Tag Archives: W Network

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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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Property Brothers gamble it all on own At Home reno

Jonathan and Drew Scott have built themselves a nice little empire. They’ve got their TV series in Property Brothers and Buying & Selling with the Property Brothers, both of which air on W Network. They’ve got a production company that includes third sibling, J.D., on the docket. Heck, they’ve even got a Caribbean design cruise that fans can go on later this year.

Now Jonathan and Drew embark on their newest—and perhaps most important—project this week with Property Brothers at Home. Debuting Tuesday on W Network, the series follows the duo (with some help with J.D.) as they transform the spacious home they co-own in Las Vegas into something special in time for a family reunion.

“We wanted this show to be something different,” Jonathan says. “The most important parts of our shows are those brotherly moments when we give each other a hard time. Who can’t relate to that with a sibling or a friend?”

“When Property Brothers was first pitched to us, they wanted a male-female host combo. They thought Jonathan was very feminine, so it was perfect,” Drew teases, proving the point. There are plenty of friendly jabs in Tuesday’s bow, from Jonathan mocking Drew’s frustration at the cluttered garage, to Drew teasing Jonathan for his lack of a love life, and J.D. and Drew messing around with swords while Jonathan is being fitted for a suit of armour. (Yes, you read that right. The reason why is revealed by episode end.) Jonathan marvels that any work gets done because they’re constantly laughing and having a good time.

Tuesday’s first instalment in the four-parter quickly sets the scene: Jonathan and Drew bought a huge home in Las Vegas years ago, but because of their busy lives had never gotten around to renovating it. The two decided that 2014 would be the year they’d finally get the job done. And, after a year and a half of getting all of the necessary permits approved, they broke ground on the project. It was anything but smooth sailing. Sure, some overhead bulkheads were easily dismantled because there were no support beams hidden that needed to be saved, but a cut wire deep in the home’s foundation threatened to derail the whole thing.

“We both said that, no matter what happened, we had to keep the cameras rolling,” Jonathan explains. “No matter if it was during a fight or a problem with the build, we weren’t going to cut the cameras. There were a few moments when we were caught off-guard.”

“Jonathan has some diva moments,” Drew offers with a laugh.

Property Brothers at Home airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on W Network. If you want to give to the brothers’ charity, check out their website.

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Canada Says Yes to the Dress

Turns out Canadian ladies love ruching, drop waists, sweetheart and bling on their wedding dresses too. So I learned watching (while checking the spelling of “ruching”) the first two episodes of Say Yes to the Dress Canada, debuting Wednesday on W Network.

And while I may have been surprised by the excitement, tears and drama generated during wedding dress fittings–complete with eye rolls and judgyness from the bride-to-be’s entourage–it wasn’t new to bridal stylist Joseph Spencer.

“The bride is the most important thing,” Spencer explains. “We listen to the bride and get her feeling. We know when she turns in the mirror what she’s feeling in the gown, even though her mother, sister, friend or brother isn’t interested in it or are negative. When a dress is right and they come out, it’s magical. They’re wearing the gown, the gown is not wearing them, they glow and the crying starts.”

Spencer, in the business for over 40 years, and Rachelle Pollari, co-owner of Amanda-Lina’s Sposa Boutique in Woodbridge, Ont., serve as the backbone of Say Yes to the Dress Canada, the series’ advisors and supporters through the girls’ journey to find the perfect frock for their wedding day. W Network’s iteration of the series doesn’t deviate from the U.S. franchise in its structure–future brides seek out the perfect dress and take a twirl in front of family and friends–but Pollari notes one big difference: money.

“There are a lot more girls who have a budget in mind rather than in the U.S.,” Pollari explains. “Price in the U.S. is almost no object. In the U.S. I’ve seen prices from $5,000 to $10,000 to $15,000. We carry that range, but we find the Canadian girl is more conservative and wants to have a dress that looks like $10,000 but cost $1,500.” That can be a challenge for Pollari and her staff, but they try their best to facilitate a bride’s requests, including combining two dresses into one.

