Stream It Or Skip It?
Listen, we all like watching shows that have spectacular houses that are taken to the next level by really creative designs. But let’s be real about what we find more interesting: The lives of the designers. There’s a reason why people loved the drama that kicked up when Fixer Upper‘s Chip and Joanna Gaines’ marriage fell apart, and when Jeff Lewis would erupt at underlings on Flipping Out it made for good reality TV. So what will we see on a new Netflix series where a married couple who each run their own design firm?
Opening Shot: Lots of shots of high-end real estate in Miami. “Miami is a designer’s dream,” says Ray Jimenez.
The Gist: Ray and his wife Eilyn Jimenez are both interior designers, each owning their own design firm. Her aesthetic is minimalist modern and his is more colorful and bold, but still with an eye towards modern furniture and fixtures. They both are working in the high-end market, designing homes that are worth millions.
Eilyn is working with a former NFL player who wants a modern but masculine aesthetic in his home. Her big design features included a metal wine cellar over a marble fire feature, which her contractor father needed to fix when it started getting warped. She also had columns installed to enclose a metal staircase. One problem; the client is living in the house and seeing everything in progress. When he calls to say he’s coming home early from a European trip, Eilyn and her staff have to scramble.
Ray has split with his business partner and going off on his own; the two of them split time with the former firm’s employees, and Ray hopes both of them come to his firm full-time. One of his projects involves a couple who wants their stark-looking modern home to be cozy and fun, and he only has the weekend to come up with a plan.
In their personal lives, they both think of their businesses as their children, and they each take a lot of their time. But Ray’s huge Dominican family is pressuring them to start having children, something Eilyn resents, even as she seems to good-naturedly take their ribbing at a family dinner. They’ve also bought a house that they’ve torn down to the studs so they can redesign it and move into with their dogs.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? There are tons of other design and home improvement shows that feature couples, like Fixer Upper. Of course, not all of the couples in those shows make it, like in Fixer Upper.
Our Take: If you’re in the mood to look at tons of real estate and design porn, then Designing Miami is the show for you. The first episode introduces us to the Jimenezes, establishes their individual aesthetics, and shows why they each have their own firms instead of working together. We also see the employee situation at each. Otherwise, there are lots of client conversations, shots of Eilyn’s office being renovated and tons of before/after or before/in progress shots.
It’s all pretty generic stuff… until parts of their personal lives creep in. The topic of children is a big bone of contention between Ray and Eilyn; Ray says he’s ready but Eilyn is adamant — rightfully so — that she won’t be forced into having kids until the moment she’s ready. And, given her drive, her love of design, and her ambition to grow her firm, it’s pretty clear that she’s not ready, and may not be anytime soon. During an interview segment, the two of them get into it about the baby issue and it’s one of the only parts of the first episode that felt authentic.
As much as we like to see glitzy homes and interior designs, that’s not what has driven reality shows like this; it’s messy personal lives or employer-employee conflict. In the first season coming attractions, we may see some of the latter with Ray, and there may be some client mishegas. However, it really feels that where this show is going to set itself apart is either seeing Ray and Eilyn compete directly for a big client, exploring their conflict about expanding their family, or both.
Sex and Skin: Lots of real estate and design porn.
Parting Shot: As the Jimenezes walk past the clubs in South Beach, Eilyn gets a call about their client returning from Europe early. So it seems that date night is ending early, too.
Sleeper Star: Ray’s family’s jibes about he and Eilyn not having kids yet aren’t overbearing, yet make an impact on them. Eilyn is especially annoyed, even if she looks like she’s taking it in stride.
Most Pilot-y Line: While walking down Ocean Drive in South Beach, Ray speechifies about how awesome it is that all of the Art Deco architecture there was preserved. It not only sounds scripted, but certainly not the most romantic date night talk.
Our Call: SKIP IT. If Designing Miami starts showing more of Ray and Eilyn’s personal lives and marital issues along with the real estate and design stuff, it could be watchable. But right now there’s too much of the latter and not enough of the former to make the show interesting.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
