Tag Archives: Game of Homes

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

W Network’s Game of Homes returns for drama-filled Season 2

The home renovation show with the best twist on a TV title ever returns with one of the biggest prizes in Canadian TV. Season 2 of Game of Homes is back Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on W Network with resident judges Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, host Dave Salmoni and four pairs of two looking to score one heck of a grand prize: a house, furniture inside the house and a plot of land to put it on.

Where Season 1 had the backdrop of Vancouver, the sophomore go-round is based just outside of Toronto, and eight weeks of toil turns into triumph for two people. Will it be Kim and Harry, who want to win the house for financial freedom and a chance to spend more time with their kids? Maybe best friends Domenic and Michael, hoping to move out of their parents’ home. There is also engaged couple Courtney and Tyler; and mother and son duo Shelley and Alex, looking to win the house to secure financial stability for Alex’s future. Regardless of who wins, the road is a bumpy one.

“When things happen and they realize, ‘Holy shit, I could win a house,’ that’s one reality,” says Salmoni during a break in filming. “Then there’s the reality of the first time they don’t enjoy being part of a TV show. ‘I’m having a first AD scream at me?’ ‘I have to do that again?’ There are a lot of things you don’t consider when you sign on to do a design show.” Salmoni, an animal trainer and host of such nature series as Rogue Nature and Into the Pride and heading up Mark Burnett’s adventure series Expedition Impossible, dispenses tough love to the competitors, who are challenged to renovate a room at a time in the run-down abodes they’ve chosen. At the end of each episode, McAllister, Ryan, a guest judge weigh in on whose room looks the best.

“Colin and I are very practical and there can only be one winner,” Ryan says. “But to get there, there is a big emotional journey. We have connected with the contestants, but we have to keep that barrier alive where we can be critical without offending.”

“I want them all to win, but I’m there for the rules,” Salmoni explains. “If you tell me you’re tired? Tough, this is what you signed on for. If you received some comments from the judges that you didn’t like? Tough, do better next time.” There’s a lot of that attitude—both from the judges and contestants—in Episode 1. The dazzle of being part of a television show quickly fades when hours stretch into days, ingenious ideas crumble and tempers flare. McAllister, Ryan and guest judge Todd Talbot pull no punches in their criticisms of the living room renovations and leads to bruised egos.

“The stress of it is expected for a show like this,” Salmoni says. “What I didn’t expect was the weather. It’s getting cold and there’s no heat in the houses. They’ve been struggling.” Luckily, the grand prize is worth it.

Game of Homes airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on W Network.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

W Network’s Game of Homes returns on April 12

From a media release:

W Network’s biggest competition series Game of Homes returns for its second season with new host, Dave Salmoni and resident judges Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan. Season 2 takes place in  Toronto and follows four teams renovating rundown homes as they compete for the prize of a lifetime – a house and a plot of land to put it on. Produced by Great Pacific Media in association with W Network, Game of Homes premieres Tuesday, April 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Throughout the new season, Dave Salmoni guides four teams of skilled amateur home renovators as they compete for the chance to trade in their skills for their very own home. The teams save rundown houses from the wrecking ball and week-by-week revive them into dream homes, one room at a time. Each team works side-by-side, around the clock, to completely transform these dumps into show homes – while also living in them through the entire renovation. They will battle small budgets, tight deadlines, cramped quarters and each other for a chance to win a home and change their lives forever.

The teams include hard working married couple Kim and Harry, who want to win the house for more financial freedom and a chance to spend more time with their kids; best buddies Domenic and Michael, hoping to move out of their parents’ home; engaged couple Courtney and Tyler; and mother and son duo Shelley and Alex, looking to win the house to secure financial stability for Alex’s future.

Bringing their expertise to this season of Game of Homes, Colin and Justin will vote for their favourite room renovations based on design and workmanship, working alongside a stellar cast of celebrity guest judges including Kortney and Dave Wilson from Masters of Flip, and Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot from Love It or List It Vancouver. In the finale, both the judges and the public will casts their votes, and in the dramatic and life-changing conclusion, the winning team is awarded their spectacular new home.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Dave Salmoni to host S2 of Game of Homes for W Network; Colin & Justin resident judges

From a media release:

W Network’s epic original production Game of Homes (8×60) is pleased to announce experienced television host and frequent late-night guest Dave Salmoni(Expedition Impossible, appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno) as series host and dynamic interior design duo Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan (Colin and Justin’s Home Heist, Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure) as the resident judges. Produced by Great Pacific Mediain association with W Network, Game of Homes Season 2 is currently in production in Toronto and is set to premiere on W Network in Spring 2016.

Multi-talented Sarnia, Ontario native Dave Salmoni is an internationally recognized on-air television host, animal trainer, and television producer. He is best known as the host of the Mark Burnett reality series Expedition Impossible on ABC, as the host of several television documentary series on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel US including Deadly Islands and Rogue Nature, and for his animal handling guest spots on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Chelsea Lately and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, to name a few. He is a large predator expert, with a specialty in re-wilding captive-born tigers and lions. He has survived shark and lion attacks and has his own production company based in South Africa that specializes in wildlife films. Taking over the reins from former host and Entertainment Tonight correspondent, Cameron Mathison, Salmoni goes from taking care of giant tigers to taking care of tired and worn out renovation teams. Salmoni brings a passion for renovation and the expertise he has learned from his wife, who is an accomplished interior designer.

