HGTV looking into remote home series
By Brian Steinberg Variety
How do you show people how to remake a bathroom or upgrade a kitchen when you can’t leave your own home? HGTV is testing a workaround.
The Discovery-owned home-improvement network employs an arsenal of home-arts experts, but at a time when a pandemic is keeping people in their homes, none of them can get out to tackle a project. So HGTV will seek out “desperate homeowners” who need help to re-do various rooms in their homes and are willing to be coached remotely for a new series, “ Design At Your Door ,” then record their progress themselves. Homeowners who might be interested can email their story and photos of the room they want to transform to designatyourdoor1@gmail-.com or visit HGTV.com/beonhgtv for more information
The idea might just be the ultimate in do-it-yourself television. Participants can expect to make use of everything from sewing machines to paint brushes to woodworking tools. HGTV said it will begin remote production for “Design At Your Door” later this month.
“We’re spending a lot of time at home and all around us are those ‘to-do’s‘ that we can no longer ignore,” said Jane Latman , president of HGTV, in a statement. “The great news is that if you want help, HGTV is ready with the trusted experts who can guide you from start to finish. Through technology, you can invite them into your home, show them your challenge, and we will send the solution to your front door.”
The program, if it launches successfully, would be the latest maneuver by Discovery to augment the offerings on home-oriented networks like HGTV and Food Network with unscripted programming that uses conditions spurred by the current coronavirus pandemic to introduce new concepts. “We’re all looking for ways to stay happy and connected, and a series like this feels right, right now,” said Latman.
Food Network has recently unveiled a new series starring reliable mainstay personality Guy Fieri, who will use his “Diners Drive-Ins and Dives” to feature recipes from cooks he has visited in his travels. The twist: Fieri will make them himself with coaching from the diner owner who showed him the dish in the first place.
Other Food Network personalities are also revving up so-called “quarantine” programming that features them making food while at home.
Selected homeowners will have a virtual consultation with an HGTV expert, then receive a package of personalized design elements. All applicants must be prepared to do the work themselves, use video conferencing devices and record their progress on equipment provided to them by HGTV. HGTV said homeowners can ask anyone they want to help, provided everyone who takes part stays under the same roof.
