason and Brett Oppenheim as they launch a new branch of their high-end real estate firm the Oppenheim Group in Orange County, Calif. Fans can expect a new group of employees as excited to sell luxury homes as they are to stir the pot.

"I think they've done a better job than several of us on Selling Sunset at just being themselves, not being guarded and trusting in the process," Jason tells PEOPLE about the large ensemble cast. "I think they're doing a better job than I did.

His twin brother Brett agrees, noting that this cast "had the advantage of following us" and knew what they were signing up for. "They had the confidence of seeing that if you're yourself, you're going to come across as yourself for the most part. That allowed them to be more comfortable, which also led to arguably a better season one than we had. They came out of the gate more comfortable and stronger."

Selling the OC
Selling the OC

Nino Munoz/Netflix

Brett believes having a "younger" cast for this show allowed "them to give less F's" than the beloved cast of Selling Sunset. Agent Austin Victoria feels they also have "sexier real estate" on their show.

For Alexandra Hall, having the previous series as a reference point "made it easier" going into the experience. "We were more trusting, which obviously makes for better television, because we were open and ourselves from the very beginning," she explains. "We trusted the process."

The new show's Polly Brindle says the show's storylines are also very authentic, telling PEOPLE, "That's what our lives are actually like" when it comes to the drama-packed episodes, which premiere on the streamer August 24. "No one was putting on a show, we are ourselves. The drama is real, the properties are there, the views are stunning."

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Adding cameras to the mix "raised the stakes" for the agents, with Gio Helou admitting that "once those cameras are rolling, then everything just gets heightened: emotions, the competition, the spiciness of it all."

Brandi Marshall believes "there's nothing that you can do to prepare you for just having cameras following you to work," revealing they all eventually forgot they were being documented, for better or for worse. "I would always go home and be like, 'Oh my God, the cameras were there!'"

Her costar Lauren Shortt thinks they "may be a little too comfortable" when the cameras are rolling and their colleague Sean Palmieri was constantly worried about what he might have said.

"You have no idea how many times I'd be talking to Polly and be like, 'Oh my God, I just cursed. I hope they don't put that on.' You just really get comfortable afterwards."

Alexandra Rose notes the show has also raised the bar with her business. She says that it started "really great conversations with potential clients who like the fact that their house could potentially be on TV... it's definitely a great way to leverage getting listings."

The show's trailer teases a rift between groups of agents, something familiar to any fan of Selling Sunset, with rumors floating around about how Rose obtains her clients. But she says her "main focus has always been to make money and to sell real estate," adding that "I put up with the drama, but I push it off my shoulder."

RELATED: 'Selling the OC' Stars Get into Heated Argument Over Rumor in New Season's Dramatic First Look

A potential flirtation between Kayla Cardona and her married co-star Tyler Stanaland in the teaser. Cardona says she learned to separate her real estate work from the ongoing drama that ensues when you take part in a reality show. "You've still got to wake up and go to work. Obviously, that's a priority and that's your everyday real life," she explains. "Filming was a short amount of time and it went really quickly, so it's really easy to be able to separate the two and stay focused."

Stanaland wed actress Brittany Snow in 2020 and says he didn't get much advice from his wife on how to manage life in the spotlight. "You can't really compare the two worlds really," he confesses. "I guess it's one of those things where I just had to walk it by myself and learn as I go."

Alll drama aside, Alexandra Jarvis feels the group has "grown" and learned to "trust each other" from taking on this new experience together. "We really just bring our A-game every day and I think we have each other's backs."

And while the cast call doing the show a "rollercoaster" and express nerves about how they'll be received once the episodes are released, they can't wait to finally rip off the band aid.

"There's no point in even being afraid at this point, because it is what it is," says Hall. "We've been waiting! We wrapped filming ages ago and we're like, 'Just show us the damn show!'"