As host of Game of Homes, Salmoni guides four teams of skilled amateur home renovators as they compete for the chance to trade their skills for the prize of a lifetime – their own home and a plot of land to put it on. The teams save rundown houses from the wrecking ball and week-by-week, revive them into dream homes, one room at a time. Each team works side-by-side, around the clock, to completely transform these dumps into show homes – while also living in them through the entire renovation. They will battle small budgets, tight deadlines, cramped quarters and each other for a chance to win a home and change their lives forever.

Game_Homes2

Previous guest judges on Game of Homes Season 1, Colin and Justin return as resident judges this season. Well-known interior designers, style commentators, Hollywood celebrity interviewers and all round lifestyle gurus who hail from Glasgow, Scotland, the duo have hosted 11 television series that air worldwide, from the BBC show Million Pound Property Experiment and ITV’s The 60 Minute Makeover to Colin and Justin’s Home Heist (HGTV) and Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure (Cottage Life). The pair are resident design experts on City TV’s Cityline and appear regularly on chat shows in Canada and the UK. They are guest judges on The Block, Australia’s biggest property show and designers on The Living Room, also in Australia. Their newspaper columns appear weekly in the Toronto Sun, 24 Hours Toronto, 24 Hours Vancouver and the London Free Press. They contribute to both the Huffington Post Canada and Design Sponge, writing décor and lifestyle features.

Bringing that expertise to the series, in each episode of Game of Homes, Colin and Justin vote for their favourite room renovations based on design and workmanship, working alongside a stellar cast of celebrity guest judges. In the finale, in addition to the judges, the public also casts their votes, and in the dramatic and life-changing conclusion, the winning team is awarded their spectacular new home.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Interview: Cameron Mathison’s Game of Homes giveaway

It’s perhaps the coolest name ever devised for a competition show. It’s certainly one of the biggest giveaways in Canadian television.

Cameron Mathison hosts W Network’s impressively-titled Game of Homes (we’re pretty sure they cleared it with HBO), a series that pits teams of amateur home renovators against each other for the ultimate prize: a house with a chunk of land to put it on.

Debuting Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, the Sarnia, Ont., born, former All My Children actor turned Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight contributor challenges four couples to renovate a run-down home. Every week finds the couples fixing up one room in the home before they’re judged by folks like Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot from Love It Or List It Vancouver, Jonathan and Drew Scott, or Colin & Justin. One team per week pockets a prize for best room reno. In the finale, the judges weigh in on who they think deserve to win before viewers vote too. The winning pair not only win the house they renovated but are awarded a piece of Vancouver property to put it on.

How did you get involved in Game of Homes?
It’s funny, I was talking to my agent about this. I went to McGill where I majored in structural engineering and that was something I was going to do with my buddy, who was a designer. I was talking to my agent about that and, literally, the next day Game of Homes called and asked me to send them a tape. It’s something that just came my way that happens sometimes.

With your background, did part of you want to run over and take over the renovations from the competitors?
Like, a large part. Like, 95 per cent of me wanted to get in there either with my two cents or to get my hands dirty. To the point where I have actually pitched to turn the tables on the host of Game of Homes and I’ll do my own transformations with some twists and turns. That’s all I can say. [Note: that project is Cameron’s House Rules, debuting Tuesday on W Network’s YouTube page.]

I couldn’t wait to get to set every day and see what they had done. The challenges are tough, but they do a phenomenal job. I saw the job on paper and thought it was amazing but I wondered how the teams would be able to pull it off and they do.

W Network

The teaser was amazing, showing the four homes being brought on barges to sit on a Vancouver pier while the competition was going on. They have generators for the tools, but they don’t have heat and plumbing, do they?
No heat, no plumbing. It’s tricky.

Are they shown how to do the work beforehand?
Each team has a contractor working with them, but every decision is driven by the team. The contractor will help them with aspects that might be too technical. It depends.

Is there anything that surprised you about the show or the competitors as production rolled?
I think the prize is pretty amazing. A house and property in a city where that’s at a premium? That said, every week there are amazing prizes. Trips to Paris, trips to Japan, Caribbean cruises, spa weeks, it’s out of control. And yet, one of the most surprising things is that the teams became very, very close and were rooting for each other. It was really touching and fun to watch.

There must have been a lot of tears of frustration too. Lack of sleep!
Sleep deprivation was a big one. I was host and couples’ therapist. I had to come in and say, ‘Come on guys, you have to compromise and communicate to get through this.’ A lot of tears shed and animosity against the guest judges. It was so hard to announce a weekly winner because everyone wanted it so badly and no one was going home. Everyone was in it until the very end.

Game of Homes airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on W Network.

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