MovieChat Forums > Fixer Upper (2013) Discussion > I love this show - but suggestions for t...

I love this show - but suggestions for the producers


I recently watched all of season 1 on Netflix and have seen maybe 6 episodes of season 2. I noticed a change between the seasons, a change for the worst - but it's NOT Chip and JoJo that's bad - it's the format changes.

1)You don't need the kids hanging with the parents at the beginning in every episode.
The kids are a big part of their lives, but it seems like it's an artifice sometimes. I like the kids, but in the first season they seemed integrated into the show - and in the second its like they're being showcased.

2)We don't need to spend too much time with the buyers at the beginning.
Some of the episodes spent 2-3 minutes on showing the buyers hanging out with family/etc. I don't need to see that unless they're super fascinating.

3)Stop the un-necessary repetition.
In the first season you'd show a house, talk about the price and then go to the next house. In season 2 Chip announces it before going in, then before leaving the house, then when the people call with their choice. Its too much - I can remember it. Maybe before going in the house and after a home is picked - so we don't hear the stats on the two that aren't picked again.

Don't repeat the last 20 seconds you showed before commercial when you get back from the commercial.

And please edit the show for Netflix. I've seen other show like Storage Wars that do this and it get rid of a lot of that repetition - like the logos going to/from commercial.

4)Show what you've done to other/all areas in the house.
Sometimes they enter a 2 story house and we never see upstairs. If there's 3 bathrooms in the house and you turn one into the master I want to know if at least fixed the existing hideous bathrooms. Or do the couples have a great first floor and an awful second floor? Like the pink tile and green toilet - are they still in that old bathroom?

5)Spend more time with Chip in the house. It takes weeks for the construction on some of the houses and its gets the same amount of air time as the decorating does. I'm interested in see more of what they do - because they do a lot more than Demo Day and a phone call about replacing a header and then the group of them duck-walking a beam into place.

6)Don't have buyers with a lot of money
The projects where the couple is loaded with money is less interesting to me - harder to relate to.

A few comments:
a)Living in California its fascinating how cheap the real estate is in Waco.
b)I don't understand how redoing a kitchen has to cost $30,000? Are they getting titanium shelves? Just weird how much money goes into the kitchen in most episodes.

c)Can you share the incentives? I find it hard to understand how someone with a budget of $200,000 can get a loan on a $75,000 house. Are these buyers who don't need financing? Does the show pay for it ALL? Is there a financing program where the show guarantees a certain portion of the mortgage? Does the show actually provide the mortgage?

And realize I'm posting these comments to IMDB BECAUSE I like the show. On the off chance anyone sees them from HGTV or the production company. (Maybe a direct email to the production company might be more effective - but I'm interested if people on IMDB share some of the same sentiments.)


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c)Can you share the incentives? I find it hard to understand how someone with a budget of $200,000 can get a loan on a $75,000 house. Are these buyers who don't need financing? Does the show pay for it ALL? Is there a financing program where the show guarantees a certain portion of the mortgage? Does the show actually provide the mortgage?
I'd like to know more about this aspect of the show too.

And I have a suggestion as well. I like Joanna and I like her design sense, BUT...she is a one-trick pony. Everyone gets a farmer's sink, everyone gets shiplap, everyone gets a long distressed farmer's table, everyone gets wood floors, everyone gets a pot faucet over their stovetop, everyone gets recessed lights in their living room ceiling, (just about) everyone gets French doors in their master bedroom. And all of the houses end up looking just like HERS. 

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Well, they did just do a mid-20th century modern that Jo admitted was her first attempt at such a style. It came out quite nice. No shiplap in sight!

I also saw a recent episode where she brought a couple to her house to give them an idea of her design plans for their home, and they both as nicely as possible told her they didn't like it and wanted something different. You could see Jo was kind of stung by it (who wants to hear someone say they don't like your house), but she rolled with it and gave them what they wanted. I give them credit for actually leaving that in the show.

You have to bear in mind that tastes and styles vary around the country, and they work predominantly in the Waco/Midland/Crawford areas of Texas. These are suburban to rural areas, and the people there like the idea of wood floors, farm sinks, and a more rustic but finished look. Barbecues and large informal gatherings are part of Texas culture, so large tables to gather around are welcome additions to these homes.

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Yeah, I get that, but this is a TV show, so a little more variety would be nice. Like I said, I like her design sense. I actually like it a lot. But if you make the same basic thing for dinner every night - no matter how good it is - people are going to stop coming. And I haven't seen the episodes you're talking about yet, but I've got a bunch DVRed, so I guess I have something to look forward to.

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I love the kids and the farm...and the animals...and the couples...guess I like just about everything the other poster didn't.

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Did I say I didn't like those things? I actually have a farm and farm animals, so I obviously like those things. And I said that I like her design sense. What I SUGGESTED is that she get outside of her comfort zone and try some new things or the show will go stale. I would actually like this show to stick around.

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and they both as nicely as possible told her they didn't like it and wanted something different. You could see Jo was kind of stung by it


I saw that episode. That was so awkward - but it was bound to happen eventually. I'm so glad she rose to the challenge of both that one and the mid-century modern.

I think part of the problem with the repetition is that most of the people who apply (or whatever) for this show want HER STYLE.

BTW- did you mean Meridian instead of Midland? Meridian is only an hour away whereas Midland is 5.

"...fly away, fly away, fly away home..."

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