Chloe Tucker Caine received sound advice from boss Ryan Serhant while trying to balance real estate and her love for theater in season 2 of Owning Manhattan.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the upcoming season, which premieres on Friday, December 5, Chloe gets help from Nile Lundgren and Ryan as she puts on a performance while working on a listing. Ryan then asks Chloe if she will remain at the location all day — to which she clarifies that she is “working from here all day” long.
“It’s clear that this is your passion. But it is a balance of time,” Ryan notes. “Every moment is where you’re thinking about, ‘How am I being productive? How many dollars per hour [is this]?’ Like, you’re creating a full on musical for this house — which is amazing — but it does take all day or multi-day.”
Ryan subsequently reminds Chloe that she’s “not being paid” to film a musical.
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“I will get paid if I sell the house. I will sell the house,” Chloe replies. “This is what I came to New York to do. I love it so much and just being able to do this again has been [amazing]. … I love real estate and I love performing. I’ve loved finding a way to do both.”
While reflecting on his own passion for acting, Ryan cautions Chloe about finding the balance.
“OK, but just be careful. I’m not saying don’t do much,” he explains. “15 years ago, maybe I shouldn’t have cashed in my theater tickets and just got into real estate because I was nervous about paying bills. That’s why I’m here. I was always nervous about money.”
Ryan continues: “So when Chloe has this real passion for musical theater — but wants to make money at the same time — I’m here to say, ‘I’m going to help you do that if that’s what you want to do.’”
The CEO of SERHANT tells Chloe to not be “burning the candle at both ends,” adding, “Because one passion is going to pull you here and another passion’s gonna pull you here. Then you’re gonna be broken in the middle. So just make sure you don’t get to that place because that’s where I was.”
During an exclusive interview with Us, Chloe called the moment “really emotional” for her.
“I wasn’t expecting that because he’s really the first person that said to me — in a very long time — like, ‘You are clearly so passionate about performing. You obviously love this.’ And then I just lost it,” she recalled. “Because to hear someone say that to me — and him of all people — because he is someone I look up to in so many ways. I want to make him proud. I want to do well in the company.”
Chloe was grateful for Ryan’s support as her boss.
“When I went into real estate, I was like, ‘OK, theater — for whatever reason — has not clicked into place. I’m going to push that aside and I’m going to focus entirely on real estate.’ I decided to be the best real estate agent ever,” she continued. “I don’t even want people to know that I’m a performer because I’m scared I won’t be taken seriously. So it definitely brought up a lot of mixed emotions and I’m excited for people to see how that plays out and where we end up after all this.”
Owning Manhattan, which premiered in June 2024, follows Ryan and the agents at his real estate firm SERHANT as they tackle New York City’s most expensive listings in their pursuit of becoming the number one firm in the city. The first season starred Chloe, Nile, Tricia Lee, Jade Shenker, Jessica Markowski, Jessica Taylor, Jordan Hurt, Jonathan Nørmølle, Jordan March, Savannah Gowarty and Jeffrey St. Arromand.
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“[Going into season 2], everything was so different. Because I was coming back into filming six months postpartum and my entire world was turned upside down,” Chloe, who welcomed a daughter with husband Leon Caine, shared. “I was absolutely terrified to start filming because my priority is my family and my baby and being a good mom. So it was like, ‘How do you navigate that?’ Not only am I going back to work — because I need to make money — but on top of the work, I am now filming a reality show. I also am trying to be the best mom I can to a six-month-old.”
She continued: “It really took me a second to get my bearings. I give so much credit to new moms around the world because you don’t really understand just how big of a shift it is until you have a baby and it changes you. It turns your entire world upside down. I was terrified.”
For Chloe, becoming a mom has led to her becoming an even better real estate agent.
“It showed me that I am able to handle a lot more all at once. You get very good at compartmentalizing and figuring out how to add things to the schedule and make it all work,” she continued. “Especially when you’re a mom, you have to make it work. You have to find the time, which has now fallen into my business as well. I just find myself continuing to add things to my plate.”
Chloe also teased how her passion for theater will continue to play out.
“There are some fun things that could be coming up. I’m very much in my saying yes to everything era,” she hinted to Us. “When those opportunities are coming up, we are going all in and seeing where we end up with all of it. I am going to do a solo show — my first solo show — in New York City, which will be great.”
Owning Manhattan premieres Friday, December 5, on Netflix.
