Singapore Social Netflix Reality Show Like The Hills

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Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images.

Netflix heard you liked Crazy Rich Asians and basically made a reality show version of it. The streaming service’s new show, Singapore Social, brings The Hills to Asia and follows the super glamorous, super-rich lives of entrepreneur Nicole Ong, influencer Mae Tan, YouTuber Vinny Sharp, singer Tabitha Nauser, host Paul Foster, and burlesques dancer Sukki Singapora. It has all the ingredients for a messy, addicting TV show, but there are a lot of people on social media pissed off at Netflix and the show's production company, Love Productions USA, for what they feel is unfairly representing the values and behavior of a culture.

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The series is ostensibly "reality," but is basically your classic, probably-scripted, overly-dramatic show. The trailer promises somewhat of a different premise, highlighting a tight-knit, boundary-breaking friend group climbing its way up Singapore's ladder of success.

However, that's not exactly what viewers feel they got.

The problem with Singapore Social is how entitled and shallow it is. When a country’s name is slapped on a title, that automatically means representation and this show does a shit job at that. If you’re signing a paycheck to do a show, you best be ready for scrutiny.
— Stacy Lady Klopp ॐ (@6paperplanes) November 26, 2019

Watching singapore social makes me want to die
— tetola (@tetola94) November 26, 2019

Singapore Social on Netflix is by far the most dumbest and useless series ever existed. Who the fuck would wanna watch rich kids with an American accent complain about how their life is so hard. Like who the fuck cares?
— ✞DonQuixote Dhuha✞ (@Dhuhasahir) November 27, 2019

Instead, the characters come across as entitled, pretentious, and gossipy. Critics feel the show does an inaccurate job of representing life in Singapore, especially since Singapore is largely middle-class.

Yet, others have pointed out that this backlash is a bit of a double standard. There are countless Western shows from this exact genre (hell, The Hills even did it all over again with The Hills: New Beginnings). Why shouldn't Singapore throw its hat into the ring?

I’ve seen a lot of “#SingaporeSocial is vapid” but y’all.... American TV is full of vapid white people in America and I AM LIVING FOR MY VAPID BROWN PEOPLE. The scenery is popping and it’s refreshing to see other peoples cultures pop! pic.twitter.com/J3OaarjnQu
— Francina Simone (@FrancinaSimone) November 24, 2019

Plus, it's a matter of taste. Some of us enjoy the schadenfreude of seeing bad people say outrageous things, or getting a glimpse of how the other half lives — even if we wouldn't ever get along with them. And while no plans for a season 2 have been announced, sometimes a dedicated hate-watching audience is all a show needs.

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