“Show me a picture and I’ll make it!” she laughs. The ladies who travel from across the country in Season 1 include Canadian Olympic bobsledder Emily Baadsvik; Sharon, whose 88-year-old matron of honour and grandmother weigh in on her choices; two best friends who shop for dresses together; and a bride who has gone through 50 dresses prior to visiting the Pollari’s boutique.

Wednesday’s first two back-to-back episodes, “Men on Deck” and “Preconceived Notions,” are entertaining fare, the former featuring male friends and family members who weigh in on the brides’ choices while the latter boasts brides who entered the shop thinking they wanted one thing only to waver when it comes to the big decision. The gals all leave after saying “yes” to the dress, ensuring their wedding dreams will come true.

Say Yes to the Dress Canada airs Wednesdays at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET on W Network.

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Uncategorized

Link: Say Yes to the Dress and the glory of frock opera

From John Doyle:

Now me, I haven’t been to a wedding in years. But I do enjoy the bridal shopping experience every week.

It is totally true. On a regular evening when I’ve done the dishes and finished the ironing, I’ll relax with an episode of Say Yes to the Dress. (Sometimes it’s Four Weddings Canada, which is outrageous, simmering with snark, but that’s another story.) The SYTTD franchise is one of reality television’s great triumphs. There’s a genius to it. Continue reading.

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Harris and Talbot battle budgets and property costs on Love It Or List It Vancouver

Todd Talbot wants to go on the record with a pitch for a new series starring he and Jillian Harris for W Network. He even leans in close so my iPhone records it loud and clear.

“I think there is a better show out there with the stuff that hasn’t aired,” he says with a mischievous smile. “We have been gunning for it. For the record, whoever is listening, we’re game!”

In the meantime, the duo will stick with the formula that has made them household names with the W Network crowd, Love It Or List It Vancouver, returning tonight with a new season. Once again, Harris and Talbot descend on Vancouver homeowners who are looking for a major change. Will they heed Harris’ advice and renovate their family home or will they side with Talbot and sell the joint and find a new abode? While the structure of Love It Or List It Vancouver hasn’t changed, Harris says the flavour and tone certainly has.

“Now that we kind of have a grasp on things this is more organic and the camera style is looser. I think people are going to be able to relate to it even more,” she says. “The first two seasons we were trying to figure out the formula.”

“I’ve been having to deal with you,” Talbot counters to his co-star. “It’s taken me a year to do that!” The snappy back and forth between  the feisty Harris and acerbic Talbot is entertaining as heck, and serves as a balance to the stresses of watching homeowners agonize over staying put or moving somewhere new. Those stresses are shared by interior designer Harris and real estate agent Talbot, who must struggle within the confines of limited renovation budgets (she) or an exploding housing market driving more and more Vancouverites to the suburbs (he).

“It has gotten ridiculously expensive to live in Vancouver,” Talbot admits. “You almost become numb to the pricing. You don’t even bat an eye at a million dollars. The biggest challenge is faced by those families with young kids who are moving out of their condo and into a detached house because those homes have skyrocketed in price. They want to move out of the densified downtown and into a family neighbourhood and the cost barrier there is ridiculously high.”

The solution? Income suites in homes and laneway housing, the former of which aren’t always legal and the latter a mini-house built where a garage used to be on a century-home’s property. Or people are staying put and renovating. Enter Harris, who has her own challenges to face.

“I think a lot of people come on the show because they want to renovate,” she says. “But there is only so much that I can do with their limited existing space, so they move.”

“My biggest challenge this season are the fricking character homes,” she continues. “The homeowners want to have them renovated and sometimes it’s just cheaper to knock them down and start over again. We have so many off-camera conversations with the homeowners to tell them that, and they don’t care. They want us to renovate.”

Sounds like just the sort of stuff we’d love to see on the proposed show Talbot is hoping for.

Love It Or List It Vancouver returns Monday at 10 p.m. ET on W Network.

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