By India McCarty
Missing the HGTV shows of the past? You’re not the only one — fans of the network recently pointed out that the HGTV shows of today are a lot different from the channel’s classics.
“Bring back [Candice Olson], Vern Yip and all the YARD CRASHER, KITCHEN CRASHER-type programs,” one fan wrote on a recent Facebook post from House Beautiful. “Done with the lottery winners and what $300,000 can buy you in Europe. We want something we can put together/ideas to use in our lives.”
Others agreed, with one person writing, “While enjoyable to watch an $800,000 home become a $1,000,000 home, it’s not relatable to the middle class or those who originally watched this channel to learn how to rehab our house ourselves!”
Additionally, some fans admitted to feeling bored with “so many shows with basically the same format, just different personalities,” pointing to the many, many house-flipping shows HGTV offers.
Another gripe? Focusing on renovation over decoration.
“So tired of [taking] the whole house down to the studs and relocating rooms,” someone commented. “Why can’t there be a couple of redecorating rather than remodeling shows?”
Others shared their disappointment that HGTV has dropped a lot of the gardening content the channel used to offer, including GARDENING BY THE YARD and A GARDENER’S DIARY.
Despite fans’ complaints about the network’s direction, HGTV is more popular than ever. Its hit show ROCK THE BLOCK just gave the network its highest-rated season premiere since 2023.
“The rating delivered an impressive triple-digit increase of 179 percent over the prior six weeks,” a press release from HGTV’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, read.
The statement also touched on the episode’s social media footprint — “Fans were highly engaged with ROCK THE BLOCK season premiere content on HGTV’s digital platforms, delivering 5.1 million total impressions and 3.8 million video views on HGTV’s Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Threads. The season premiere also generated more than 1.6 million page views on HGTV.com.”
Additionally, popular shows like HOME TOWN and FIXER TO FABULOUS are hard at work on new seasons.
“The HGTV family is where we belong,” HOME TOWN stars Ben and Erin Napier said in a statement about their upcoming tenth season with the channel. “Shows are often impermanent but HOME TOWN endures, we think, because it lives on a network that teaches and gives comfort to people. It’s more than pretty houses. That’s something we are proud to be part of.”
While HGTV is definitely bigger and better than ever, the network might gain back some viewers with a return to their old-school content.
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