‘W.A.G.s To Riches’ Is Netflix’s Messy Reality Show About Nothing

Netflix describes its new reality series “W.A.G.s To Riches” as “‘Basketball Wives’ meets ‘Selling Sunset.’”

In a lot of ways, the eight-episode series is nothing more than a retooling of the canceled “Selling Tampa” with an athletic twist. Both shows center Sharelle Rosado, whom the streamer refers to as “queen bee of the W.A.G.s.” The term “W.A.G.s” traditionally refers to the wives and girlfriends of professional athletes.

Rosado runs Allure Realty, her multimillion-dollar real estate agency, but at the time of filming, is engaged to former NFL player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and is the mother of their daughter, Serenity. Several of the cast members are employed by Rosado, and they, too, are married or engaged to a professional athlete or share a child with someone famous.

To that end, let’s get this breakdown out of the way. Maranda “Mjaé” Johnson shares two children with rapper Kodak Black. Ashley Wheeler is married to Philip Wheeler, a former NFL linebacker. Porsha Berto is married to Andre Berto, a professional boxer and Olympian. Alexis Welchis the ex-wife of former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire. Sadé Vanessa’s fiancé is Robbie Chosen Anderson, an NFL free agent. Lastonia “Stoni” Leviston shares a child with rapper Rick Ross.

There’s also Julz “YesJulz” Goddard — a talent manager and social media personality who formerly worked for Kanye West at Yeezy. She shouldn’t be on this show at all, but we’ll get back to that later.

The cast makes it a point to let viewers know that they have jobs — and that they’re bosses, as Rosado repeats throughout the season.

I love that for them, but while the women of “W.A.G.s To Riches”may have real estate licenses and/or be entrepreneurs, they largely carry on like all the basketball wives and real housewives we’re used to watching on reality television. Some of them even behave like rich auntie versions of my beloved cast members on Zeus Network’s “Baddies” because there is so much fighting — verbal and physical — over nothing.

In the pilot, Rosado makes a big fuss about Leviston’s “reputation” — she recorded a sex tape with a former lover that was leaked by 50 Cent during his beef with Rick Ross. A jury ordered 50 Cent to pay Leviston $5 million after she sued him over the tape’s unauthorized release. Rosado also doesn’t approve of how Leviston spent the money.

Now, with all due respect to Rosado, she is engaged to Johnson, whose reputation precedes him. In 2012, he was arrested on charges of domestic battery against his then-wife Evelyn Lozada and sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Yet, Rosado tells us, she used to be a fan of him in high school and eventually slid into his DMs in 2020.

In this same episode, Maranda “Mjaé” Johnson, who works at Allure Realty with Rosado, has a similar story. She was a fan of Kodak Black in high school, and they followed each other on Instagram.

“When I was of age, he DM’d me,” she explained.

Later on the show, she’s arrested for an incident with one of the rapper’s other children’s moms.

If your eyes are blinking in confusion at all of this information, I’m with you. But here’s my point: It’s ridiculous for Rosado to be worried about Leviston’s reputation over a controversy from a decade-plus ago when people could just as easily judge her on the messy pasts of the people she surrounds herself with at present.

Fortunately, Rosado eventually recognizes her errors in pre-judgment and tries to start anew with Leviston, but she beefs with other cast members throughout the eight-episode run. The worst of the disagreements — in terms of what’s being alleged anyway — is between her and YesJulz, who says Rosado asked her about wanting to have kids on the same day YesJulz had told her that she had an abortion.

That accusation has sparked a lot of dialogue online since the show’s recent premiere. But even if you don’t buy Rosado’s claim that she forgot that YesJulz shared that with her, it does not absolve YesJulz of the fight that happens afterward at a separate table. Other cast members address the fact that YesJulz has been called a “culture vulture” in social media circles and tries to mimic Black culture in the way she acts, dresses and moves through the world.

I used to be an active Twitter user, so I will acknowledge that I am a bit biased when it comes to YesJulz. I agree with the long-standing critique that she is someone who loves to profit off of Black culture. In one glaring example after another, YesJulz shows that she is far less respectful to the Black people behind it — especially the Black women.

Even on this show, YesJulz, who is not Black, is asking a Black woman who brings up the critique to her directly, “What have you done for your culture?”

After ending the fight, she shouts, “My hair real.”

I don’t understand why YesJulz was cast on this show other than it being a stunt to attract viewers. She has already annoyed people on social media with her antics and was sure to piss off Black folks once again on this show. If that was the intention, mission accomplished.

If this show gets a second season, I hope they feature women who live up more to the show’s premise, unfocused as it may be.

If you’re interested in watching a group of rich female colleagues with real estate licenses, LLCs and real attachments to athletes and famous rappers bicker about nothing, give “W.A.G.s to Riches” a binge.

It’s not better than other familiar reality show franchises, but it’s good enough to satiate your appetite if you’re looking for something that’s messy and full of drama at every turn.