I haven't watched the original Bling Empire in LA so cannot compare these two. The NYC version was tolerable with some likeable characters and an overall casual, easy-to-watch vibe. There's obviously some wealth-flaunting but honestly a lot of it feels a bit exaggerated (especially Nam) so I wouldn't take it too seriously. Besides the billionaire heiresses most of these people are far from being as wealthy as they claim to be. Dorothy fits well as the frontrunner as she's both funny & outspoken. Tina, Blake, and the couple (Vika/Richard) are all decently entertaining. The only unlikeable characters in my opinion were Lynn and her long-distance husband. The separate storyline of Deborah and her husband also felt completely disjointed from the main series as they only appeared together with the main crew during episode one and they had the least amount of airtime.
Overall, easy short binge that's obviously heavily scripted but still entertains enough when there's nothing else to watch.
Overall, easy short binge that's obviously heavily scripted but still entertains enough when there's nothing else to watch.